ReJewvinating

2005-07-19T17:45:00.000+03:00

For all three of you that are still checking out my blog, here's a new posting.

Thanks.

Avi

It's a good thing Israel has only to make peace with its Palestinian neighbors and not European university professors.

2005-04-28T10:18:00.000+03:00

The British Association of University Teachers has now created a blacklist against Jewish Israeli academics – really a blue-and-white list – reminiscent of the worst abuses of McCarthyism.

Things in the Middle East are moving forward while in the UK they are moving backwards. These boycotts have struck a blow at talks between Israel and Palestine.

The British lecturers' boycott endanger the progress now being made toward peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. It is not surprising therefore that even the Palestinian Al-Quds University in Jerusalem headed by Sari Nusseibeh released a statement against the British association blacklist, saying, "We are informed by the principle that we should seek to win Israelis over to our side, not to win against them... Therefore, informed by this national duty, we believe it is in our interest to build bridges, not walls; to reach out to the Israeli academic institutions, not to impose another restriction or dialogue-block on ourselves."

But instead of heeding the moderate words of those they claim to support, British university teachers will collectively punish Israeli academics in a manner that leading Palestinian academics do not support. They've become more Palestinian than the Palestinians, and at precisely the time when Israel is taking more risks and making more sacrifices for peace than it has since Camp David in 2000.

As Israel's Ambassador to the Court of St. James's Zvi Hefetz noted, "The last time that Jews were boycotted in universities was in 1930s Germany."

The message being sent by this anti-Semitic action – anti-Semitic because it will apply only to Israeli Jews, not Arabs or Christians – is that the Jewish state will not be rewarded for taking steps toward peace and ending the occupation. Instead it will be punished.

- Alan Dershowitz, Op-Ed JPost, 28-4-05

2005-04-26T17:29:00.000+03:00

"The Economist" sees unemployment in Israel falling faster than expected

"Israel's economy is stable and strong, thanks to an inflow of foreign investment and rising exports."

Zeev Klein 26 Apr 05 14:57

Israel's economy is stable and strong, thanks to an inflow of foreign investment and rising exports, states "The Economist Intelligence Unit" (EIU) in its latest survey of the Israeli economy, published yesterday.
The EIU believes that prices in Israel and the balance of payments will remain stable, which will enable the Bank of Israel to preserve low inflation, within the government's inflation target of 1-3%. A small increase in the current accounts deficit is expected only in 2006, following surpluses in 2003-04, and no expected change in 2005.

The EIU adds that Israel's economic recovery will continue in 2006. Exports, investment, private consumption, and real wages will rise, as will government spending. On the other hand, the unemployment rate will fall faster than expected, and the government's budget deficit will fall to within the government target, excluding major expenses related to financing the disengagement plan.

Today in History

2005-04-21T04:58:00.000+03:00

THIS WEEK
IN FALCONS HISTORY
April 21, 2001:
The Falcons trade Tim Dwight, their first-round and third-round picks and a second-round choice in 2002 to San Diego for the number one pick, which they use to select Michael Vick

Good move

Amsterdam

2005-04-20T21:15:00.000+03:00

2005-04-20T20:45:00.000+03:00

Feeling a bit skeptical about the U.N. lately? Probably so. Well, in case your not, here's a little recap of all the "reform" thats been going on over there under the carefil watch of Kofi Annam...

From today's WSJ -

Yet more scandal at the United Nations? Secret deals, millions in bribes, leading to billions in global kickbacks? What to do?

Have no fear, reform is here. The United Nations has already put in place a sweeping set of improvements, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan reorganizing and streamlining the world body to bring about, according to a U.N. reform dossier, "a culture of greater openness, coherence, innovation and confidence." A blue-ribbon panel has "set more stringent standards for judging the performance of peacekeepers, in the field and at Headquarters." And there is now a system for dealing with U.N. staff, that "gives more precedence to merit and competence and less to tenure and precedent."

All of which sounds terrific. Except that the reforms cited above, heralding the new era of openness, coherence, competence, integrity and improved peacekeeping are all plucked from a U.N. dossier released almost three years ago, in June 2002. These reforms were shepherded through by Mr. Annan starting in the late 1990s.

Since the U.N.'s self-described dawn of integrity three years ago (one of several such sunrises since Mr. Annan became secretary-general in 1997), we have seen the sex-for-food scandal in the Congo, featuring the rape of minors by U.N. peacekeepers, which continued well after press disclosures last year prompted a U.N. internal investigation. We have seen theft at the World Meteorological Association, scandal in the U.N. audit department, the resignation over sexual harassment charges of the refugee high commissioner Ruud Lubbers, turmoil within the Electoral Assistance Division, and allegations of corruption involving the U.N.'s Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization. We have seen rebellion by the U.N. Staff Union against "senior management, and a raft of resignations by senior U.N. officials who nonetheless linger on the premises on official salaries of a dollar a year, plus the various perquisites and connections the place affords.

I won't even include the Kofi/Saddam "Oil for Food" scandal. If you want to delve into that, check out the rest of the article by Claudia Rossett.

http://www.

2005-04-20T16:07:00.000+03:00

THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN MOVED.

IT'S NEW LOCATION IS ON THE WHITE SANDY BEACHES OF TEL AVIV

PLEASE NOTE THIS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

2005-04-04T01:16:00.000+03:00

Not that I've been writing much lately but at least now I have an excuse. I'm heading off to Turkey today so I probably wont be communicating with the blog for a while.

But first, I leave you with your monthly dose of Jewish Sports Trivia: Dusty Baker will be out of a job by Sept. 1, 2005

Peace

I wore it just for you, honey

2005-03-22T09:46:00.000+02:00

So this morning as I'm sitting on the bus to J-lem, minding my own business, lost in my own world of listening to tunes on the headphones and soaking up the unusually warm weather and brilliantly clear blue skies, contemplating life while the beautiful Judean Hills roll by, my entire blissful experience was shattered by the arrival of a female passenger who selfishly couldn't find time for a decent shower, yet somehow managed to swim a few laps in her very own Olympic-sized bottle of perfume. Of course she chose to sit directly in front of me, and anybody who knows me is aware of the fact that I have an unusually strong olfactory system, and as such, will understand when I say that from the moment this women got within a half mile of the bus, nothing else mattered except for the overwhelming dominance of the lingering scent which emanated from every inch of her body.

The sense of smell is one of the seven senses of the human body, all of which are quite amazing. And while at times we may take these senses for granted, we seem to become acutely aware of them when things go awry. And this morning I was reminded of all the bad that can come from the incredible blessing of being endowed with these amazing, and also critical, sensory functions.

Just as passengers tend to be bothered by groups of hoodlums playing ear-shattering music from a three-story boombox, just as we tend to be acutely aware of the annoying little twirp screaming at his mother on the cellphone, just as most of us are understandably sensitive to the shared-seat partner rubbing his/her leg against your own, and almost as intrusive as being given a front-row seat to a teenage couple's championship tongue-wrestling match, I feel that thirty minutes exposure to someone else's pungent odor, whether it be leftover gas from Thursday nights casserole or a dousing in Calvin Klein's "Turniquet of Death", is simply too much for the sensory system to process at 7:30 in the morning.

Is it too much to ask of all those leaving the privacy of their own personal dwellings for a venture into the public domain to have a little consideration and refrain from forcing the entire world to be an active participant in their daily selection of stench?

Please, for the love of G-d, let me be.

Hit a bump in the road?

2005-03-21T00:24:00.000+02:00

"Do what you can with what you have where you are."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Fact or Fiction?

2005-03-16T20:08:00.000+02:00

The city of Eilat has the highest percentage of female taxi drivers in the world.

- Sheik Ibrahim

2005-03-15T01:19:00.000+02:00

Can someone please explain to me the wisdom of setting up rushhour, roadblocking, traffic stopping, anti-disengagement protests in the middle of the busiest highway in Tel Aviv? Do these people really think they are gaining any goodwill or winning over the minds of the very same people whom they are preventing from getting home to see their husbands, wives, and kids after a long days work?

Do you really think this is going to win support for the already isolated messianic dreamers willing to kill their own children in Gaza?

Not quite as bad as the Holocaust badge, but still another desperate gaffe in calculations by a very stiffnecked group of people.

Vegetarians need not apply

2005-03-09T13:28:00.000+02:00

The other day I was searching for a recipe (don't ask me why) and I came across a fascinating cook book by Adelaide Hollingsworth, The Columbia Cook Book, written in 1893. In it I found such complelling recipes as scrapple, ox cheek, baked calves head, tips for the preparation of racoon, possum, snipe, plovers, and blackbirds (for blackbird pie) and "how to broil, fricassee, stew or fry a squirrel."

But wait, there's more. It seems this is much more than just a cookbook. To cure "offensive feet", one should "take one part muriatic acid to ten parts water; rub the feet every night with this mixture before retiring to bed." To rid your mouth of the odor of onions, drink strong coffee. To keep milk sweet longer, add horseradish.

Hollingsworth also added sage medical advice - "don't sit between a fever patient and a fire" - and provided various techiniques for dealing with medical emergencies, such as accidental poisoning. Among the list of measures effective for inducing vomiting, she included: "Injections of tobacco into the anus through a pipe stem."

Hope this is helpful.

2005-03-08T07:58:00.000+02:00

So far everything's going smoothly toward peace and mutual understanding in the region.

"On Monday, PA forces in Tulkarm stepped up preparations for assuming control. Dozens of troops marched in formation, jumped through flaming hoops and performed martial-arts exercises.

At one point, the soldiers formed a human pyramid and cried out, "Jerusalem is ours!" Later, the soldiers sprinted and jumped headfirst through a hoop lined with a flaming cloth." - Jerusalem Post 08 March, 2005

You don't think the Jerusalem thing's gonna be an issue do you?

2005-02-27T00:00:00.000+02:00

Just because I'm here in Israel doesn't mean I stop being a Cubs fan.

Phone lines were jammed and computers were working overtime as the first day of single-day Cubs tickets went on sale to the public.

Officials at SBC Illinois said there was a huge spike in call volume around 10 a.m. -- when the tickets went on sale.

According to the local phone company, Cubs fans dialed the ticket sales hotline nearly 260,000 times in the first two hours tickets were on sale. By 2 p.m., more than 1.76 million calls were made.

No other local phenomenon has matched that volume of calls since the first season of "American Idol."

2005-02-24T18:10:00.000+02:00

Wall Street Journal column that proves Richard Daley really is related to Rudy Guliani.

2005-02-24T08:58:00.000+02:00

The Falcons should sign Plaxico Burress immediately.

2005-02-22T13:53:00.000+02:00

Recently I've been overcome with a longing for the good ol' United States. In light of this, I thought that perhaps compiling a list of the things I miss the most might help ease the pain.

Top Ten Things I Miss About the USA

11) Target
10) Sundays
9) Free Colgate
8) Sushi
7) Paycheck
6) Abe Lincoln
5) Super Target
4) Cary Sherman
3) Health Insurance
2) Net Flix
1) Charmin
1) March Madness

2005-02-22T13:46:00.000+02:00

Here's your no-so-typical Obituary for Hunter S. Thompson which appears in today's WSJ and written by Tom Wolfe (Electric Cool Aid Acid Test). It's actually a pretty good read.

2005-02-22T13:25:00.000+02:00

Anybody want to write a one page essay for me stating why I merit financial assistance from Nefesh B'Nefesh? Accepting all applicants. Please respond immediately.

2005-02-20T23:46:00.000+02:00

From Scrappleface.com Feb. 16, 2005

Jimmy Carter Attack Sub Armed with Nerf Missiles
by Scott Ott

(2005-02-16) -- The U.S. Navy on Saturday will commission its newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Jimmy Carter, with many new features, including multiple-warhead Nerf missiles.

President Carter, who brought peace to the middle east, vigorously defended America's right to give away the Panama Canal and, in 1994, convinced North Korea to abandon talking about its nuclear weapons, said he's honored to have his name on "one of the most powerful peacemaking devices on earth."

Jimmy Carter is the first of the American Seahare-class subs, featuring a high-tech sonar system which alerts enemy forces to its presence and a safety device on the Nerf missiles which allows firing only after an enemy missile impact.

"This new generation of nuclear submarines is designed to use trust in our enemies as our first line of defense," said an unnamed Navy spokesman.

President Carter has invited leaders from North Korea and Iran to the commissioning ceremony, during which former First Lady Rosalyn Carter, in a time-honored Navy tradition, will give the first order to "man our ship, bring her to life then park her over there by the dock!"

2005-02-07T23:13:00.000+02:00

My mom's story appeared in today's Jerusalem Post. Enjoy.

If you need a ID and password, use mine.

Avrahamavinu
Lechlecha

2005-02-06T14:25:00.000+02:00

Well, I've been in Israel exactly four months now and many people ask about the biggest difference between living here versus the U.S. While there are many things that stand out, one thing is perfectly clear. You get much better boogers here.

2005-02-05T22:39:00.000+02:00

"If the prisoners aren't released, we will return to the cycle of violence."
- Palestinian Authority Minister of Communications Azzam al- Ahmed

They've extended their hand in peace...

2005-02-05T22:31:00.000+02:00

LOOKIN' FOR TWO!

If anybody wants to enjoy a Cubs game with me at Wrigley Field any time between June 22 and Aug. 10 all you need is the tickets. Good seats only. No obstructed view. Bleachers are fine. I prefer day games.

Thanks.

2005-02-05T22:19:00.000+02:00

My Mom's story appeared in this week's Atlanta Jewish Times. Read it.

Shavua tov to all.

2005-01-31T21:35:00.001+02:00

"I don't shower very much."
- Fletch

This pretty much describes me these days...

2005-01-28T15:16:00.000+02:00

Chesed: loving kindness and mercy

"The world is built with chesed." (Psalms 89:3)

Chesed, one of the most fundamental concepts in Jewish life, is generally thought of in terms of various acts of kindness performed by one person on behalf of another. Because we spend so much time focusing on our own abilities to impact the world and those around us (charity, caring for the sick, volunteering, a warm smile to a stranger), it seems we often forget that it is the constant acts of kindness performed by G-d on our own behalf that have as much, if not greater impact on our lives. In fact, it seems that many times these acts of kindness from G-d go completely unnoticed. Nevertheless, I'm convinced that it is both forms of chesed, those acts performed between one man and another, and also those acts performed by G-d on our own behalf that help sustain humanity in the midst of this dark and brutal world in which we live.

One may certainly question whether the creation of this brutal world was truly an act of chesed. Are we really better off living in a world of such utter brutality and dismay than had we never been created at all? Obviously, this is an age old philosophical question which will most certainly continue to be debated long after we are gone. But regardless of the answer, it is into this world that we were born, and so long as we are here we must somehow find a way to live, prosper, and find happiness.

My Mom is a survivor of the Shoah (Holocaust). She was just a child when her family was torn asunder and she was forced onto the deportation trains that would pull her away from her father, her home, and her childhood forever. It was June 1942 and life became a desperate attempt to survive in the midst of concentration camps, displaced person camps, hiding places, sickness, death, trains, praying for a single potato to be thrown her way, and watching her mother fight to keep her dignity in a place in which Jews were forced to warm themselves with horse piss during the frigid Ukrainian/Rumanian/German winters.

Somehow my Mom was one of the lucky one's who made it out alive. Following the war, and several failed attempts to regain any semblance of the identity and life she had once lived, she came to America. Father was never seen again – what happened to him? Only G-d knew. What of their house in Rumania? Like most other homes, hers was stolen and inhabited by an anti-Semitic family that hadn't the slightest interest in returning it to its rightful owner when the war ended. Material belongings, clothing, piano, money – all gone. She came to America with her mother, sister, and nothing else.

Somehow my mother not only survived but also thrived in her new life. She built a new family – married a true mentch, had five children, two of whom now live in Israel, The Jewish Homeland, has seven grandchildren to date, taught hundreds of children at the Hebrew Academy of Atlanta, built her own company, travels around the world, and is currently a docent at the Bremen Holocaust Museum in Atlanta, GA. Yet despite her new life something has always been missing. Something big.

For sixty some-odd years my Mom was forced to live as a virtual orphan, never knowing what befell her entire family. Like a locked closet with no key, she's never known the details of what really happened, nor when, to all the relatives whom she never saw again. Today, the only thing remaining for my Mom and her sister is a single suitcase, a letter or two, and a couple of torn and tattered photographs, one of which is ripped down the middle. Never mind the fact that she's never known who may be included in the missing half of that photo, she hasn't even been able to positively identify some of those in the picture who are visible.

For much of my mother's life, like so many other survivors, she was unable to discuss the trauma she and her family endured during the war. Prior to her mother's passing in 1969, she never found the courage to discuss all the secrets and mysteries from their dark past. She never had the chance to probe her mother, the only adult survivor of the three, for answers to the terrifying questions they had been avoiding for so many years. What really transpired during those brutal years of 1942-45? What really happened to the rest of the Neumann family?

Over time my mother's attitude towards her past began to change. The First World Gathering of Holocaust Survivors took place in Jerusalem during the summer of 1980. On a whim, she picked up and went, not really knowing that she was about to open a true pandora's box. Upon her arrival she was immediately overwhelmed by thousands of fellow survivors crying, holding up pictures, searching for tidbits of information that would help unlock the mystery of their loved one's fate. It's important to remember that in 1980 there was still some sense of hope (fantasy) among survivors that perhaps some of those never heard from would magically reappear. As a child, I seem to remember my Mom being one of those people still clinging to her dream that father would someday return. The scene of all those survivors standing there with their black and white photo's must have been eerily similar to the days immediately following 9/11 in which survivors and family members held their own candlelight vigils near the site of the WTC hoping to find somebody/anybody alive. But this time, as opposed to three thousand murdered, it was six million human beings who had perished at the hands of the Nazi's (yemach shemam!). And unfortunately this wasn't 2-3 days after the event; it was thirty five years after the near-total annihilation of European Jewry.

Unfortunately, the trip to the Survivors Gathering resulted in only dead-ends for my mother and no serious leads. But the conference and the experience itself kindled something inside my mother that led to her dedicating the next twenty five years of her life to researching any and all potential clues that may help shed light on the clouded picture of her untimely beginning in this world. She's been back to Israel's Yad Vashem Museum (the world's foremost Holocaust archive center) several times to meet and work with the museums records and survivor assistance personnel. She's worked with the U.S. Holocaust Museum too, once locating the actual transport records that showed her mother's name listed among those transported to the labor and concentration camps in Transnystria. She and her sister traveled back to their home town in Czernowitz in Rumania. She's worked the libraries, attended other survivor conferences, searched foreign phone books and written letters. Yet nothing ever amounted to much until about a month and a half ago.

Around ten years ago, Yad Vashem embarked on an information-gathering project that would one day lead to the creation of the world's largest database (over three million entries collected) pertaining to victims of the Holocaust. As some of you may already know, Yad Vashem began collecting “pages of testimony” commemorating the names and details of victims’ lives in 1954. The process of computerizing the database began in 1994. One of the methods of information-gathering employed by the museum was to send to every Israeli citizen a package which contained a request to forward the enclosed forms to any known Holocaust survivor. The forms contained questions which would assist in garnering facts regarding the last known whereabouts of place, time, and cause of death for any people known to have perished in the Holocaust. Roughly six weeks ago, after many years of exhausting research, Yad Vashem finally launched the YAD VASHEM website.

When I first heard about the database, I remember wondering whether this was just another futile attempt to find that which was totally destroyed by the Nazi's (yemach shemam). After all, it was now sixty years later and I had watched my mother struggle (always with the most positive attitude one could ever imagine) through so many hopeless attempts to piece together her childhood. But shortly after the websites initial release, thanks to the tireless efforts of my sister and brother-in-law in Atlanta, things began to move in a different direction.

Sister and brother-in-law spent hours digging through hints, clues, misspelled names, foreign languages, strange handwriting, you name it. Finally, against great odds, they somehow found a distant relative who was still alive as of 1999 and living right here in Israel. I got a phone call from my sister one morning asking me to find this person. My sister and brother-in-law here in Israel searched through the Israeli version of the White Pages and successfully located this person, along with a local phone number and Jerusalem address. Can you imagine the excitement? What would we say? How would they react? Would we actually meet? Does he know what happened to anybody else in the family? Are others still alive? Did we really just find true mishpacha? Simply amazing.

To say that what happened next was a disappointment would be one of the world's biggest understatements. We called the phone number of our seemingly last living relative with indescribable hope only to be informed by the voice on the other end that our long lost cousin had passed away several years ago. We never got the chance to meet, hug, compare notes, and build a relationship. And to make matters worse, this gentleman's wife now suffers from some sort of mental illness or Alzheimer's disease and is unable to share any of the information that my mom (and all of us) so badly crave. Another door slammed in my mom's face. But my sister and brother-in-law in Atlanta refused to give up, and thank G-d for them. Only a few days later they discovered gold.

I remember the exact minute five weeks ago when we got the phone call here in Israel like it was this morning. It was a rainy, chilly Friday at 7:30 AM, and my sister should have been fast asleep in Atlanta, GA. Instead, she was on the other end of the line, screaming something about having just hung up the phone with an 84 year old woman living in Holon (Israel) who is my grandfather's first cousin. It's true! This woman, Koka, is my mother's first cousin, once-removed, and she's alive and well, living only 60 kilometers from where I sit right now.

I'm sitting here because I have the great privilege to be spending my first few months in Israel living in the home of my oldest sister and her wonderful family. She and I spent that entire Friday and Shabbat screaming, dancing, singing. "Mom has a cousin!" "What is Mom gonna think?" It was still only 3 AM in Atlanta when the initial connection with Koka was made, and my parents were presumably still sleeping. My sister and I spent the entire Shabbat here in a state of joy and bewilderment. What would Mom's reaction be?

When we finally spoke to Mom on Sunday, I was a bit under whelmed by her initial reaction. She seemed to be downplaying the entire episode as if survivors of the world's worst calculated massacre in history come across long lost cousin's everyday. But my Dad, my siblings, and I sensed that this time it was for real. Perhaps Mom was feeling that this too was simply another false alarm in a long string of false alarms. In retrospect I completely understand why her reaction didn't exactly match our own level of enthusiasm and excitement. After all, she's lived sixty years with absolutely no tangible memories of any family outside of her mother (1969) and sister. I have no idea how she made it this far. Wouldn't you feel cheated if this was your life? Amazingly, I never heard my Mom ever say anything even resembling an attitude such as that. She endured some twenty five years of exhaustive, fruitless searches in an attempt to locate someone, anyone, that would look like her, sound like her, share some of the same memories, and most of all, help her understand what in the hell happened.

The timing of our discovery is just as much a part of the miracle as is the discovery itself. Due to logistical considerations such as geographic separation, it would normally be next to impossible for our entire family to be together in Israel to go meet Koka. But the fact that our discovery was made only a month before my nephews bar mitzvah ensured that there would be fourteen of us traveling up to Holon to go meet our newest relative. Two weeks ago, January 10 2005, parasha Vayera 5765 we all piled into a rented van and commenced one of the finest celebrations of our lives. And believe me when I say this was a true celebration of life itself. Four generations of family who had never before met were present, including five of my Mom's grandchildren and two Holocaust survivors. Needless to say there was plenty of crying, hugging, story telling, exchanging of pictures, family tree's, the whole bit. One of the most amazing things about the whole experience was learning that it wasn't just my Mom who thought everybody else had perished. You see, Koka too had spent the last sixty years thinking that my Mom and her sister had died in the war. She never thought she would ever see them again.

Koka to my Mom: "How many times have you been to Israel? How many times have we been only fifty kilometers away from each other and we never found each other? How can it be???" "Your daughter lives here for six years and we never found each other until now???"

Mom to Koka: "I never thought I would find somebody who loves me like family."

Mom and Koka sat holding hands for more than two hours.

My sister, the one that found Koka on the internet, has a five year old daughter whose middle name is Nesya (which means "miracle" in Hebrew). She was given this name because she was born during Chanukkah, the holiday of public miracles. Little did her parents know at the time that one day they would be the one's responsible for discovering Koka, a true living miracle and a true living relative of our mother. To make matters even more miraculous, I'm sure they also never imagined finding out that Koka's own mother, of blessed memory, was also named Nesya. As well, Koka also gave the name Nesya to her very own daughter as well. Some things are truly unbelievable.

Koka was nineteen years old when she was deported for the concentration camps. She was fourteen years older than my mom and thus has a vastly wider memory of the events that took place. She remembers playing with my mom as a baby and even remembers my mom's nickname "Paulika". She's also got one of the very same pictures that my mom has always kept with her. Koka provided details of exactly what happened to my grandfather (of blessed memory), my mom's father, and even the timing of his abduction and death. She told us how she was present with her own mom and my mother's grandmother when they both died from starvation in the freezing snow on the same day. She told other frightening stories of some of what they endured.

After about an hour of talking about the past, Koka was tired and worn out. We spent the next couple of hours talking about nicer things such as our new lives and our hopes for the future. To my delight, I discovered that her son-in-law actually owns two falafel stores in Holon. This was truly another miracle in our day of miracles. I love this man. As for the rest of the story about those awful times, we will have to continue at a later date, but thank G-d I now live in Israel so I hope to continue strengthening our relationship as much as possible.

I don't think all has sunk in yet so I'm going to stop here for now. But I started out by recounting something my father mentioned to our family as we sat together trying to assess our feelings after this historic day. He reminded us that the world was created with chesed and is maintained through chesed. Sometimes it's the chesed between man and man which takes place on the street, in the store, or waiting on line at the bank. But sometimes, and perhaps even more powerfully, it is the chesed performed by G-d for our own benefit that makes us realize that this world is not so dark and scary after all. There's still plenty of beauty here after all.

Terrorism, tsunami's, war, disease, murder, famine, AIDS, strife, child abuse, spousal abuse, drugs, pornography, hatred, division… This is our world. Yet it is the experience of performing and receiving true acts of chesed that will continue to make this world a better place.

The underlying foundation of all existence is a gift.

Falafel man and me

2005-01-26T23:40:00.000+02:00

This past Tuesday I traveled to Gush Katif in Gaza to plant trees in honor of Tu B'shvat. It was quite an amazing experience. Gush Katif is absolutely beautiful, the people are so welcoming. We had a great day planting trees, touring several communities, visiting the second largest greenhouse in the Middle East, watched a glorious sunset on the beach, and davened mincha with a bunch of brave young soldiers outside in terrific weather. The trip was written up by Arutz-7 and there's even a picture of our group in the article.

Life is great here, things are progressing, and I wish you all could be here. Come join us soon.

Planting in Gush Katif

World press covering the "settler activities".

Train to Akko last week

Tel Aviv on Monday

Crack Town

Down Town Crack Town

Efrat Rainbow

2005-01-21T08:19:00.000+02:00

Jerusalem Post Friday 21, January 2005

Israel is certain to face Hizbullah rocket attacks on northern Israel in the future similar to the near-daily attacks that have been launched from the Gaza Strip, OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen Benny Gantz said Thursday.

While Hizbullah has in the past fired rockets at northern border towns, Gantz said that now 30 percent of Israel is within the range of Hizbullah's rockets.

"I am not aware of any non-state organization that has such capabilities in the world," Gantz said.

He quoted CIA Director George Tenet as saying that the Iranian-financed and Syrian-backed Hizbullah is "an equal if not a far more capable" organization than al-Qaida.

2005-01-17T21:38:00.000+02:00

DID SOMEONE SAY PEACE?

New Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has issued instructions to recruit gunmen belonging to Fatah's armed wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, into the security forces.

"These men will play a role in building the PA and its institutions," he said, referring to scores of Fatah gunmen wanted by Israel for their involvement in terrorism.

If they are truly serious about getting into a new line of work, it behooves us to take a quick perusal of The Al Aksa Martys Brigade most recent resume.

Al Aksa Martys

Education:

Several generations raised in the stronghold of Islamic mosques. Bred to hate and kill anything Jewish. Spiritual leaders ranging from Sheik Yassin to Adolf Hitler.

Recent Experience:

March 14, 2004 Ashdod 10 killed, 16 wounded - Twin suicide bombings at port

February 22, 2004 Jerusalem 8 killed, over 60 wounded - Suicide bombing on bus

January 29, 2004 Jerusalem 10 killed, 50 wounded - Suicide bombing on bus

January 5, 2003 Tel Aviv 23 killed, 108 injured - Two suicide bombers in an immigrant neighborhood

Apr 12, 2002 Jerusalem 6 killed, 104 injured - Suicide bomb in Mahane Yehuda market

References:

Hamas
Islamic Jihad
Hizbullah
Force-17
Al Queada
Yasser Arafat
Osama B. Laden
Saddam Hussein

Feel free to check out further details regarding the most recent attacks perpetrated by Al Aksa and many other professional terror groups operating in the middle east.

2005-01-14T14:58:00.000+02:00
A wise man once said that insanity is doing the same thing over again and somehow expecting a different result to occur. I think it's important to keep this in mind as we read about the exodus from Egypt in this weeks parasha. Just as our redemption from Egypt has been the defining moment in our history, it was also the starting point for everything else that we as a people and a "light unto the nations" were to become.

And now, we in our lifetimes, face some of the same challenges, tasks and responsiblties, both as individuals and as a nation. The Jewish State has come to life against all odds and opposition. But what we have today is only the starting point for everything else that will follow. It is important for us to look towards our future while using our past as a guiding light, by paying close attention to what transpired, both the successes and the failures of our ancestors, in order to make this thing work this time around. This is our third attempt at building Jewish sovereingty in our homeland, lets not let this one slip away again.

And while Judaism places much emphasis on our past, it is important to remember that the underlying principle throughout the Tora is our dreams, aspirations, and building for the future. But this can only be done by using the examples of the past to help find our way through today and tomorrow. To do anything otherwise, to think that we can succeed without the knowledge of the Tora and of all that our ancestors have been through, would be sheer arrogance and destined to fail.

Shabbat shalom um'vorach.

2005-01-13T23:37:00.000+02:00
"It's all very well to come down hard on him, but he's been through a lot, and I fully support him 100 percent.

"I hope the world accepts his apology," she said. "He deserves a break, really."

- Duchess of England Sarah Ferguson commenting on Prince Harry after he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party.

When she says he deserves a break because he's "been through alot", do you think she's talking about the little brats drug usage, alcohol binges, endless streams of cash, fashion model girlfriends, owning horse stables in Argentina, cheating on final exams at Eton Edexcel, beating up a photographer outside a London nightclub, playing polo every Saturday afternoon, or spending summer's in the casino's on the French Riviera?

2005-01-12T22:11:00.000+02:00
Druid Hills Golf Club,in the heart of Atlanta, GA, nestled between Emory University and downtown, is about to make the big time. The national press has begun it's coverage of the battle between the premier Atlanta golf club and gay rights activists. The club, it seems, has resisted a city order to allow spousal benefits to its gay members.

Here's the way the case seems to break down: The State of Georgia has a ban against same-sex marriages. At the same time, the City of Atlanta "prohibits businesses and other groups dealing with the public from discriminating against gays or their partners." Meanwhile, the club has a benefit policy that allows the spouses of it's married members to play the course unaccompanied for up to six months after the members death. It seems the club is refusing to extend this benefit to partners of its gays members. The club also does not offer this benefit to it's non-married heterosexual couples.

I've played this course in the past and it is certainly one of the nicest I've ever played. Well maicured greens, extremely knowledgable - if not arrogant - caddies. The clubhouse also has fantastic french fries (Heinz ketchup of course) and a well stocked bar. One of my oldest friends (heterosexual, I assure you) is even a member. Nevertheless, I personally always felt the club to be a bit snobby and waspish for my taste. But all the same, I think the club has a good point.

If the state does not permit gay marriages, than these couples are not married. They are just like any other non-married couple and should be treated as such. Why should non-married homosexual couples be entitled to anything other than the exact same rights as non-married heterosexual couples?

My first prediction is that the club will win this case in a State Court ruling. My next prediction is that these rights activists will use their public relations machine to smear the reputation of this club even if the club is found to have done nothing wrong. How common in this day and age, and yet still a shame.

2005-01-12T18:24:00.000+02:00
If you have time, I suggest reading the Commentary Magazine essay about the annual conference of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement held recently at Duke University. Somehow, I just can't picture any university, much less Duke, allowing an anti-African American, anti-gay, anti-women, anti-anything organization to spew such hatred and incitment on campus. This prestigious honor seems to be reserved for the Jews.

2005-01-12T18:20:00.000+02:00
"The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me."

-The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume I, "Speech on the Sub-Treasury" (in the Illinois House of Representatives, December 26, 1839), p. 178.

2005-01-12T18:10:00.000+02:00
"Achieving peace in the Holy Land is not just a matter of pressuring one side or the other on the shape of a border or the site of a settlement. This approach has been tried before without success. As we negotiate the details of peace, we must look to the heart of the matter, which is the need for a Palestinian democracy."
- President George W. Bush during recent visit to Canada

2005-01-12T16:40:00.000+02:00
On December 7, 2004, the United Nations sponsored an all-day forum on tolerance towards Muslims entitled, "Confronting Islamophobia: Education for Tolerance and Understanding." I wonder when, if ever, Secretary-General Kofi Annan will open a similar forum on tolerance towards Christians in Saudi Arabia, where, as the State Department reported in their 2003 annual report, "worshippers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation and sometimes torture for engaging in religious activity that attracts official attention." I won't bother detailing the Saudi policy towards those of the Jewish faith...

2005-01-03T21:09:00.000+02:00
"There won't be stability in the region until each one of the refugees feels that he has attained his freedom to return to his home. Without this, the refugees will use all methods available to achieve the right of return."
- Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) Dec. 2004 on Gulf Tour

"We came to you today, while we are praying for the souls of the martyrs who were killed today by the shells of the Zionist enemy in Beit Lahiya," Abbas told thousands of supporters, using a term for Israel usually employed by Islamic militants."
- Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) Jan. 04, 2004

With over eighty Kassam rockets fired at Israelis in Gush Katif during the last two weeks, and with Abbas using the rhetoric of his thug predecessor Arafat and the rest of the Muslim murderers, it is inconceivable to think that a well-intentioned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will not be viewed as Israeli weakness and a victory for our enemies. Hamas, Al Aksa Brigades, PFLP, al Qaida, Hizbullah, the Iranians, Force-17, and all the other "militants" will find continued encouragement to send mortars, Kassams, Katyushas, and human time bombs throughout our country as they continue to pursue a very public strategy of driving us from our country one piece at a time.

New Years Prediction:
Jimmy Carter this time will declare the upcoming election on the West Bank "impressive, fair and judicious" without having to leave the Carter Center in Atlanta.
- Victor D. Hanson 1-02-05

My visit to Gaza a few weeks ago.

2004-12-20T01:12:00.000+02:00
Family Day at the Kotel - Hanachat Tefellin for my nephew Avi

Chanukah vacation in Eilat

This is my my nephew wakeboarding

This is me wakeboarding

2004-12-19T14:15:00.000+02:00
To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.

- Jack Handy

The Village Idiot

2004-12-19T01:52:00.000+02:00
This is a true story........

By Edgar Lefkovitz, for the Jerusalem Post

Two intoxicated female British tourists who were sexually assaulted by their Jerusalem Arab taxi driver fended him off with blows which left him hospitalized, police said Tuesday.

The incident, which took place late Sunday night, began after the two tourists, who are in their 20's, were picked up by the driver from the city's popular Underground Disco and asked to be driven to the youth hostel in the Jerusalem community of Shoresh.

On the way, the driver pulled over on a darkened patch of the road, and started to commit an indecent sexual act on one of the tourists, police said.

The two fought back, beating the driver and even damaging his cab.

The surprised driver – who was so badly beaten that he required medical treatment at Jerusalem's Hadassah University Hospital at Ein Kerem – was placed under arrest.

He was later released on bail.

The two tourists involved in the incident were questioned by police, and are still in Israel, police said.

J-Post Article

What kind of reaction do you think this guy got when his Fatah buddies found out that his black eye and busted lip was inflicted by a couple of white, European, drunk women in Israel???

2004-12-06T17:33:00.000+02:00
'Twas the nite before Chanukah

Several thoughts to share....

First of all, I bit my tongue yesterday and it still hurts. More on that later.

Next.... As most of you realize by now, I seemed to have gone a bit crazy in my desire to learn Hebrew. Some concerned friends and family members have even commented that I appear to be a bit psychotic. But I continue to stand firm and committed to the position I've staked and to the path I've chosen.

I realize that this path may be somewhat different from that taken by many of my counterparts, most of whom tend to get to Israel and start out enjoying the country for a while, catching up with old friends from the states, maybe even attending a few classes or a Yeshiva in an English speaking environment, looking for a job (English speaking, of course) and finding new friends similar to themselves. I, on the other hand, seem to have chosen the road less travelled. I've detailed in previous posts the many extra hours spent every week outside the classroom working on my Hebrew and also spending five of my first nine Shabbatot at my ulpan teachers home, so I won't go into that any further. What I really want to say is that I think the reason for my persistence has finally crystalized and I realize why it's so important to me.

Even before I arrived in Israel, I had established that learning Hebrew was to be my first major priority. I was fully aware that learning the language of the people would provide the critical springboard to finding work, career, a future, and quite simply, assimilating into society. I also thought it would be pretty fun to learn a new language, something I've never done before.

After a while, when the going got tough, I began to really throw myself into this thing head first, with all my efforts and energy. I spent my time doing classwork, homework, reading about the history of the Hebrew language, speaking my butchered version of Hebrew/English to anyone willing to deal with my stubborness, and fretting about how long this whole process is taking. And sometimes it really does seem like I'm moving at a snails pace.

Then one day a few weeks ago I came to the realization that perhaps the real reason for my insanity is that deep down, my brain is really just yearning for a sort of rejewvination that can only come from an excruciatingly, torturous challenge. Afterall, anyone from my two previous communities in Grand Rapids and Chicago who knows me is well aware of the fact that I spent the last two years cruising thru life, living fat off my cush job, and going to Cubs games three, sometimes four times a week. How many weekday afternoons were spent drinking beer in the sun with 37,645 of my best friends at Wrigley Field??? Then there were the countless festivals, concerts, scotch tastings, bike rides, afternoons at the bookstore, treks to every possible tourist site in Chicago (except for Lincoln's home, which I'm still bummed about), cholent cook-offs, BBQ'ing in the middle of the afternoon, entertaining friends from around the country who'd come visit in the middle of the week, two hour sushi lunches, etc.... I was truly blessed to have had a great job that I was able to master with relative ease and which payed me entirely too much money (not to mention the abundance of free toothpaste, dish soap, laundry detergent, etc...). To put it quite simply, I figured out how to put my job in cruise control and let it run itself. Amazingly, both my client and my employer seemed to be constantly enthralled with my results. Thank You Hashem!

But in retrospect, while this need to have my mind and spirit challenged after so much down time is completely accurate, I don't think that this summation truly captures the essence of my infatuation with mastering the language. You see, this past weekend I realized something all new. And I'll preface this latest revelation by stating that I came to Israel without having many friends here at all. In fact, quite the opposite. I know practically nobody here. Due to my background, I wasn't surrounded by a circle of friends that came to Israel for a year or two after high school and then either stayed here or ultimately came back with their families. Quite frankly, as a teen and even into my twenties, Israel was the furthest thing from my mind. It seems that I discovered my heart and soul a little later in life than some. So, to make a long story short, I didn't have the benefit of coming to a country filled with old friends, classmates, and the support network that so many other seem to walk into.

But something very nice happened to me after Shabbat this week that's made me think about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. You see, I realized that I'm finally succeeding in making new friends here, with people that I like a whole lot and have a huge amount of respect for. They're serious folks, intelligent, humorous and adventurous, which is somewhat like me, right? It's a great feeling to wake up from a two month abyss and realize that your finally beginning to see some daylight being shed on a new social circle.

So what's the problem??? You'd think I was on the right track. But there is a problem, and it's frustrating the hell out of me. You see, most of my new friends speak fluent Hebrew with little or no English and I speak fluent English with little or no Hebrew. Now, this can certainly be of benefit to me in that I'm exposed to much more Hebrew on a daily basis than many of my classmates living in Efrat, which allows me to pick things up a bit quicker than some. But true friendship entails much more than simply hanging out to work on one's own personal language skills. Friendship is about sharing, communicating, and learning from one another. And right now I can't do any of that. Well, that's not exactly 100% true because naturally we do learn from each others actions and we also succeed somewhat with what we are able to speak to each other. But still, it's extremely frustrating because I'm feel unable to share most of my thoughts, insights, and creativity to these fine people. At this point in time, I just don't have the command of the language, nor the vocabulary, to convey any thoughts beyond the simplest concepts. It's really driving me crazy because I understand enough about these people to know that I really like them and I can learn so much from them. And I also get the feeling that they really like me, but at the same time, I know inside that they really don't know me all that well. How can they? I've never been able to share with them any of my uniqueness, my humor, my true thoughts on Torah, society, politics, life, etc... I have so much inside of me that I think is worth sharing, that may have some value to others, yet I'm completely unable to verbalize any of these thoughts and ideas. I hope nobody will take offense to this, but it feels a bit like what I imagine paralysis would feel like. Having complete control of the mind yet unable to move or speak. Being able to see your freinds standing around you and yet not being able to say a word to them. Now that's certainly an exaggeration, but so far, there have been many times in which we start an intellectual conversation, whether about the weekly Torah portion, politics, society, or life in general, and I can never express any of the thoughts that really make me who I am. So while we do fine communicating about the little stuff such as how's school? would you like more gravy? how many siblings do you have, etc... B'kitzur, we can't really dig much deeper to get to the core of who we really are. I wonder if they realize that there's so much more I want to say.

But I must say that there is hope. These people are obviously of the highest grain and thus, I'm sure they understand the boat I'm in. If we've grown this close up to now, I'm sure things will only get better as my comprehension of the things we discuss develops and matures. I've recently begun hearing people comment how much better my Hebrew is today than it was only a few weeks ago. Just in the last few days it seems that a "light" went on in my head (or as they say in Hebrew, ha'asimon nafal) and I've somehow gained a grasp of niphal and hipheel, two of the more complicated grammatical groupings in Hebrew. And tonite, I wasn't even thinking about it as I was speaking to an Israeli girl I know, and completely in Hebrew, I explained to her exactly what was bothering me, about not being able to communicate my deeper thoughts to my friends. And then she just looked back at me and said "Do you realize you just shared a deep thought with me? And you did it in Hebrew. Your doing great." So I guess there is hope after all.

Just knowing how great these people are is enough to keep me going. Realizing that learning Hebrew will allow me to share what's inside of me with my friends, and also allow me to learn what's inside them, is inspiration enough for me to continue along this path with strength, happiness, and continued determination.

Third thought for today.....

Today in ulpan I learned that many of the major battles of Chanukah took place only meters from where I'm sitting at this very moment. One of the reasons behind the Chanukah holiday is a commemoration of the successful revolt, led by the Chashmonai Family (the Maccabbee's as they were known), against the ruling Greeks. The Maccabbee's succeeded in freeing Jerusalem from the oppresive Greek (Hellenistic) Kingdom that had desecrated the Holy Temple and attempted to destroy the entire Jewish religion.

It seems that the most famous of the Maccabbee's, Judah Chashmonai, had four brothers, all of whom fought alongside their father Matityahu in the revolt. One of the brothers was named Elazar. Elazar led the Jews in one of the most famous battles of the war on a hilltop right around the corner from here. The story goes that the Greek battalion came riding up the road from Chevron on their way to Jerusalem when the Maccabbe contingent, led by Elazar, spotted the Greeks from a distance. Elazar saw the Greek general leading the pack riding atop an elephant. Elazar knew that if he could somehow kill the general in full view of the Greek army, it would deal a crushing blow to the troops morale. And so Elazar sprang from the trees and went charging head-first towards the general. Elazar caught them completely off guard and plunged his knife straight into the elephant's belly. Unfortunately the elephant fell over, crushing Elazar to death, but the general also fell to the ground and was killed within seconds by Elazar's troops who had followed him. While Elazar perished in this battle, his strategy was correct. Many of the Greek soldiers fled shortly after seeing such bravery and heroism, and the remaining Hellenist troops sustained enough casualties to drive them back and out of sight for a long, long time. The town right next to the one in which I am living is the exact spot where Elazar battled the Greeks and it is now known as Elazar. I can see it every morning when I walk outside.

To wake up tomorrow, on the eve of the first night of Chanukah, and go outside to walk on, feel, and smell the same land that our ancestors fought and died to protect will be something special. And then to realize what it was all about will be even more meaningful. Take a look around and see what we have in this beautiful country. The rest of the world wants to hate, criticize, and slander us, but we have somehow managed to put six million Jews in a place that was nothing but a burnt-out wasteland desert only one hundred years ago. Take a look at the land that so many of our ancestors have been forced to fight for so many times. We are now, thank G-d, one of the most powerful countries in the world. Europe is everyday envious of our success. This tiny country of Israel, the size of New Jersey, has a brighter future than that entire continent, which is soon to be run over by their friends, the holy muslims. We are one of the world's leading producers of new technology. Our contributions to world science and medicine is second to none. We have more nobel prize winners than all other Middle East countries put together. We're on target to complete the newest state-of-the-art rail system from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Modiin by 2006. There's more Torah learning going on here than ever before. Period. The streets and malls, shops and bars, cafes and public sites are filled everyday. Tourism is flourishing. No country in the world could have sustained the onslaught that Israel has and so quickly found a way to rebound and make its citizens feel as safe as you can anywhere in this crazy world.

It feels good to be here.

Mi Camocha Ba'Olam Elohim (MaCcaBbEe)

May our lights never be extinguished! Chag Sameach

2004-12-03T11:41:00.000+02:00
Not much time to write today but thought I'd post a few pictures from the past week. Had several good friends here which made it an extra special week. Had to say goodbye twice to people returning to the States which reminded me that I'm still not used to the fact that I don't have to leave. Most people dred leaving and I still have to pinch myself to believe I actually get to stay here. Pretty cool feeling. Went to a great Chabad wedding in Rishon L'Zion on Wednesday nite. Lots of dancing, singing, eating, and long beards. Spent Sunday nite and Monday in Tel Aviv. I don't care what anybody says, its a pretty cool city with great beaches, diverse population, and serious people who also want to have as much fun as they possibly can. Plus the weathers great. How can you argue with that?

D. Salita update - Dmitriy got invited to a Channuka party this Wednesday at the White House.

Hope to post again before the chag. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach to all.

Much love.

Saturday Nite with my Nephew. He's the coolest.

Tel Aviv - Tallest building in the Middle East. Go Figure.

Skateboarding two minutes from The Old City. You gotta love this place.

Wedding in Rishon L'Zion

2004-11-30T01:13:00.000+02:00
Not sure if any of you caught the Henry Seigman essay about Sharon and the Palestinians in the NY Times Magazine a couple of weeks ago, but i just couldn't let it go without offering a different perspective (my own).

Just a few comments I'd like to share regarding the review........

1) Seigman's entire thesis is bases on a naive, fantastical notion that giving land to the Palestianians will "end the conflict", as stated in his opening paragraph. What could possibly make this guy believe that a simple piece of land is what these people truly want? Has he just now awoken from a coma? The Palestinians have shown time and again that nothing less than 100% of Israel will satiate their rabid desires.

2) Seigman's pro-Palestinian bias is clearly evident throughout the entire review. While he is quick to point out the few voices within the Israeli govt. who claim there's no evidence to support a notion of a pre-planned Intifada, he completely ignores the hundreds, if not thousands of opinions within the Israeli military and intelligence establishment, as well as the documented perspectives of many of arafats aides and associates who support the commonly held belief that the intifada was planned long before Sharon's now famous visit to the holiest site in all of Judaism. Even Marwhan Barghouti still brags about his tactical planning to launch the intifada "when the time was right" (J. Post, 11/25/05)

3) Seigman cannot conceal the fact that he is either in the employ of, or vying for some sort of recognition by Peace Now. His essay is based entirely on facts provided by this extremely biased, non-scientific organization.

I will take just a minute to dispute his/their findings. Seigman attempts to glamorize and exaggerate the size of the "new" construction developments in the territories. He states that in the almost 500 settlements there are currently 3700 new construction projects. Even if this were true, that would mean less than eight new homes per town (or, what the rest of the anti-semetic world refers to as "settlements"). But the fact remains that this figure of "new construction" is both distorted and incorrect. In reality, Peace Now considers any building project to be new construction. For instance, any new room added to an existing home, any new road added to existing towns to better accomodate current residents, and even new roofs on existing homes are considered "new construction" by this Jew-hating, arabist organization. I doubt if Seigman has ever, or even cares to, take a ride thru Samaria and Judea to actually see what this organization considers "new construction".

In the meantime, neither Seigman nor Peace Now bother to calculate any of the illegal land grabs and true "new construction" occuring on a daily basis by the palestinians in the disputed territories.

4) If the reader can get beyond Seigman's hatred of Sharon and the rest of the Jewish leadership, both past and present, he should consider where Seigman's hope for the palestinian future lies. (Please keep in mind that I write Palestinian future, b/c Seigman obviously has no concern for an Israeli future living side-by-side with a PEACEFUL neighbor). Seigman's optimism lies with a so-called "young guard" within the palestinian national movement. While Seigman devotes a significant part of his essay to what he see's as a promising future based on this new movement, his only basis for optimism lies in the fact that they seem to be clamoring for leadership that is not as corrupt as past palestinian leadership - ie. don't steal all of our money.

While this is an admirable quality to be desired from a national movement, it in no way addresses this movements intentions vis-a-vis the State of Israel. It's one thing to push for economic reform, its an entirely different thing to ask for religious tolerance and an end to terrorism. Seigman seems to think Sharon's demands for a halt to incitment, a crackdown on terrorism, and conducting peaceful negotiations are not an attempt to protect Israeli lives and allow it's citizens to live in a free and peaceful society, but instead he portrays an image of brute force in an attempt to steal someone else's freedom and property. Bullucks! His confidence in this "young guard" somehow overlooks the fact that these "young guardians" were raised in a school system flooded with hatred, incitment, and death squad training.

5) Seigman claims that the notion of a palestinian desire to annihalate the State of Israel is completely unfounded and paranoid. I wonder how he explains the fact that the PA charter constitution still calls for the destruction of Israel??? Or why their school books still teach hatred of Jews and Israelis? Why the government sponsored media runs anti-semetic programming 24/7? How does he explain the fact that their maps still do not include The State of Israel??? How does he justify the madrassas and their preaching? What about the jubilation in the streets any time catastrophe strikes Israel or the US?

Seigman obviously missed last weeks interview with Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi, in which he described his conversation with arafat immediately after he signed the Oslo agreement. Atwan states that arafat said he agreed to sign the Oslo Accords because he was hoping the agreements would force thousands of Jews to flee Israel. (Jerusalem Post, 11/21/04)

Seigman is living in a world of fantasy, one in which he has conveniently skipped over the last 120 years of history. He has come back to life as an idealist without a cause. If only he would look into the facts a little more closely.

Just my personal thoughts.

2004-11-28T15:01:00.000+02:00
Not sure why it's taken me so long but I finally added a link (below) to Dmitriy Salita's website. This guy's an observant Jew and undeafeated professional boxer. He's currently 20-0 in the Junior Welterweight division and is coming off his most difficult fight, a unanimous decision that went the distance in NYC last week. This kid is legit in both his religious lifestyle and also in his talents in the ring. Some friends and I flew out to L.A. last year to see one of his fights and he was truly a Kiddush Hashem inside and outside of the ring.

He's a great story - immigrated to the US from Russia as a kid, pushed around by anti-Semetic bullies on the streets of Brooklyn, found boxing and then found Chabad, both of which changed his life. He doesn't fight on Shabbat so HBO has been forced to change the times of his fights in order to televise him pummelling some poor fellow after havdalah.

Dmitriy's next fight should take place sometime around February '05. In the meantime, rumors are circulating that Eminem has been selected to play Dmitriy in Jerry Brockheimer's movie about D's life. Eminem's been working out with legendary boxing trainer Emanuel Stewart for several months. The movie should be out by summer of '06.

Make sure to support this guy.
CLICK HERE TO SEE A MOTZEI SHABBAT WHOOPIN'

2004-11-26T15:30:00.000+02:00
So I'm back, and here's what's on my mind...........

Throughout the course of our lives, we face continuous challenges, struggles, and setbacks. This is an inevitable fact of life to which none of us are immune. No matter if we are rich, poor, young or old, famous or anonymous; our lives are constantly rife with tests and trials. And of course, much of our time and energy seem to be spent trying to overcome the tests in front of us rather than reaping the benefits of the challenges we've left behind.

"Be Deliberate in Judgment" Last year, on Shavuot I think, I stumbled upon this verse in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers) and it's helped shed some light on the mindset required to overcome and succeed in the face of many of life's challenges. It feels a bit weird to say I "stumbled" on this verse as it's located in the very first Mishna within the first chapter of Avot, and in fact is the very first piece of advice offered by our sages to the subsequent multitudes of generations to study these words from our Fathers. (This should tell us something of the importance our forefathers placed on this statement, by making it the very first statement of the entire tractate.) Be deliberate in judgment

Perhaps I "stumbled" over this little jewel because most of the commentaries surrounding this statement seem to revolve around judging your fellow neighbors, co-workers, spouse, and friends in a favorable manner. While this lesson of judging others favorably is crucial to maintaining a sense of humility, and also to maintaining healthy relationships with human beings and G-d as well, I find many of the existing commentaries on this first Mishna to be somewhat lacking and missing the mark. First of all, doesn't the Mishna choose the word "deliberate" and not "favorable"? There's a big difference between these two words. And secondly, the popular commentaries tend to focus on the judgment of others. Rarely have I seen commentaries developed around the concept of being deliberate in the judgment of one's self as well as the situations one may find him/herself struggling through. But sitting on the rocks of Diversey Harbor one day last year, I realized that perhaps, at least in my own mind, this is what our forefathers really meant when they said Be deliberate in judgment.

Many times we are our own harshest critics and I think the same can be said for being our own harshest skeptics. Sometimes it can be difficult to see the forest through the trees. And unfortunately, when we have a skewed or inaccurate image of ourselves, we find it much more difficult to relate to the people around us in a healthy manner. How many times have we judged ourselves too harshly based solely on of our recent actions and behavior instead of looking at all we have done in our lives, how much we've grown, and just as importantly, if not more so, how much further we will go. The final verdict's not even in yet, so how can we possibly proclaim a judgment on ourselves?

How many times have we found ourselves in situations that seem impossible to work through and which seem to have no chance of a successful outcome, only to find ourselves feeling completely relieved with the final results? I know that in my lifetime, I've been through many situations like this. I've also seen family members and friends struggle through situations that can leave them desperate, confused, and even depressed. Yet in almost every case, the end result was one that far exceeded their expectations and left them feeling a tremendous sense of relief and thankfulness.

To be deliberate means to slow down, take your time, and try not to be hasty. Let things play out, give things a chance. This applies not just to how we treat others, but to how we treat ourselves. Before we can judge others fairly and accurately, we must be able to do the same for ourselves. Unfortunately, many people rarely look back and learn from their mistakes in this area and continually find themselves repeating the same process. Admittedly, it can be quite painful to realize that we, as humans, tend to jump to conclusions which lead us to a resistance to the belief that success is possible, and that the situation really isn't as bad as it seems. More times than not, we act as a judge delivering the verdict long before hearing and seeing all the facts.

I believe the lesson our forefathers' wanted to teach us was not only about judging others favorably, but also about the power of time and how it affects our judgments about ourselves and those around us. The key is to be a person of level-headedness, not jumping to conclusions. We needn't judge ourselves, our environment, and our friends before gathering all the facts and allowing for sufficient time to sink in. Do not allow the fear that comes along with difficult situations to become your demise. Life is a challenge and will always be filled with the usual ups and downs, blessings and curses. But by keeping a steady hand, a balanced outlook, and allowing the facts to develop we will be able to cross the bridge.

And whatever applies to us as individuals also applies to us as a Nation, so I think this principal can easily be applied to the Jewish People as a whole. We've overcome every other challenge we've faced, and with time, wisdom, and Hashem's guidance, we will overcome our current predicament as well. We must remember to be deliberate in our judgment of our situation today, tomorrow, and always. But as we've seen in the past, our problems of today and tomorrow are sure to be resolved with an outcome that far exceeds any of our expectations.

Shabbat Shalom

Dedicated to my Mom and her new discovery after all these years!!! And also to the women in my ulpan who moved their families halfway across the world to live in Israel and raise their beautiful children without having a husband/father in the home. G-d bless you.

Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; Joshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They (the Men of the Great Assembly) said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, develop many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah.

This is hilarious

2004-11-19T01:39:00.000+02:00
From Scrappleface.com

Bush Applauds Arafat's 'New Attitude'
(2004-11-12) -- U.S. President George Bush today praised Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat for "assuming a new attitude," according to a White House spokesman.

"The president believes that Chairman Arafat's new attitude is one that bodes well for peace in the Middle East," said spokesman Scott McClellan. "Arafat's rhetoric has cooled in recent days."

U.S. negotiators reportedly expect the Palestinian leader to put up less resistance to reasonable proposals, thanks to "a new posture that is more grounded, stable, consistent."

"Chairman Arafat seems to be taking an in-depth look at the land he has fought to defend," Mr. McClellan said, "and yet he's looking up to a promising future, where the grass is greener. President Bush has long believed that it's your attitude that determines your altitude, and Mr. Arafat has become a great illustration of that."

Joey Tartakovsky

2004-11-18T19:37:00.000+02:00
Anybody needing a little pick-me-up after all the recent Israel bashing and arafat fantasizing should check out an amazing essay written by Joey Tartakovsky which is appearing on the VDH Private Papers website. This is highly recommened reading.

A quick snapshot of the essay...

The Holocaust destroyed forever the universe of European Jewry from which Einstein, Freud and Marx emerged,its culture, language, and two-thirds of its lives. But one of the most curious aspects of this narrative is that the survivors did not allow themselves to drown in a black ocean of loss and pity, or pledge eternal revenge against Germany. Instead, they set about to rebuild, painfully, but inspirited by a deep sense of faith and dignity. This moral character explains why Israel has never produced a suicide bomber, and why Palestine has never produced a real Nobel laureate. History is made not by unseen social forces but by men, and it matters dearly in the determination of a nations fate whether its Founding Fathers are men like David Ben-Gurion, Chaim Weizmann and Abba Eban and whether they are men like Hajj Amin al-Husseini, Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Yasir Arafat.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF Israel, Campus Unreality, and Democratic Reality

2004-11-18T14:36:00.000+02:00
I've got some great news to share with everybody.......

IT'S RAINING!!!!

Spain

2004-11-17T18:10:00.000+02:00
In case any of you may still be considering a vacation to Spain, even after they threw the Jews out in 1492, and even after the cowardly removal of Spanish troops from Iraq, here's another piece of information that hopefully will convince you that Spain is no place for Jews to spend their money and/or time........

From the Jerusalem Post, 11/17/04

"Israel expects the Spanish government to fully condemn venomous slogans against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that appear on a municipal billboard in the northern Spanish town of Oleiros.

The municipal electronic billboard in Oleiros features a sign that reads, "Let's stop the animal, Sharon the assasin, stop the neo-Nazi's".

Blatant anti-Semetism on a government owned billboard.............

Re-post

2004-11-16T21:15:00.000+02:00
I've been a little bummed lately cuz I finally got off my arafat kick and actually typed a pretty good blog the other day, but it was somehow lost during the upload process. I think all the pictures I was trying to post may have caused the problem. I'm gonna try to post the pictures again and we'll see what happens. No promises on recapturing the thoughts I had put down, but maybe you'll be able to get an idea of what I've been doing.

Before I get down to business, I'm wondering if the background on the blogsite is bothering anybody. Initially I received some negative feedback regarding the map and the fact that it interfered with some readers concentration as they tried to understand exactly what I was trying to say. We lightened the tone a bit, and I'm now wondering if this has been helpful at all. I welcome any feedback concerning the background.

OK, as for my time the last couple of weeks, it's been rather interesting. I finally ate falafel and schwarma with my nephew, spent an afternoon walking the walls of the Old City, helped make a surprise birthday party for one of the guys (and his twin sister) in our ulpan class, went back to my teachers family in Maale Chever the last two Shabbatot, started working on Tuesdays in the Shomron picking grapes and olives, watched the IDF close off the entire West Bank for several days due to arafats untimely passing(why couldn't it have happened 30 years earleir?), started planning a possible Channuka trip, travelled to Kever Rachel in Bet Lechem, and realized that I don't have to ride in a Nesher taxi back to the airport to leave my beloved Homeland. This was definitely the highlight of the last ten days. In the past, every trip to Israel always seemed to include the inevitable depression that set in about a week before vacation ended as the reality of departure began to sink in. I, like most other tourists, would take that fateful step of calling Nesher to arrange for the final ride thru the country back to the airport. What a wonderful feeling to look up one day, see the Nesher sign, and realize how blessed I am to be living here now. So many of our ancestors never got the opportunity to step foot on this precious soil, and now I am trying to build a life here. Thank G-d I don't have to think about Nesher for a long, long time.

Oh, as for the new falafel/schwarma-less streak, it has offically begun. But I expect this go-round to be much more challenging as I have several falafel/schwarma loving friends coming from the States to visit this month. Additionally, I'm not sure what tangible benefits I would receive by staying away from such delicacies when I'm already beginning to cave in to the sweet smelling presence of the fluffy, powder-sugar covered, strawberry jelly filled sufganiyot, which have magically appeared on every street corner in Jerusalem.

Miss you all.

PEACE

Falafel nite

You ain't getting shit fat boy, we're closed

Tuesdays in the Shomron

Erev Shabbat Rugelach Shopping

My niece

Hot Chick with 9mm at the shuk day arafat died

Artist's rendering

2004-11-14T01:46:00.000+02:00
I assume that anybody reading this website understands what kind of filth arafat embodied. Lately, I have been accused of "rejoicing" at his death. I have to scratch my head and wonder how someone could actually believe that this is my intent. If relief and gratitude that this Jew Killer is finally in a place where he will do no more harm can be referred to as rejoicing, than fine. I can't imagine any of my friends feeling otherwise.

I am attaching a well written column by Jeff Jacoby that I hope will serve as a reminder of exactly who yasser arafat was and how he lived his life.

Arafat the Monster
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | November 11, 2004
YASSER ARAFAT died at age 75, lying in bed surrounded by familiar faces. He left this world peacefully, unlike the thousands of victims he sent to early graves.

In a better world, the PLO chief would have met his end on a gallows, hanged for mass murder much as the Nazi chiefs were hanged at Nuremberg. In a better world, the French president would not have paid a visit to the bedside of such a monster. In a better world, George Bush would not have said, on hearing the first reports that Arafat had died, "God bless his soul."

God bless his soul? What a grotesque idea! Bless the soul of the man who brought modern terrorism to the world? Who sent his agents to slaughter athletes at the Olympics, blow airliners out of the sky, bomb schools and pizzerias, machine-gun passengers in airline terminals? Who lied, cheated, and stole without compunction? Who inculcated the vilest culture of Jew-hatred since the Third Reich? Human beings might stoop to bless a creature so evil -- as indeed Arafat was blessed, with money, deference, even a Nobel Prize -- but God, I am quite sure, will damn him for eternity.

Arafat always inspired flights of nonsense from Western journalists, and his last two weeks were no exception.

Derek Brown wrote in The Guardian that Arafat's "undisputed courage as a guerrilla leader" was exceeded only "by his extraordinary courage" as a peace negotiator. But it is an odd kind of courage that expresses itself in shooting unarmed victims -- or in signing peace accords and then flagrantly violating their terms.

Another commentator, columnist Gwynne Dyer, asked, "So what did Arafat do right?" The answer: He drew worldwide attention to the Palestinian cause, "for the most part by successful acts of terror." In other words, butchering innocent human beings was "right," since it served an ulterior political motive. No doubt that thought brings daily comfort to all those who were forced to bury a child, parent, or spouse because of Arafat's "successful" terrorism.

Some journalists couldn't wait for Arafat's actual death to begin weeping for him. Take the BBC's Barbara Plett, who burst into tears on the day he was airlifted out of the West Bank. "When the helicopter carrying the frail old man rose above his ruined compound," Plett reported from Ramallah, "I started to cry." Normal people don't weep for brutal murderers, but Plett made it clear that her empathy for Arafat -- whom she praised as "a symbol of Palestinian unity, steadfastness, and resistance" -- was heartfelt:

"I remember well when the Israelis re-conquered the West Bank more than two years ago, how they drove their tanks and bulldozers into Mr. Arafat's headquarters, trapping him in a few rooms, and throwing a military curtain around Ramallah. I remember how Palestinians admired his refusal to flee under fire. They told me: `Our leader is sharing our pain, we are all under the same siege.' And so was I." Such is the state of journalism at the BBC, whose reporters do not seem to have any trouble reporting, dry-eyed, on the plight of Arafat's victims. (That is, when they mention them -- which Plett's teary bon voyage to Arafat did not.)

And what about those victims? Why were they scarcely remembered in this Arafat death watch?

How is it possible to reflect on Arafat's most enduring legacy -- the rise of modern terrorism -- without recalling the legions of men, women, and children whose lives he and his followers destroyed? If Osama bin Laden were on his deathbed, would we neglect to mention all those he murdered on 9/11?

It would take an encyclopedia to catalog all of the evil Arafat committed. But that is no excuse for not trying to recall at least some of it.

Perhaps his signal contribution to the practice of political terror was the introduction of warfare against children. On one black date in May 1974, three PLO terrorists slipped from Lebanon into the northern Israeli town of Ma'alot. They murdered two parents and a child whom they found at home, then seized a local school, taking more than 100 boys and girls hostage and threatening to kill them unless a number of imprisoned terrorists were released. When Israeli troops attempted a rescue, the terrorists exploded hand grenades and opened fire on the students. By the time the horror ended, 25 people were dead; 21 of them were children.

Thirty years later, no one speaks of Ma'alot anymore. The dead children have been forgotten. Everyone knows Arafat's name, but who ever recalls the names of his victims?

So let us recall them: Ilana Turgeman. Rachel Aputa. Yocheved Mazoz. Sarah Ben-Shim'on. Yona Sabag. Yafa Cohen. Shoshana Cohen. Michal Sitrok. Malka Amrosy. Aviva Saada. Yocheved Diyi. Yaakov Levi. Yaakov Kabla. Rina Cohen. Ilana Ne'eman. Sarah Madar. Tamar Dahan. Sarah Soper. Lili Morad. David Madar. Yehudit Madar. The 21 dead children of Ma'alot -- 21 of the thousands of who died at Arafat's command.

2004-11-10T13:07:00.000+02:00
Day thirty-eight and still no falafel/schwarma. Planning to take nephew to J-lem tomorrow for a falafel spree.

Now if I could just find some wings.

2004-11-09T21:35:00.000+02:00
If you're still not convinced arafat's dying of HIV/AIDS, here's a hilarious video from Israeli TV. You need to have speakers for this.

Enjoy
CLICK HERE FOR ARAFAT VIDEO

2004-11-07T14:59:00.000+02:00
ANOTHER ARTICLE DETAILING THE GROWING SUSPICION THAT ARAFAT IS DYING OF HIV/AIDS

Suspicions grow that Arafat is dying of AIDS
By israelinsider staff November 6, 2004

Former White House speechwriter David Frum has joined the growing chorus of pundits, medical experts, and intelligence operatives who claim Yasser Arafat is likely suffering from AIDS.

Frum, a key figure in Republican politics and the man who coined the terms "axis of evil," writes in National Review Online that Arafat's undisclosed illness is well-known, but has been kept under wraps by the mainstream media.

"Speaking of media bias, here's a question you won't hear in our big papers or on network TV: Does Yasser Arafat have AIDS?" asks Frum, who also writes for the National Post.

"We know he has a blood disease that is depressing his immune system. We know that he has suddenly dropped considerable weight -- possibly as much as one-third of all his body weight. We know that he is suffering intermittent mental dysfunction. What does this sound like?"

Earlier, John Loftus told John Batchelor on ABC radio on October 26 that Arafat is dying from AIDS. Loftus said the CIA has known this about Arafat for quite awhile and that as a result the US has encouraged Sharon not to take Arafat out because the US has known Arafat was about done. It was deemed better to have Arafat discredited as a homosexual.

Although homosexuality is rife in the Arab world, it is at least officially consider a sin and a crime, and regarded--especially in fundamentalist circles--as a mark of great shame and depravity.

Intelligence on "the tiger" romping with bodyguards
Frum pointed to KGB evidence linking Arafat to homosexual activities, citing a 1987 book by Lt.-Gen. Ion Pacepa, the deputy chief of Romania's intelligence service under Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

In his memoirs "Red Horizons," Pacepa relates a conversation in 1978 with Constantin Munteaunu, a general assigned to teach Arafat and the PLO techniques to deceive the West into granting the organization recognition.

"I just called the microphone monitoring center to ask about the 'Fedayee,'" Arafat's code name, explained Munteaunu. "After the meeting with the Comrade, he went directly to the guest house and had dinner. At this very moment, the 'Fedayee' is in his bedroom making love to his bodyguard. The one I knew was his latest lover. He's playing tiger again. The officer monitoring his microphones connected me live with the bedroom, and the squawling almost broke my eardrums. Arafat was roaring like a tiger, and his lover yelping like a hyena."

Munteaunu continued: "I've never before seen so much cleverness, blood and filth all together in one man." Munteaunu, wrote Pacepa, spent months pulling together secret reports from Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian intelligence agencies as well as Romanian files.

"I used to think I knew just about everything there was to know about Rahman al-Qudwa," Arafat's real name, "about the construction engineer who made a fortune in Kuwait, about the passionate collector of racing cars, about Abu Amman," Arafat's nom de guerre, "and about my friend Yasser, with all his hysterics," explained Munteaunu, handing Pacepa his final report on the PLO leader. "But I've got to admit that I didn't really know anything about him."

Pacepa wrote: "The report was indeed an incredible account of fanaticism, of devotion to his cause, of tangled oriental political maneuvers, of lies, of embezzled PLO funds deposited in Swiss banks, and of homosexual relationships, beginning with his teacher when he was a teen-ager and ending with his current bodyguards. After reading the report, I felt a compulsion to take a shower whenever I had been kissed by Arafat, or even just shaken his hand."

"If true, Arafat would have a great deal to conceal from his people and his murderously anti-homosexual supporters in the Islamic world," writes Frum, suggesting that Arafat was airlifted to France for medical treatment because he "could trust the French to protect his intimate secret."

The medical evidence adds up
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath Monday said that all types of cancer had been ruled out, and the latest news is that French doctors have ruled out poisoning.

Medical observers note that a low blood platelet count is a sign of a weakened immune system, and indeed last week there were reports of a complete collapse of Arafat's immune system. Other than the ruled-out cancer, the low count could be attributed to bleeding ulcers, colitis, liver disease, lupus, or HIV. It is believed that ulcers and colitis have already been ruled out.

Arafat has lost a considerable amount of body weight. Hopital d'Instruction des Armees de Percy, southwest of Paris, is known to have some of France's best HIV/AIDS doctors. Other medical experts note that Arafat's activities in recent weeks and months suggest the dementia that accompanies late-stage AIDS.

Medical authorities not connected directly to his case are suggesting that he may have HIV/AIDS. One doctor reported to an Israel Insider source that his suspicions have been growing for more than a year.

"I began to see tell tale signs of kaposis sarcoma. His Parkinsonian tremor was more than just a Parkinsonian tremor and he was also showing signs of weakness. The rumor about homosexuality/bisexuality has been around for decades. So I put two and two together when they started talking about his health over a year ago. The talk of a mysterious illness in this day and age should be a tip-off. He has some of the best physicians in the world attending to him. He can be diagnosed clinically, without perfoming any tests. All the doctors surrounding him know what he has. All this cloak and dagger about tests is a ruse. They understand the implications of divulging that he has HIV. If I were Suha I would be getting a little concerned."

If Arafat has AIDS, that would also explain Suha's reticence to allow the release of significant information about Arafat's condition, and the almost ludicrously tight-lipped reports of the French hospital spokesman, and the refusal of anyone connected with Arafat to hold a press conference in recent days.

2004-11-07T01:01:00.000+02:00
Here's an interesting piece discussing the possiblity that arafat is dying of HIV.

Enjoy:

Does Arafat Have AIDS?
by Malcolm Thornberry

(Paris) As French doctors continue to run tests on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat some medical authorities not connected directly to his case are suggesting that he may have HIV/AIDS.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath Monday said that all types of cancer had been ruled out.

Arafat has been visibly ill for more than two weeks. Last Wednesday he collapsed and briefly lost consciousness. Initial blood tests performed in the West Bank revealed a low blood platelet count. The Palestinian leader was airlifted to France where he is undergoing more tests.

But, with leukemia and other forms of cancer ruled out, the list of possible diseases is narrowing.

A low blood platelet count is a sign of a weakened immune system. In addition to cancer, the low count could be attributed to bleeding ulcers, colitis, liver disease, lupus, or HIV. It is believed that ulcers and colitis have already been ruled out.

Arafat has lost a considerable amount of body weight. Hopital d'Instruction des Armees de Percy, southwest of Paris, also has some of France's best HIV/AIDS doctors.

For several years there have been suggestions that Arafat was bisexual.

Ion Pacepa, who was deputy chief of Romanian foreign intelligence under the Ceaucescu regime and who defected to the West in 1978, says in his memoirs that the Romania government bugged Arafat and had recordings of the Arab leader in orgies with his body guards.
If the suggestions that Arafat has AIDS are true, it is doubtful it would be made public.

2004-11-05T01:22:00.000+02:00
So the latest undisclosed reports have not yet confirmed this but......... it looks like the pajama clad, Dr. Dre gangsta ski cap wearing yasir arafat has undergone a complete lobotomy. Additionally, rumors have it that several photographers were roughed up by arafats goons after taking pictures that captured a steady steam of drool falling from his stubbly chin.

What a fitting end to this rats life. The final chapter finds him helpless, unable to dress himself, sitting in front of the world's cameras, a helpless little smile on his mug and a few guys that would prefer to see him dead, holding him in place.

You came from worms, and back to worms you will go. Adios. Good riddance.

2004-11-04T06:31:00.000+02:00
Wow, first a Bush win and now Arafat (ymsm) may actually breathe his final breath! Not a bad week.

2004-11-03T11:05:00.000+02:00
Day thirty-one and I still haven't had a falafel or schwarma. I think I'm beginning to crack. Will keep you posted.

2004-11-01T23:20:00.000+02:00
It's important to step back sometimes and try to see the big picture.

I was walking home tonite, after another three hour teeth-breaking session of pouring over my homework, reviewing previous lessons, asking the coffeeshop waitress how to say "fruit shake", and trying to engrain various grammatical rules and exceptions into my memory, when I found myself thinking about how far I've come in only a few short weeks. When I first arrived, I lacked the most basic Hebrew language skills to even ask someone on the street for directions, much less interpret what the heck this person just told me. I mean, my seven year old niece was practically embarrased to be in the same room with me as I tried/pretended to speak Hebrew. Today, I feel fairly confident that I can hold a three minute conversation with almost anybody, albeit in my poorly constructed Hebrew. In ulpan this morning, we actually broke out the radio for the first time and began listening to the news. Later in the day, I had two personal phone conversations conducted entirely in Hebrew (you have no idea how intimidating the telephone can be when you don't speak the language).

At this point, I've got three favorite spots in town where the entire staff knows I'm trying to learn Ivrit. After three straight weeks of my stubborn insistence on ordering my coffee and water in Hebrew, they've finally given up on using English and speak to me solely in our mother tongue. Wherever I go, I insist on speaking Hebrew to everyone I come in contact with - bus drivers, store clerks, friends, teachers, kids, policemen, dogs, cats, you name it. I've even been known to tell people that I don't understand English. I carry a pocket-sized notebook (pinkas) with me at all times and I'm constanly asking people to repeat themselves so I can write down key phrases and terms. I never leave home without my two dictionaries and I'm constantly stopping for several minutes to read and understand street signs and billboards. Tomorrow nite I'm heading to Tel Aviv to meet an Israeli friend of mine who's graciously agreed to meet me for a couple hours each week just to sit and speak the language. In short, I'm really busting my ass to set some sort of record time for learning this language.

So all of this sounds really positive, right? Well, trust me, it ain't all peaches and cream (Outkast). Lately there've been as many bad days as good one's. There's a lot of frustration involved in overcoming such a great challenge. And because everybody seems to know how seriously I'm taking this, I frequently hear "So, can you speak Hebrew yet?" Of course their just joking, but within mere seconds my head begins lecturing me "When are you gonna finally learn this crazy language? What's taking so long?" It can be downright demoralizing when I think about how much I've studied and yet still find myself (on a very regular basis) in the midst of a group of Hebrew speakers with whom I can't even hope to keep up with. It's easy to get down, especially when I realize how much farther I have to go before becoming fluent.

I think my frustration can be attributed mostly to the lofty, perhaps unrealistic, expectations I've set for myself. On the one hand, I realize that practically nobody masters a new language in mere months, so I need not get upset when I feel like things aren't moving as fast as I'd like. But on the other hand, I feel that by keeping these expectations alive, I will continue to push myself to do more than I normally would and certainly more than most people dream of doing. So perhaps it's a healthy type of frustration.

I must take pause here and recognize that I am more fortunate than most in that I have absolutely no other responsibilities in life right now other than to learn Hebrew. Most people in ulpan spend the rest of their day working, going to school, parenting, learning in Yeshiva, etc... I have the luxury of spending my time focused solely on learning Hebrew.

OK, back to the story at hand... There's also the simple aspect of time itself. I've come to realize that no matter how hard I try, how much effort I exert, there's something that only the element of time can provide. The brain can absorb only so much at once. It's going to require a certain amount of time to allow the brain to rest and absorb all the various inputs I've been pouring into it. Time will allow for sleep, rejewvination, repetition, and experience in applying new learnings to different situations, conversations, and contexts. All of this is sorely needed before I can finally master everything that's required to hit the streets and become a true Israeli.

That being said, I still want to speak Hebrew NOW!

So lately I've become accustomed to feeling a bit frustated. But tonite, as I walked through the quite streets of Efrat, under crystal clear skies with the stars shimmering down on me, I realized something. I realized that I've learned a whole heck of a lot since I got here. I've moved up a level in ulpan, I can converse with the average Joe on the street, I'm compelely independant in my day to day life using as little English as possible, and I'm starting to recognize a lot of great potential. When I think about it all, I realize that if I accomplished all this in less than four weeks, what do the next two months have in store for me? I know there's always the law of diminishing returns to worry about, but I feel like there's still so much new material ahead, and if I keep myself dedicated and focused, the sky's the limit. I also know that the payoff for all this hardwork will be tremendous. Life here will be that much easier if I can converse in both Hebrew and English (I'll tackle Russian a bit later).

So there I was on the street, thanking G-d for bringing me to this point, for giving me the courage to not be embarrased by my mistakes, for providing me with the intellect to grasp such challenging material, and for blessing me with the strength and wisdom to tackle this using a method most other people shun, when I realized the most beautiful thing. Hashem desperately wants us to enjoy life and the world around us. I believe this is the reason for the commandment Hashem has given us to sit down before we go to bed each night and review our day. We're commanded to take a few minutes to think about all the things we did from the moment we woke up until the moment we decide to go to bed. We think about our accomplishments as well as our failures. What we did right and what we can improve upon. This ritual of "taking stock" of our lives on a daily basis provides us with a method by which we can more easily put things in perspective. Too often we go through life worrying about all the things that are troubling us and far too rarely do we take the time to appreciate what we really have and who we really are. It's a great opportunity to see all the gifts we've been given and to see how we can better put them to use. Many times when we do this, we recognize that we've accomplished far more than we initially thought.

I thank G-d for giving me this moment of clarity.

2004-10-31T02:34:00.000+02:00
So the French are now caring for Arafat. This is the same nation that John Kerry so desperately wants to bring into the coalition in the War on Terror. Is it just me or do you sense that Kerry's preparing to offer Israel up as the sacrificial lamb in order to bring the USA back into the good graces of the Europeans and the UN??? Not sure he has any other chips to offer, and besides, what would ever make them happier.........

2004-10-31T01:24:00.000+02:00
I found this quote on Ribbity Blog

THE HOLY CITY

Why do Western journalists insist upon adding the words "the Holy City" to the name of Najaf every time they mention it. To the best of my knowledge, none of the Western news services reported that a Palestinian tried to cut the throat of a Jewish policemen in the Holy City of Jerusalem; or that the Palestinian bomers who were intercepted a few days ago were attempting to carry out an attack against hte Holy City of Haifa (it is the Bahai world centre); or that al-Qa'ida are threatening massive terrorist attacks in the Holy City of Rome.

Why does the Shi'ite Holy City merit this unique epithet?

2004-10-31T01:15:00.000+02:00
Any love that depends on a specific cause, when that cause is gone, the love is gone; but if it does not depend on a specific cause, it will never cease. - Pirkei Avot 5:19

Have a wonderful week

2004-10-28T13:45:00.000+02:00
I'm heading to Tel Aviv for a party tonite and then tomorrow I'm going back to Maale Chever to be with with my teachers family for Shabbat, so this is going to be the last posting for a few days.

There are certain things that you encounter in Eretz Yisrael that you just don't find anywhere else in the world. During coffee break (man I miss the huge Starbucks cups) this morning, I was talking to a guy (about forty years old) who'd been living near Chicago before he moved to Israel. When the guy told me the name of the town, I knew he must have been one of the only Orthodox Jews in the area. When I asked him about this, he gave me a recap of the last twenty of his life, in a nut shell.

It seems this guy grew up in a secular family with no attachment to religion whatsoever. He married a non-Jewish women a little more than twenty years ago and they "somehow" ended up visiting Israel as part of their honeymoon. One day he wanted to go to the Kotel (Wailing Wall) and she wanted to go shopping, so they parted ways for a few hours. While standing at The Wall, this guy was approached by someone who asked him if he was Jewish, and if so, would he like to put tefillin on. He did so and enjoyed the experience very much.

Well, he and this woman returned the to the States and stayed married for the next twenty years. All the while, he was living with the struggle of wanting to become more Jewish. About five years ago he began driving to Northbrook for minyan every morning, but still he continued to return home everyday to his non-Jewish family. Finally, about a year ago, he spilled the beans to his wife. She understood that he couldn't live like this anymore and she agreed to divorce him - for close to a million dollars. He was willing to pay the cost, and they parted ways. The next thing you know, the guy's on a plane to Israel. He's now officially made Aliyah and he's recently gotten re-married to a Jewish women. He's in our ulpan learning Hebrew during the morning and he runs a software development company in the afternoon.

And I got to meet him. An amazing story.

Congratulations to all you Red Sox fans. Nomar who?

Perhaps we'll have some good news from Ramallah by the time I blog again next week.

Have a wonderful shabbat.

2004-10-27T01:27:00.000+02:00
Went to the hafgana (rally) today outside the Knesset. It was amazing. Thousands and thousands of religious zionists gathering in support of Gusk Katif and the Shomron region. Music, speeches, Tehillim. It was an awesome feeling to be there with so many of our brothers and sisters.

Unfortunately it wasn't enough to turn the tide in the vote this evening. What next?

I saw the Washington Post article that said the park was filled with thousands of settlers. I guess I'm a settler now.

Week Four

2004-10-24T21:50:00.000+02:00
So first of all, I'd like to give a big THANK YOU to my dear friend with the precious mind for directing and orchestrating the redesign of my blog. It's gonna to be a work in progress for a while, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. In case you can't tell, I'm really diggin' this whole journal thing.

And if I may be permitted, I'd like to also give a shout out to my amazing ulpan teacher. In all my schooling (and I've had alot), I've never encountered a teacher with such patience, knowledge, desire to help, kindess, etc... She'd be so happy to know that I'm actually sitting here tonite listening to Israeli music and understanding some of the words the singer is saying. It's hard to believe how much a difference two weeks can make.

If any of you are planning to come to Israel and are interested in a serious ulpan (in one of the most beautiful spots on this great planet) full of awesome people and outstanding teachers, I definitely recommend the Alon Shvut Ulpan in Gush Etzion. The teachers are extremely patient, talented, kind and funny. They dedicate their lives to helping new olim overcome many of the fears, barriers, and challenges that all new immigrants face.

Anybody that's ever been to Israel knows that this country is the true "melting pot" of the world. In our school alone, there are newcomers from Thailand, France, Russia, Ethiopia, USA, and Argentina sitting together everyday, getting to know each other and learning to speak the same language. Each class has its own uniqueness, and in mine it's got to be the feeling as if we're one big family. This may have something to do with the fact that we've got a woman from France and three of her children (ages 13 - 16) in the class, as well as another mother-daughter combo from Florida too.

It's very exciting to learn about people from so many faraway places, all of whom share many of the same dreams as myself. And I can't describe how much fun it is to watch everybody develop over time. Two weeks ago I met someone who had difficulty with three word sentences, and this morning I bumped into him during coffee break and he's putting together complete questions and answers. Its quite an incredible experience. We're all nervous about whether or not we're actually learning anything, but when I sit back and watch, I see each one of us growing more comfortable with things that only yesterday gave us great difficulty. It's a great feeling to know that one of the biggest obstacles to integrating into society is being overcome before our very eyes. And it's all due to our teachers efforts, our own hard work, and of course, the Big Guy upstairs.

So I mentioned last week that my teacher invited me for Shabbat. What an experience! Her family lives in Maale Chever, which is directly at the edge of Midbar David (David's Desert) and about fifteen minutes from Kiryat Arba and Chevron. I can't even begin to speak of the breathtaking beauty of this area so I hope the picture below will give you an idea of what these people get to wake up to everyday.

The Yishuv consists of fifty-five families and I must have met them all. Everybody seemed geniunely outgoing and happy to have guests over for Shabbat, each with their own individual, warm personality. I picked up a ride from a guy in Kiryat Arba and he spoke very little English. While he had some difficulty understanding that I was trying to find a woman for whom I had no last name, nor home address, he didn't seem concerned or worried in the least bit. I felt totally comfortable that this guy would get me where I needed to go. He even pulled over and let me snap a few pictures of the gorgeous view. Through my broken Hebrew I somehow managed to explain that my hostess teaches at the Ulpan in Alon Shvut and he immediately knew who I was talking about. Not only did he take me directly to her home, he even walked me straight to her door. Turns out that their families are good friends. I found out the next morning that he's also the gabbai of the shul in Maale Chever.

My teacher and her husband have eight beautiful children, all of whom made me feel loved and welcome from the minute I arrived. The three youngest children greeted me with a plate of homemade chocolate-chip cookies (how'd they know?) and cold water, so obviously it took no time at all for us to become fast friends. We all helped set the table and clean up before Shabbat. My teacher and I began conversing in my pathetic Hebrew for a while, and then it was time to go to shul with her husband. He's the head of security for the Yishuv and also the principal of the kindergarten. Very cool. Friday nite davening was extremely spirited - Carlebach tunes, dancing amidst the hordes of children clinging to their abba's, and the feeling that only Shabbat in the shtachim can give you. Oh, did I mention the sunset??? Holy Sabbath!

After a tasty dinner, we went on a short walk thru the Yishuv and then they escorted me to my teacher's brothers home to sleep for the nite. He's got a bunch of chickens and goats in the yard. He also has a bunch of little kiddies running around everywhere and I fell in love with them instantly. The nine year old even goes to Vatikin minyan with his abba at 4:30 AM. I on the other hand went to the late 7:30 AM minyan. We were done by 10:30 and ate lunch and sang till about 12:30. There was a bar mitzva on the yishuv so we went to a nice kiddush for a while. After that it was nap time for the next two hours. At about 4:45 we had an hour and fifteen minute seuda shlishi during which I actually learned many of the songs I should have learned years ago. My teacher's oldest son gave me a ride back to Jerusalem after Shabbat and I sat in a coffee shop working on my Hebrew for a while. Then back to Efrat for a little catching up with my own family.

Right now I'm getting ready to wind down this wonderful Sunday. Sunday's in Israel are not like Sunday's in America. There's no sleeping late, watching football, or whatever....... Everybody gets back to work and of course, I was back at ulpan brite and early this morning. After class I spent the day getting my haircut, doing homework, babysitting for my sisters kids, and voting for the President of the United States.

Lets all pray that Hashem Yitborach spreads his canopy of peace and safety over us in the coming days as the election approaches.

May there be peace within our walls.

Avi

Ulpan

Maale Chever Shabbat

Maale Chever Shabbat

View From Efrat

Jewish Reggae

2004-10-21T01:10:00.000+02:00
To all of you in the Chicago area, I see that Kfar is bringing Ari Ben Moses to town next week. There's a reggae star here in Israel called Moshe Ben Ari and if this is the same guy, my advice to you is pack whatever you need and get to this show. I just got one of his CD's last week and it's amazing. His music is all over the country right now. Should be a great nite in The Windy City.

Enjoy!

Quote of the Day

2004-10-20T20:07:00.000+02:00
Do not be scornful of any person and do not be disdainful of anything, for you have no person without his hour and no thing without it's place.
- Ben Azzai

Pirkei Avot

2004-10-20T01:09:00.000+02:00
Starting today a new theme is being incorporated into ReJewvinating: The Pirkei Avot Quote of the Day. I'll do my best to update daily. Here we go...........

"Receive everyone with a cheerful face"
- Shammai

Wait till next year Braves and Cubs fans

2004-10-18T22:16:00.000+02:00
So just a quick update on the latest and greatest from The Holy Land. Ulpan is really exciting and uplifting. Exciting because I know that learning the language is probably the most productive thing I can do right now, and uplifting because the Ulpan is filled with immigrants from France. It's good to see people finally waking up.

When I began ulpan I was in the lower of the three levels. Yesterday I was moved up to the middle level and the workload has suddenly increased ten-fold. Most everyday so far has consisted of waking up at 6:45, davening, and riding with my sister to ulpan. Her office is located only 50 meters from the my ulpan so I get to stop in and say hello during breaks. This is one of the benefits of living in the Gush. I haven't lived within 1500 miles of my oldest sister since I was a kid and now I'm living in her home, eating dinner with her and her husband and the kids, riding with her to ulpan, etc.... I even helped my niece with her homework this evening. This is all very special to me.

So anyway, ulpan ends at 1:00 PM and I usually hitchhike or take the bus to Jerusalem for the afternoon. Sometimes I walk around all day and other times I sit in a sidewalk cafe drinking coffee and working on my Hebrew studies. The people here have been surprisingly friendly, helpful, and willing to assist with my Hebrew, especially when they find out I just moved here only a couple of weeks ago. I don't think there's a country in the world where the people are as happy to meet someone who has decided to make this their home. Whether religious or not, most everybody seems to realize that we're all in this together and that being here makes a difference.

I try to get in atleast one adventure every day, whether it's discovering hidden parks, shtiebels, shortcuts, neighborhoods, etc... By the time I catch a bus and make my way back to Efrat, it's usually time for a late dinner and then relax till bedtime.

So that's my daily routine right now. I'm trying to take ulpan very seriously so it consumes most of my time. I have to keep telling myself I'm not on vacation. Otherwise, I may find myself taking a weekly tiyul, eating falafel and schwarma at every meal, and just generally being distracted by all that this wonderful country has to offer. Most importantly, I can't forget that I'm on a mission to actually build a life here. There will be plenty of time for all that other stuff later on, especially when you all come visit, but right now the most important thing for me is to be able to speak the language of the people, by the people, and for the people. I'm even reading this really old (1967-ish) book called How the Hebrew Language Grew. It's got a lot of etymological roots and metathesized words from interchanged letters. Did I just say that?

I did get to go to Tel Aviv for a great Shabbat last week. My friend has a rooftop balcony over Dizengoff St. which can hold about 30 people comfortably. He moved here about four months ago and yet he has made many new friends. We had a really nice lunch with about ten people from all over the world. There was a girl from Germany who converted to Judaism only two months ago, another girl from Germany with German-Hungarian descent, two or three folks from England, an Australian, and even an Israeli or two at the table. And of course, you can't beat Israeli challah and chumus. The wine's pretty good too, and cheap! I'm trying to put together a trip to Gaza for this coming Shabbat which should be fun and provide lots of writing material later.

So tomorrow (no ulpan on Tuesday) I'll be making my second attempt at getting the ball rolling to establish A-1 status, which will allow me to get National Insurance and a work permit until I officially declare Aliyah. I plan on being on the 6:25 AM bus so I can be near the front of the line. Otherwise, the Israeli Administrative Office can be a real baalagan. Wish me luck.

Oh yeah, by the way, my ex-Colgate colleague got himself a real nice job working for another Consumer Products company. Lets all wish him great success and happiness.

Peace.

This picture is right near Tzomet HaGush, where I usually catch a tremp to Jerusalem....

Chodesh Tov

2004-10-15T15:35:00.000+02:00
It always nice to end the week on a sweet note so here's a quick story from my travels this week.....

I spent some time up north visiting with friends from the States who are here visiting family in Acre/Haifa. Most of their family can be classified as your average, secular, non-religious Israeli family consisting of five children, two sons serving in the IDF, living in a cute but cluttered and tiny apartment that somehow houses 5-6 people on any given night, and a father that's been out of work for quite some time. Money is tight and luxuries are non-existent. Yet within this home there are constant examples of kindness and love from which we can all learn important lessons.

I'll spare the many details of how they eagerly welcome any and all guests into their home, feed them with hearty food, provide sleeping quarters and a shower, rides to and from the bus station, and offers of unlimited future visits. What I really want to share is how impressed I was with the way the children honored their hard-working, dedicated parents.

Mrs. M. was concerned with the impression I would get from seeing their sole bathroom which was small and cluttered and had a shower which had only a slow steady drizzle. She asked her son, a twenty-one year old, two bar soldier in an elite unit of the IDF, if he would be embarrassed if I used their bathroom to shower. His reply: "Ema, I would never be embarrased about even the dust in your home." I was so impressed with this.

Sometime's we forget what true love, honor, and respect for one's parents really means.

As Ben Zoma states in Pirkei Avot, "Who is wise? He who learns from every person."

Shabbat shalom and chodesh tov.

Extremism

2004-10-13T01:13:00.000+02:00
I’m just gonna come out and say it – I don’t much care for, nor enjoy, the Mea Shearim neighborhood. It’s not so much the neighborhood itself, but rather the religious extremism, separatism, and intolerance that bothers me. (An interesting choice of words - in contrast to the”Friendly Confines”).

The issue of intolerance I’m referring to extends far beyond the communal demand for tzenua (modest dress) for women. From “Kosher L’Mehadrin” buses (as if the buses everybody else in Israel rides on are not “kosher” enough) to six year old boys assaulting fellow Jews simply b/c they snapped a picture of them playing during recess, I find an attitude and lifestyle that has brought divisiveness and scorn amongst brothers.

It seems that for many in the Ultra-Orthodox community, “learning” Torah has not imbued upon them the critical values and ethics contained in the age-old tenet “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Or perhaps, they’ve decided to apply these values only to those wearing the official “religious” garb consisting of black hat, long beard and payot, white shirt, and black pants.

In my humble opinion, this type of extremism will be more far reaching and more dangerous than the extremism exhibited by the politically right-wing settlers dedicated to holding the Land of Israel for all our brothers and sisters.

We all know stories of women being taunted and/or pelted with garbage, rocks, etc… by “religious” Jews b/c their sleeves weren’t the “correct” length, and that cars driving thru on Shabbat run the risk of leaving Mea Shearim with a broken windshield, but today I witnessed something beyond all that. A twenty-something American, sporting a rock and roll t-shirt and wearing a kippa sruga and tzitzit hanging down over his trousers, pulled out his camera for a picture of Haredi boys playing in a park. As soon as one of the boys spotted this guy peering thru his lens, he called to the other kids in Yiddish to charge this poor fellow. All of a sudden there were thirty or so little Jewish boys w/ kippot and payot screaming, picking up stones, dirt, and anything else they could get there grubby hands on, running towards this poor guy. Picture taking guy scurried away very quickly. As disturbing as all of this was, it was even more upsetting that no adult, parent, or teacher made any attempt to reprimand these kids. It was as if their behavior was completely normal for little Jewish children.

As we see with our Muslim enemies, here again is an entire generation of children being taught to distrust, dislike, and disavow other Jews. Is it any wonder that secular Jews feel such animosity towards the religious?

The saddest part of this story is that, like me, most of you will hardly be surprised to read any of this. That’s quite a statement on the society we’ve created amongst ourselves. What kind of chilul Hashem was this behavior? Should the foreign, Gentile tourists pouring into our country witness this kind of behavior amongst Jews? What kind of example are we setting?

And this leads to the ikkur (main point). If we have no qualms about showing the world we don’t care about each other, why should the world care about us? Should we really expect the world’s sympathy for the Jewish people when we can’t even get along with each another?

What happened to tikun olam? How are we going to perfect the world and bring the seventy nations together as one if we can’t even get along with each other? Have we not learned anything? Do the lessons of the Torah mean nothing? How can we study the words of the Torah and not apply them to our daily actions?

The Beit HaMikdash was destroyed not b/c Jews stopped performing the mitzvot, on the contrary, the generation of the Beit HaMikdash was filled with Talmidei Chachamim (learned in Torah) and baalei mitzvot (observers of mitzvot). Rather, the downfall of Hashem’s resting place was brought about b/c of a baseless hatred between “religious” Jew and fellow “religious” Jew. The problem then was the same as it is now. Each Jew felt the he was more “religious” than the next and he held others in contempt due to their difference in religious holdings.

And more than two thousand years later, most of us still don’t “get it”. How “religious” are we if we ignore G-d’s commandment to treat each other with respect and love. As long as we continue to ignore our relationships with our fellow man, our relationship with G-d will suffer.

Looking at this from the opposite perspective, what would happen if the world saw us actually embracing each other with love and respect regardless of how learned we may or may not be? A look at how animals interact with each other may give some insight into how a behavior shift among Yiddim may change the public attitude towards us and even towards themselves. Take tigers for example. Everybody loves them. We watch these shows on The Discovery Channel and see these gorgeous cats clean each other, protect each other, play together, and hunt and eat together. None of us can resist seeing a mother tiger care for her loved ones. Seeing the little pups playing together always pulls at our heart strings. And yet, in reality, these animals are vicious killing machines that prey on other animals and humans as well. They could kill any of us in a minute. Still, we love these creatures b/c the scenes we see on TV depict beautiful animals playing gently with each other and generally caring and helping one another.

On the other hand, most people feel much less concern for animals such as hyenas, jackals, spiders, and various reptiles b/c these animals tend to leave the family unit very early on and concern themselves only with their own personal well-being. Documentary films about these animals usually focus on their ruthlessness and skills as hunters and predators.

I’m sure you can see the lesson to be learned from this comparison. Human beings instinctively feel compassion for, and respond positively, to the family that shows care, concern, and love for one another. Unfortunately, human beings tend to instinctively think of themselves first and exhibit less concern and care for others. And we are no different in that regard from anyone else. It is overcoming this tendency towards selfishness that should be a Jew’s life-long goal so that we can come together to bring warmth, closeness, and happiness to the world. If we can accomplish this among our own people, in our own land, the rest of the world will notice. And that’s a good thing.

It’s obvious that there are many great things going on in the Jewish world today. One of them is the kiruv (outreach) work being extended from the religious community to the secular. I think it may be time to consider a new angle which would bring kiruv to those in the religious community who may have missed the message of such teachings in the Torah.

Peace

For Your Viewing Pleasure

2004-10-12T03:03:00.000+02:00
A joint Palestinian-Syrian drama series telling the life of Hamas bomb-maker Yehya Ayyash is poised to become the most popular show for tens of millions of Arab viewers during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins Friday.

Ayyash, who was nicknamed "The Engineer" because of his expertise in preparing and handling different kinds of explosives, has since become a legend for Hamas and other Palestinian groups. Some have gone as far as comparing the Bir Zeit university graduate to Salah Eddin, the heroic Muslim warrior who drove the Crusaders out of Jerusalem. Ayyash, a resident of Rafat village in the northern West Bank, was responsible for a spate of suicide bombings that killed more than 100 Israelis between 1994 and 1996.

INTERESTING POINT OF NOTE - Actress Matia Nabwani appears as Ayyash's wife, Hiyam. Hiyam, who remarried a few months after her husband's death, expressed hope that the new drama would accurately reflect the reality and present her husband in a fair manner. Hiyam said she was concerned that the drama would present her without a hijab (head cover) or in an "unacceptable conduct" with her husband. "I still don't know how they will present me," she added. "If I appear without a hijab it will be a disaster and I will boycott the series."

UNRWA

2004-10-12T02:43:00.000+02:00
C'mon, is anybody really surprised that the UN employ's Hamas members. Please.......

Day Six

2004-10-10T22:12:00.000+02:00
Started Ulpan this morning in Alon Shvut and it was great. I’m really surprised at how excited and enthusiastic I am about being a student again, especially since we’re literally starting from scratch. I had to sit thru the aleph bet for about an hour today because the class is a blended mix of immigrants from all over the world with varying levels of Hebrew language skills. It’s going to be fun watching others around me develop and hopefully I will as well. All in all, five months from now I should be somewhat more adept at speaking the language here, which will be a huge relief. It’s really quite frustrating to be lacking the ability to speak to strangers in a country where everybody is one.

The classroom is situated up in the hills next to Bat Eiyen and the view is spectacular. I didn’t take a picture yet but I did manage to sneak one in the classroom.

After class, I tremped to Jerusalem and went to the AACI (Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel) to see what services they could offer. The nicest thing about my visit was being able to apply the newest word in my vocabulary, Savlanut – PATIENCE. I literally sat in the waiting room watching the blades of the ceiling fan swirl slowly around and around while the hands on the wall clock slowly made their way around two full rotations. All just to ask about insurance and bank accounts. A little piece of advice: Never leave home without a book, some food, and a phone. Hopefuly you already knew this.

That’s it for now. Peace.

Welcome Home

2004-10-10T09:13:00.000+02:00
Even though I started this blog over a month ago, it feels like today is the true beginning of whatever is about to unfold. I’m finally here in the Land of Israel and my attempt at planting my roots starts now.

Just to recap the events of the past few days…… after an amazing final 12 hours in Chicago that included a rooftop party at 2650 and a farewell brunch at the ASBI succah, I said goodbye to the friends and city that made this past year so incredible.

Somehow I managed to sleep most of the journey to Tel Aviv so the entire trip seemed like only thirty minutes. I must say that it was the best flight of my life.

After dropping to kiss the holy soil, I made my way to the Offices of the Administrative Interior to obtain my initial three month visa, after which I had my passport stamped in the “foreign passport” line. It was at this point that I felt the nagging desire to become an Israeli citizen immediately. It’s a really weird feeling to have left my career, my family, my friends, my home in a city that I really loved to come live among my brothers and sisters in the land promised to my ancestors, yet still feel like an outsider. In the days since, this has become a recurring emotion that will likely bother me until I accomplish two things: Learn to speak Hebrew proficiently and declare aliyah. Right now, the plan is to stay here until June and then head back to the States for a little while, declare aliyah, grab my stuff out of storage, and then jump on the August ’05 Nefesh B’Nefesh flight back over here. Perhaps some of you will join me on that flight.

So anyway, my sister and her family picked me up at the airport with welcome signs, balloons, and hugs and kisses. It was pretty emotional and there may have even been a tear or two shed.

After piling into their van, we headed for their home in Efrat, which is in the Gush Etzion bloc on the West Bank of the Jordan River. Before reaching our final destination though, I got my first taste of participating in a mitzvah that can only be performed in Eretz Yisrael. We stopped at a major intersection which is a popular stopping point for soldiers traveling on their way to various posts, bases, and assignments. When the current war began, the communities around Efrat set up a rest area and café with free coffee and cakes for the soldiers. There’s even a nice kosher succah up for the soldiers to sit around and shmooze in. The whole project is run entirely for the soldiers and is staffed by volunteers from the neighborhood. Its even open 24/7. It’s really a beautiful thing. So anyway, my sister pulled out a cake that she baked that morning and we all went into the succah to wish a chag sameach and kol hakavod to the young chayailm. We left the cake and the guys were extremely appreciative. It was a really nice moment and a great way to start my life in The Land.

Later in the day we had a really nice BBQ in my sister’s succah which included burgers, dawgs, and yes, even chicken wings! It seems that I can’t stay away from those tasty little guys even if I try.

The next day (my first full day in Israel) we had to sit around until noon to wait for my luggage which did not arrive in Israel when I did. After getting everything back in my possession, we drove to Jerusalem to walk thru the Old City. Because the entire country is on Succot vacation, the streets and alleys were more crowded than I’ve ever seen. At the Kotel there must have been over three thousand people – at four in the afternoon. We davened mincha and then took my niece to the official Jerusalem community succah which was lit up by over 18,000 lights. There was food, live music, and a real festive atmosphere.

My family and I then separated for the evening and I went to a couple of shiurim at the Israel Center in honor of Leil Hoshana Raba. I heard two amazing Rabbi’s who left me feeling inspired and grateful to be here. I also walked away feeling even more confident, more secure, and more resilient than ever that we must protect the Jewish people at any cost.

On Wed. morning, I went to a 6 AM minyan and beat the aravot as customary on Hoshana Raba and I then took the bus to meet several friends in Tzfat for Simchat Torah. We rented an amazing apt. overlooking the mountains and the weather was awesome. I got my first taste of an Israeli sunset overlooking the beautiful mountains of Tzfat.

We spent the evening with the Breslovers in their beautiful new shul and learned that the custom of dancing with the Torah on Simchat Torah was actually started right there in Tzfat. Next day was spent dancing like a madman at Carlebach and the hakafot didn’t even end until after 3:30 PM.

I decided to observe the chag as all other Israeli’s do, so Yom Tov was only on Thursday. It was a little strange observing only one day, but I think I’ll get used to it. After the chag we drove to Tel Aviv where we spent the night and hung out on my buddy’s rooftop over looking the city. Even went to the beach and got my feet wet from the warm Mediterranean water. It’s amazing how warm the Mediterranean water is compared to Lake Michigan.

Friday was spent getting my first Holy Land haircut. Its not al it’s built up to be. I then traveled back to Efrat, listening to the news updates of the Taba bombings, and then prepared for Shabbat. It was a beautiful Shabbat with everybody feeling like the year is finally now beginning.

Now, I am preparing to check out an Ulpan which is beginning tomorrow morning at 8:15 in Alon Shvut in the Gush. If I decide to stick with this ulpan, my plan is to attend that in the mornings and then start learning in a Yeshiva in the Gush during the afternoons. I’ll keep you posted as to where I end up, but I’m feeling really driven to spend some serious time in this part of the country. My brother-in-law is putting me in touch with the head of security in Efrat and I hope to become a part-time guard as soon as possible.

Gotta get some sleep.

Peace

PS - THANKS TO ALL MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS WHO HELPED PACK ME UP AND MOVE ME OUT OF MY APARTMENT IN RECORD FASHION. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND YOU ARE AWESOME! I LOVE YOU.

2004-09-24T07:00:00.000+02:00
"Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."
- Anonymous as quoted by a Chasidic Rabbi

French Hill Bombing

2004-09-22T17:59:00.000+02:00
Amidst the sadness of the latest Muslim terror bombing, an article in The Jerusalem Post carried an amazing quote from an eye witnesses to this latest atrociity. The witness, Avigail, said she saw the female bomber cross the checkpoint and blow herself up, killing a young Border Patrol Guard. In Avigail's words, the woman exploded and seconds later people were running everywhere. She started shaking and crying. "I have trust in G-d and this has just increased that trust." How powerful this statement is during these Days of Awe. How much more inspiring it is for me to hear these words and all the while know that it is precisley these sentiments that help explain why I'm moving myself and my belongings to Eretz Yisrael.

May there be peace within your walls.

And that's the way it is............

2004-09-14T23:34:00.000+03:00
Well, my boss just called and said that the decision has been made in NY by HR and the VP of CP Sales not to honor my request for a leave of absence. They based the decision on the business climate in which they currently find themselves. That is, that I am now the sole Account Manager (versus two NAM's) calling on Meijer, a high exposure account in the world of soaps and detergents. The feeling among the CP higher-ups is that with all the future plans for continued growth at this account, they can't afford to leave the position open for any length of time. They did however offer me a 2-3 week vacation to go "visit" Israel, but that just ain't gonna cut it.

In my own mind I know that they would not be facing this predicament had they not let go of my counterpart (CL), for whom I have a great deal of respect and whom I know firsthand did a magnificent job building his business and acting as a mentor and friend to me in my two years calling on this account. His results speak for themselves, as does the sense of bewilderment expressed by his many admirers at Meijer who have acknowlegded to me both privately and publicly that his removal a sham.

Anyway, have no fear because I actually feel better now after finding out that my request for a leave of absence has been rejected. Had I left under those circumstances, I would have left feeling as though there was still some small chain around my leg. I would have had to deal with being in Israel and then come December having to jump thru hoops in order to get the leave extended and then do it all over again in April, etc, etc... just to ensure receipt of little bonus check.

So yes, while the money would have been nice, I am now able to focus entirely on moving forward on this journey with a clean slate. And for this to happen to me during the month of Elul seems to be a real blessing. I can now pack up and hit the road with the knowledge that I've been given the chance to begin completely anew. THANK G-d. I can now begin to focus much of my prayers and thoughts of teshuva on a true return, as the word means. I am returning to my homeland, the land of my forefathers.

Peace.

Shana tova to my family, friends, and all of Klal Yirael

2004-09-14T20:52:00.000+03:00
Remember us for life, O King Who desires Life, and inscribe us in the book of Life - for Your sake, O Living G-d

2004-09-10T23:30:00.000+03:00
So its been a while since my last post and a lot has happened. First and foremost, I want to thank Cara P. for teaching me how to put pictures on my website. I'm very excited about this because as most of you know, I have rarely left my apt. this year without my camera. So anyway, hopefully you'll enjoy some of my pictures.

I guess the topic on everybody's mind when talking to me is my move to Israel. Here's a brief recap of the latest news. I gave my notice - sort of - on Tuesday. I'm actually in a state of limbo right now b/c I actually asked for a leave of absence so that I would be eligible for health insurance and also my sales bonus for the 3rd quarter which ends a few days before I leave. So anyway, I have not been given an answer either way by Colgate, so right now all I know is that I'm leaving on Oct. 3 and maybe I'll be able to count on a little money coming in after being in Israel for a few months.

This week I ordered a new laptop to take with me so that I can keep up with all my peeps around the globe.

I've also been busy packing up my stuff and looking for a place to store my boxes and furniture while I'm gone. I just got word from a good friend that his boss is going to let me store my belongings in his warehoure. This is a huge relief b/c it's centrally located in the city and it will also save me some money. I'll be moving my stuff out of the apt. on Sept. 27 in the AM with the help of a few good friends. Thanks.

So aside from all this Israel stuff, this week has been filled with alot of other stuff as well. First of all, I bid a very sad farwell to my beautiful friends Alex and Leah N. and their kids. They left for Israel on Tuesday morning and will be with their family in Acre for the chaggim. Luckily I will see them when I get there, but after they leave, it's going to be difficult adjusting to life without Friday night dinners at their home. I will miss you guys!

Here's a pictures of them when they visited me and my friends in Chicago last week.

On Monday and Wednesday this past week, I woke up around 4:30 AM and rode my bike down to the lakefront at Diversey harbor and watched a couple of amazing sunrises. I actually wrapped tefillin and davened there on Monday morning. It was really cool to actually do that at Neitz and be able to see the changes of the daylight occur right in front of me. Check out these pictures.

And of course, no week would be complete for me without the Cubs. My buddy Brian and I saw a great game on Monday afternoon (picture) and we saw one of the worst defeats of the season on Wed. Needless to say, we had much fun at both games.

Shabbat Shalom to all.

British Airways

2004-09-01T19:56:00.000+03:00
Kosher Meal - yes
Baggage - 2 Bags (70 lbs. each)
Bike - $165.00
Frequent Flyer Number - They honor American Airlines but only on the leg from London to Tel Aviv. They do not honor the leg from Chicago to London b/c this is a route in which they compete with American Airlines on.
Ticket - Electronic

Now on to dealing with storage facilities in greater Chicagoland area. Anybody thats wants to help packing and moving my stuff will have a special place in Olam Hab..... well I can't really guarantee that but you will have a special place in my heart. Thanks.

Your Reservation Has Been Confirmed

2004-08-23T18:44:00.000+03:00
FOR:GRIS/AVRAHAM ITINERARYAIR - SUNDAY - October 3British Airways Flight: 296 Economy ClassLeaving: Chicago, IL - O'Hare Intl Arpt 5:30 PMDepart: TERMINAL 5Arriving: London - Heathrow 7:30 AMArrive: TERMINAL 4Seat: 44JEQP Type: Boeing 747-400Status: ConfirmedAIR - MONDAY - October 4British Airways Flight: 165 Economy ClassLeaving: London - Heathrow 8:40 AMDepart: TERMINAL 4Arriving: Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Intl Arpt 2:35 PMArrive: Terminal Information UnavailableSeat: 31JEQP Type: Boeing 767-300Status: ConfirmedAIR - WEDNESDAY - June 22British Airways Flight: 162 Economy ClassLeaving: Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Intl Arpt 8:05 AMDepart: Terminal Information UnavailableArriving: London - Heathrow 11:40 AMArrive: TERMINAL 4Seat: 19KEQP Type: Boeing 767-300Status: ConfirmedAIR - WEDNESDAY - June 22British Airways Flight: 297 Economy ClassLeaving: London - Heathrow 1:05 PMDepart: TERMINAL 4Arriving: Chicago, IL - O'Hare Intl Arpt 3:30 PMArrive: TERMINAL 5Seat: 44AEQP Type: Boeing 777-200Status: Confirmed

The First Day of the rest of My Life

2004-08-23T05:53:00.000+03:00
How should I begin? I guess I will take a moment to state why I've decided to create a personal blog. The intended purpose of this website will be to keep interested parties (and myself) apprised of the places life will take me over the next year or so. As inspiration for this concept, I have my Mother, who gave me her love of travel and has, for as long as I can remember, urged me to keep a journal of my thoughts and experiences. So I will now finally try to take her advice and follow through on this project. I hope you will all enjoy the things I post and the pictures I attach.

Peace be unto you.