Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Train of Life and the blood moon over Jerusalem


Forgive Fully

A person who sincerely fears the Almighty should forgive someone who wronged him when that person asks for forgiveness. He should do his best to return to the previous state of loving-friendship that existed before the other person erred.

We find in the Torah (Genesis 50:21) that Yosef forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery as soon as they asked his forgiveness. He told them that because he fears G-d they need not worry.

Is there anyone you have not yet forgiven? If yes, imagine that the person has the wisdom and courage to ask you for forgiveness. Visualize yourself forgiving that person. The next time you encounter that person act with the friendliness of someone you have forgiven.

This is especially hard for most people, which is one of the reasons that G-d asks us to to do it. I hurt two of my friends recently inadvertently. I have asked for forgiveness, but it is taking them a long time to forgive. I have to be strong enough to wait until they fully forgive, while meanwhile practicing what I preach.


Love Yehuda Lave

Rare 3,000-year-old King David era seal discovered by Temple Mount Sifting Project - Israel News - Jerusalem Post



 http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Rare-3000-year-old-King-David-era-seal-discovered-by-Temple-Mount-Sifting-Project-419024?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=google_mail&utm_source=email

This is one reason that the tragedy of when the Moslems took layers of years of history off the temple mount was such a tragedy. Who knows what was lost?

Street Shofer...to remember the Yom Kippur we just had
Tekiah...

http://www.youtube.com/embed/R9OrWMSMKXg


This is absolutely amazing. Joe Rinaudo playing an America Fotoplayer, the incredible instrument used in films, cartoons, and, of course, ball games, throughout the early 20th Century.



The Train of Life:
THIS IS VERY BEAUTIFUL
AND I AM HONORED TO HAVE RECEIVED IT.

 
NOW, ON TO YOU MY FRIEND!

 
http://www.thepastwhispers.com/train_17_edited1.jpg

 
At birth we boarded the train and met our parents,
and we believe they will always travel on our side.

 
However, at some station
our parents will step down from the train,
leaving us on this journey alone.

 
As time goes by,
other people will board the train;
and they will be significant
i.e. our siblings, friends, children,
and even the love of your life.

 
Many will step down
and leave a permanent vacuum.

 
Others will go so unnoticed
that we don't realize
they vacated their seats.

 
This train ride will be full of joy,
sorrow, fantasy, expectations,
hellos, goodbyes, and farewells.

 
Success consists of having a good relationship
with all passengers
requiring that we give the best of ourselves.

 
The mystery to everyone is:
We do not know at which station
we ourselves will step down.

 
So, we must live in the best way,
love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

 
It is important to do
this because when the time comes for us to step down
and leave our seat empty
we should leave behind beautiful memories
for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

 
I wish you a joyful journey on the train of life.
Reap success and give lots of love.
More importantly, thank God for the journey.

 
Lastly, I thank you
for being one of the passengers on my train.
 
 
 
 
 

MK Zahalka Rioting on Temple Mount: 'We'll Never Permit Jews to Pray' [video]on Temple Mount: 'We'll Never Permit Jews to Pray' [video]


Published: September 29th, 2015

MK Jamal Zahalka in rage on the Temple Mount

MK Jamal Zahalka in rage on the Temple Mount
Photo Credit: Avichai Menachem / Hozrim l'Har

(JNi.media) Arab MKs Jamal Zahalka, Massoud Ghanayem and Abdel Hakim Hajj (Joint List) arrived in Jerusalem Tuesday morning, to participate in the Arab protest against the right of Jews to enter the Temple Mount, An NRG video [credit: Avichai Menachem / Hozrim l'Har] documenting the event shows MK Zahalka making harsh announcements at the Jewish worshipers and police officers present.

Speaking to NRG, MK Zahalka warned that he expel every Jew who goes near the Al Aqsa Mosque. "We came to protest the desecration of Al-Aqsa mosque by extremist Jewish groups. This is a mosque belonging to the Muslims, there is no reason to change the status quo to allow Jewish prayers on the Mount. I will personally expel every Jew who comes to the Temple Mount in a provocative manner," he said.

Zahalka added that "I met with Chairman Abbas, I was with King Abdullah of Jordan, and the president of Turkey Tayyip Erdoğan, and we discussed this important issue which constitutes a real danger to regional stability. There is great anger in Muslim society about the harm to Al Aqsa Mosque, which in the State of Israel they're not aware of and do not feel it."

In the video, Zahalka faces police on the Temple Mount while Jewish visitors are present and shouts "Criminals, lunatics, go to hell." He tells a policeman who tries to remove him: "Even you have no place here."

Zahalka said that despite his protest, he is not against Jewish tourists visiting the Temple Mount. "There are hundreds of tourists who visit Al Aqsa and we don't check whether they are Jews or Christians. As long as it is innocent tourists, we have no problem with that, but there should be no Jewish worshipers at Al-Aqsa. We will not let that happen."

On Tuesday morning, police allowed the entry of one group of religious Jews at a time into the Temple Mount compound, with dozens waiting in line outside. But visitors without identifying religious Jewish articles of clothing were allowed to enter without restriction. Eventually, police blocked entrance to the compound and asked the people waiting outside to leave the area.

During the first day of the Sukkot holiday, Monday, Arabs attacked Jewish visitors who were on their way to attend holiday prayers at the Western Wall. Multiple videos have shown ultra-Orthodox and national-religious Jews, many of them children, being harassed by dozens of Arabs, mostly women, who yelled at them, "Allahu Akbar."


 
 
 
 
 
 





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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Hill 24 doesn't answer (great early Zionist movie) and prayers in Hevron






Dear Yehuda,

I would like to send to you, and to all your e-mail recipients, the movie that inspired me at the very early age of eleven to become a lifelong Zionist. I first saw it with my parents in England and it changed my life forever.

It is an Israeli movie in black and white dealing with the lives of four people who came together to defend a hill from invading Arab armies during the 1948 Arab-Israel War.

In particular the scenes in the Old City of Jerusalem, where the ancient Jewish community was besieged and eventually driven out by the Jordanian Arab Legion, made a very deep and emotional impression upon me. The image of the rabbi leading the Jews out of the Old City was especially heart rending.

The movie in question is called Hill 24 Doesn't Answer and, perhaps, some people have never seen it before.

Shalom,

Victor Sharpe


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvu8jw0oWA8


Watch: Thousands Pray in Hevron Before Yom Kippur

4,000 Karliner hassidim recited the selihot prayers at the ancient Cave of Machpelah in an emotional service.

By Eliran Aharon
First Publish: 9/18/2015, 8:39 AM

No fewer than 4,000 Hassidic Jews from the Karliner sect attended the selihot penitentiary prayers at the Cave of Machpelah in Hevron on Thursday night, arriving in dozens of buses for the services. 

"The influx of the masses to the cave continues all the time," Ashi Horowitz, the operations officer of the Jewish community maintaining the Old City of Hevron, stated to Arutz Sheva

"The event tonight is part of an increase of tens of thousands of people whom are expected to visit Hevron before Yom Kippur."

Many thousands of Jews flood to Israel's holy sites for selihot prayers, the set of prayers for forgiveness and mercy said during the days leading up to, and between, Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Sephardic Jews begin the prayers in the month leading up to the High Holidays, whereas Ashkenazic Jews began the prayers in the week before Rosh Hashanah. 


Netanyahu to Ban: We're Maintaining Status Quo on Temple Mount

PM Netanyahu tells UN Secretary-General Israel is strictly maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount, despite Palestinian incitement.

By Elad Benari
First Publish: 9/18/2015, 6:12 AM


Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening spoke with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the wake of the ongoing terror wave in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu told the UN chief that Israel is acting against the violence on the Temple Mount, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

He added that Israel is strictly maintaining the status quo, Palestinian incitement to the contrary notwithstanding.

Violence has been going on at the Temple Mount complex since before Rosh Hashanah, when masked Muslim rioters hurled rocks and fireworks at police on the Temple Mount, as well as firebombs near two entrances to the site.

The clashes continued after the holiday as well, as once again masked Muslim youths gathered around the mosque and threw rocks and other projectiles at police who had entered the compound in large numbers and responded with stun grenades. 

However, Israel's response to the riots has resulted in it being internationally criticized instead of those Arab rioters who are behind the clashes.

French President Francois Hollande warned on Wednesday that any change in the current rules governing the Temple Mount - Judaism's holiest site - could lead to "serious destabilisation."

He was echoing calls by other states, including the United States, to maintain a ban on Jewish prayer at the site despite its holy status for Jews, in order to placate Muslim extremists.

The Arab League, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel as well. The Arab League warned against the "Judaization of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israel" and threatened to turn to international legal institutions.

Saudi King Salman, meanwhile, appealed to Ban and members of the Security Council for "urgent measures" after the clashes.

Salman "expressed strong condemnation of the dangerous Israeli escalation" at the holy site where Palestinian rioters clashed with Israeli police for three straight days, the Saudi Press A

Rabbi Yehuda Glick Receives Death Threat

Published: September 27th, 2015
Yehuda Glick seen praying with Muslims. Glick is a proponent of the Temple Mount and coexistence.

Yehuda Glick seen praying with Muslims. Glick is a proponent of the Temple Mount and coexistence.
Photo Credit: Israel Unseen

Rabbi Yehuda Glick, who was shot 4 times by an Arab would-be assassin last year, received a death threat this morning by telephone.

Glick contacted the police and within an hour they traced the threatening phone call to an Arab in Yafo, according to a Tazpit report.

The suspect was arrested, and was released to house arrest on Sunday afternoon, with a restraining order preventing him from calling Glick over the next 30 days.

Glick is a civil rights activist, struggling to allow Jews free access to the Temple Mount and to be allowed to pray on the Jewish holy site.


Senator Rubi speaks on the Iranian deal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m50L76XVoA0


InfographicSukkotSukkah500x291-EN

Most memorable quotes

September 23, 2015 | 4:30am



Yogi Berra

AP

Yogi Berra, considered one of the best catchers in major league history, died of natural causes at the age of 90 Tuesday. The Yankees legend and Hall of Famer may be better known for the way he creatively butchered the English language, with what became known as Yogi-isms.

Here are 35:

1. "It ain't over till it's over."

2. "It's deja vu all over again."

3. "I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4."

4. "Never answer an anonymous letter."

5. "We made too many wrong mistakes."

6. "You can observe a lot by watching."

7. "The future ain't what it used to be."

8. "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else."

9. "It gets late early out here."

10. "If the people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody's going to stop them."

11. "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."

12. "Pair up in threes."

13. "Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel."

14. "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

15. "All pitchers are liars or crybabies."

16. "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."

17. "Bill Dickey is learning me his experience."

18. "He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious."

19. "I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."

20. "I can see how he (Sandy Koufax) won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five."

Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra in 1955.

21. "I don't know (if they were men or women fans running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads."

22. "I'm a lucky guy and I'm happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary."

23. "I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did."

24. "In baseball, you don't know nothing."

25. "I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?"

26. "I never said most of the things I said."

27. "It ain't the heat, it's the humility."

28. "I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house."

29. "I wish everybody had the drive he (Joe DiMaggio) had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I'd never seen him dive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field."

30. "So I'm ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face."

31. "Take it with a grin of salt."

32. (On the 1973 Mets) "We were overwhelming underdogs."

33. "The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase."

34. "You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours."

35. "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Baseball Almanac, Baseball Digest, Catcher in the Wry (Bob Uecker), Sports Illustrated






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Sunday, September 27, 2015

An addict uses Judaism’s ancient method to move forward after addiction, and a beautiful story




Love Yehuda Lave



The Biblical Museum of Natural History

Posted: 24 Sep 2015 01:10 PM PDT

Check out this new promotional video for The Biblical Museum of Natural History - best played full-screen with the volume cranked up! Please help us out by sharing it with all your friends! (Note that if you are reading this post via email subscription, you will not be able to see the video - go to this link instead: https://youtu.be/yx0zJnE-xu)


A story about holding grudges!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlvilVj0ztc

No here is A beautiful and touching story that will give us much to think about. The story was told over by Rav Go'el Elkarif who said he heard it from the person to whom it happened.


    There is a fellow who owns a jewelry store in Eretz Yisroel. One day, not long ago a nine year old girl walked into the store and said, "I am here to buy a bracelet". She looks through the glass cases and points to a bracelet that was three or four thousand dollars. The man behind the counter asked her, "You want to buy that bracelet?" And she says, "Yes". He says, "Wow, you have very good taste. Who do you want to buy it for?" She says, "For my older sister". He says, "Oh that is so nice! Why do you want to buy your older sister this bracelet?" The little girl says, "Because I don't have a mother or father, and my older sister takes care of us. So we want to buy her a present, and I'm willing to pay for it". She pulls out of her pocket a whole bunch of coins that totaled seven shekel, eighty agurot, which is a little less than two dollars. The fellow says, "Wow! That's exactly what the bracelet costs". He wraps up the bracelet and says, "You write a card to your sister while I wrap the bracelet". In a short amount of time, he finishes wrapping the bracelet, he wipes away his tears, and hands the little girl the bracelet. 

     A few hours later the older sister comes in and says" I'm terribly embarrassed. My sister should not have come here. She shouldn't have taken it without paying." He says to her, "What are you talking about?" She says, "What do you mean? This bracelet costs thousands of dollars. My little sister doesn't have thousands of dollars, she doesn't even have ten dollars. So she obviously didn't pay for it". The fellow who owns the jewelry store says, "You couldn't be more wrong. She paid me in full. She paid seven shekel, eighty agurot, and a broken heart. I want to tell you something. I am an alman, I lost my wife a number of years ago. People come into my store every single day. They come in and buy expensive pieces of jewelry, but all these people can afford it. When your sister walked in, for the first time in so very long since my wife had died, I once again felt what love means". He gave her the bracelet and wished her well. 

    Says, Rav Go'el Elkarif, we come to the Ribono Shel Olam and we want to buy something very expensive. We want to buy life, but we cannot afford it. We don't have the money to pay for it. We don't have the zechusim. So we come to the Ribono Shel Olam and we empty our pockets, with what? A kabbalah here and a kabbalah there; I'll keep cholov yisroel during the Asrers Yimei Teshuva, I'll keep pas yisroel like the Mishnah Brura says, I'll pick up the phone and call someone who is lonely, I will learn an extra five minutes mussar, I will be kind, I won't speak lashon harah for two hours; something small. The Ribono Shel Olam says, "Oh, you don't know how long it's been since I've felt what love means". The Ribono Shel Olam sees how much we are willing to do, how much we love him, and he says, "You know what? You have touched my heart. Here it is, paid in full". 

    Have a great beginning to your Teshuva and a great year.






How to Move Beyond Your Shameful Past

How to Move Beyond Your Shameful Past

An addict uses Judaism's ancient method to move forward after addiction.

by

A life of drinking, drugs, and rock 'n' roll was infinitely less glamorous than it may have sounded. Even though he had left it behind, my patient had not succeeded in creating a new life for himself. He was unable to form new relationships and unable to fix his old ones. It didn't matter that he'd been sober for the better part of two years; the poor guy was paralyzed with embarrassment.

So hiding in his basement apartment and delivering pizzas, my patient had effectively removed himself from society until a chance meeting with a mutual friend ended in a referral to my office. My new patient was quick to tell me that his previous experiences with therapy hadn't helped at all.

"All therapists want to talk about is the past," he said. "Beyond asking about my mother, all they care about is 'traumatic experiences.' Don't they know that the most traumatic thing to do is to bring up all the bad stuff I did back in the day?"

I agreed with him and said, "And the truth is that you haven't been able to get past it because you're too ashamed to move forward."

"How could I not be ashamed," he wondered. "I once hit someone in the head with a bottle over a girl whose name I can't even remember...I should be proud of that? I spent three months in jail for that one."

"You don't have to be proud of it but you don't need to be ashamed either," I told him. "You've been sober for two years now. The person who did those things is long gone. He's probably still in jail somewhere or maybe even dead for all we know. The person who's sober and sitting here right now is a totally different man."

"What does that even mean?" he asked.

This is the fundamental question that every person who has begun to change their life asks: can I really become a new person or will I always be carrying that baggage along with me?

A person that is sincere in their repentance is a changed human being.

This is also the same question that Maimonides asks in his book, "The Laws of Teshuvah [Repentance]." His answer is clear: a person that is sincere in their repentance is a changed human being. Maimonides teaches that a person who does Teshuvah should say, "I am a different person and not the same one who did those things," (The Laws of Teshuvah 2:4). A true Ba'al Teshuvah – a master of personal change – is an entirely different human being from the individual who previously did the things they came to regret.

Most people have done things they aren't too proud of and want to rectify these prior deeds. One of the most dangerous traps for the person who wants to change their life is shame. An individual who hurt someone else or hurt themselves is often too embarrassed to say "I'm sorry" or too scared to move on; being stuck on the shame of a prior misdoing makes it impossible to ever move forward.

In my office, I've found talk therapies that focus on reliving and re-experiencing trauma facilitate a vicious cycle of shame for patients and don't prepare them for a future filled with new opportunities. This is diametrically opposed to the writings of Maimonides who teaches, "It is a sin to remind a Ba'al Teshuvah of their past," (The Laws of Teshuvah 7:8). A person can't beat themselves up for what they've done and moving forward isn't just advisable, it's the point of the process itself!

My patient had spent two years of sobriety torturing himself for having done a slew of things he could never undo. Until he committed to letting it go, he'd be unable to use his tremendous talents to do anything productive with the rest of his time on in this World.

So I asked him, "You spent years hurting yourself with drugs and alcohol. Do you really think the point of getting sober was to kill yourself with guilt? That part of your life is over, a new chapter's begun."

"What should I do then, just forget about what happened and hit the reset button? Maybe I'll just pretend I never did all those bad things and start a brand new life," he chuckled

"Exactly," I told him. "A brand new life as a sober, smart, and dedicated human being who is finally ready to fix the world, starting right now."

Starting right now for all of us. We've spent Rosh Hashanah thinking about who we want to be in the coming year and Yom Kippur is waiting. Now is the time for teshuvah. And in case you were curious, my patient got better and decided to pursue a career as a music therapist. He spends the rest of his time as a mentor at a sober living facility in Jerusalem.


How is Sukkot Observed? (this guide is for out of Israel)


How Is Sukkot Observed?

For forty years, as our ancestors traversed the Sinai Desert prior to their entry into the Holy Land, miraculous "clouds of glory" surrounded and hovered over them, shielding them from the dangers and discomforts of the desert. Ever since, we remember G‑d's kindness and reaffirm our trust in His providence by dwelling in a sukkah – a hut of temporary construction with a roof-covering of branches – for the duration of the autumn Sukkot festival. For seven days and nights, we eat all our meals in the sukkah – reciting a special blessing – and otherwise regard it as our home. Weather permitting, some even sleep there.

We reaffirm our trust in His providence by dwelling in a sukkah
Another mitzvah that is unique to Sukkot is the taking of the Four Kinds: an etrog (citron), a lulav (palm frond), at least three hadassim (myrtle branches) and two aravot (willow branches). The Midrash tells us that the Four Kinds represent the various types and personalities that comprise the community of Israel, whose intrinsic unity we emphasize on Sukkot.

On each day of the festival (except Shabbat), during the daytime hours, we take the Four Kinds, recite a blessing over them, bring them together in our hands and wave them in all six directions: right, left, forward, up, down and to the rear. (The Four Kinds are also an integral part of the holiday's daily morning service.)

Sukkot is also called The Time of Our Joy; indeed, a special joy pervades the festival. Nightly Water-Drawing Celebrations, reminiscent of the evening-to-dawn festivities held in the Holy Temple in preparation for the drawing of water for use in the festival service, fill the synagogues and streets with song, music, and dance until the wee hours of the morning.

Out of Israel, Sukkot runs from the fifteenth through the twenty-first of Tishrei. The first two days of this festival (in Israel only the first day) are a major holiday, when most forms of work are prohibited. On the preceding nights, women and girls light candles, reciting the appropriate blessings, and we enjoy nightly and daily festive meals, accompanied by the Kiddush. In Israel we have only one day at the beginning and end of the festival.

Celebrations fill the streets with song and dance until the wee hours of the morning
The remaining days of the festival are Chol Hamoed ("intermediate days"), when most forms of work are permitted. We try to avoid going to work, writing, and certain other activities – many families use this time to enjoy fun family outings.

Every day of Sukkot, including Chol Hamoed, we recite the complete Hallel, Hoshanot, and Musaf, and the Torah is read during the morning service.

The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah ("Great Salvation"). According to tradition, the verdict for the new year – which is written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur – is not handed down by the Heavenly Court until Hoshanah Rabbah. On this day we encircle the bimah (synagogue reading table) seven times while holding the Four Kinds and offering special prayers for prosperity during the upcoming year. During the course of the morning prayers it is also traditional to take a bundle of five willow branches and beat them against the ground five times.

Sukkot is immediately followed by the independent holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah.

The Sukkah: The Holiday Hut

What: A sukkah is a hut built to provide shade. That's why it must sit beneath the open sky—not under a patio deck or even the branches of a tree. The walls can be made of any material, as long as they are secure and don't flap about in the wind. The roof, however, (we call it s'chach), must be of unprocessed materials which have grown from the ground. Bamboo poles, thin wooden slats, and evergreen branches are popular choices. Just make sure to use enough s'chach so that the inside of your sukkah will have more shade than sunlight. Those living in the fast lane can buy a prefab sukkah and bamboo mats. Inquire at your local Judaica store, or click here.

For eight days, make the sukkah your official home
How: For eight days, make the sukkah your official home. Don't panic: As long as you eat your meals there, you're okay. But try to include anything else that you would normally do in the house—like reading a book or talking with a friend. We sit in the sukkah from sundown on the 14th of Tishrei through nightfall of the 22nd of Tishrei.

It is a mitzvah to eat all meals in the sukkah (a "meal" is defined as more than two ounces of grains -- e.g. bread, cake, pasta). Some people have the custom of eating snacks in the sukkah as well. Before eating in the sukkah, the following blessing is recited:

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah.

his blessing is made when your meal or snack includes a grain-based food.

Raining? If it's really uncomfortable, there is no duty to sit there. Come back when the weather improves. Nevertheless, many chassidim will eat in the sukkah no matter the weather. It's too great and rare a mitzvah to squander...

It is particularly important to eat at least one k'zayit (approx. 1 oz.) of bread or challah on the first evening of the festival in the sukkah, between nightfall and midnight.

Who: Dwelling in the sukkah is a mitzvah for everyone, though the obligation applies mainly to men over the age of thirteen (children as young as five or six should do so too).

Why: The sukkah commemorates the Clouds of Glory which surrounded and protected our ancestors during the forty-year desert sojourn which followed the Egyptian Exodus. Our willingness to leave the security of our homes and spend eight days in a flimsy outdoor hut demonstrates our faith in G‑d and His benevolence.

The Four Kinds: The Lulav and Etrog

Every day of Sukkot (except Shabbat) we take the arba minim, a.k.a. "Four Kinds." Sukkot is a seven-day holiday starting on 15 Tishrei and concluding on 21 Tishrei.

What are the four kinds? A palm branch (lulav), two willows (aravot), a minimum of three myrtles (hadassim) and one citron (etrog). The first three kinds are neatly bundled together—your arba minim vendor can assemble it for you. Click here for a guide to binding the lulav.

Not all sets of arba minim on the market are kosher. Check with your rabbi. And treat your set with TLC—they're fragile goods!

Arba minim is a man's obligation. For women, it's optional but encouraged. Best place for doing this mitzvah is the sukkah, the outdoor holiday booth.

Hold the lulav in your right hand (unless you're a lefty), with its spine facing you. Face east and say:

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding taking the lulav.

Pick up the etrog in your left hand.

[On the first day of Sukkot (or the first time on Sukkot you get to do this), at this point say:

Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.]

Bring the lulav and etrog together—you've done the mitzvah!

Nevertheless,

Treat your set with TLC—they're fragile goods!
the custom is to wave the arba minim in all six directions—south, north, east, up, down and west. Click here for an illustrated guide to shaking the Four Kinds.

Take along your arba minim to the synagogue for the morning services. We wave them again during the Hallel prayer, and then parade them around the synagogue during the Hosha'anot ceremony.

Jewish unity is one of the central themes of Sukkot. The four kinds you are holding symbolize four types of Jews, with differing levels of Torah knowledge and observance. Bringing them together represents our unity as a nation—despite our external differences. So in this spirit of unity, be sure to share your arba minim with your Jewish friends and neighbors!


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Friday, September 25, 2015

Every Jew must watch this video --the holiest place in the world-the temple mount

The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before Hashem.

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before Hashem, but the Hashem was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but Hashem was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake came a fire, but Hashem was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, thin sound. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

In one of the greatest miracle of our time, less than a year ago, Yehuda Glick was shot five times point blank and survived to tell the story of, the bill of goods the Jewish people have been told about the Kotel and the temple mount..

He does it, not by yelling and screaming, but by teaching us the facts in a still small voice

You must watch these videos to really understand the situation, regardless of what you have been taught in the past. We the Jewish people have been brainwashed. Just listen to the facts.


Love Yehuda Lave

Rabbi Yehuda Glick on the temple mount (it takes only about an hour to watch all three):

Part 1/3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrX3ZmNGgrc

Part 2/3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0XwkS7sMSQ

Part 3/3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlUVs4NXtno

TEMPLE MOUNT VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_1cQp3eEs

Muslims All Over the World Want This Video Removed From The Internet


Why is it that something as simple as a Jew mumbling some words of prayer at the Holy Spot can lead to massive and violent Islamic riots? Maybe the extreme over sensitivity can be traced to the simple fact that Muslims really have no claim to the Temple Mount at all. As is true in so many instances on the Temple Mount, Islamic extremists (with the support of the entire Arab world) use violence to avoid addressing the facts – facts that are clearly not sympathetic to their cause.

Published: September 24, 2015




Published on Sep 24, 2012
This video clip, which was produced especially for the Jewish High Holidays, shows the IDF chief cantor and IDF soldiers singing the prayer "Unetanneh Tokef" in the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv. The video features footage of the Yom Kippur War and one of its heroes, Brig. Gen. (res.) Avigdor Kahalani, who was a battalion commander in the Armored Brigade, fought in the battle of the Valley of Tears and was awarded a Medal of Valor.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyBToUaon2w&sns=fb

Published on Apr 24, 2012
Hope. HATIKVAH at the Kotel, Jerusalem: "As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart, With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion, Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost: To be a free people in our land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem."



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K6KoL4Sjss






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Thursday, September 24, 2015

Temple Mount on the eve of Yom Kippur and We all need a few chuckles.


  Do Your Mission With Joy

The Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic movement, said, "The Almighty has sent you into this world on an appointed errand. It is His will that you accomplish your errand in a state of joy."
Today, view yourself as on a special mission from G-d. Think of the way you are unique and special. Experience the joy that is beginning to permeate your entire being as you reflect on this.
I felt that way on our beautiful Yom Kippur in Jerusalem. I went to the temple mount (didn't make it up --see below), davened at the Kotel, went to my four different favorite shuls for the different prayers and felt the beauty of Jerusalem. Because I understand Hebrew better this year after six months of Ulpan, the prayers had much more meaning than every before to me. Without Hebrew knowledge, there are 15 hours of prayers in 28 hours. That is a lot. With some Hebrew knowledge they are much more palatable.
Love Yehuda Lave


Temple Mount failed ascent Yom Kipper 2015

https://youtu.be/wVPnR3t0eNY





While I waited for two hours in line for 300 people to go up to the temple Mount on the morning of Yom Kipper Ever, one of my friends Michael Miller did make it up for a short tour and he made this video that morning (9/22/15). No loss I davened at the Kotel and took these pictures. Living in Jerusalem is amazing. I davened the four prayers (mincha on Erev Yom Kipper, Mariv, Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv, and Neilah) at my four favorite shuls and was treated with cavod at all four. I love Jerusalem.


TEMPLE MOUNT VIDEO: of the ones that made it that morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_1cQp3eEs

Left-Wing Media call 24 Terrorist Attacks a 'Quiet Yom Kippur'

Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority Arabs attacked Jews and soldiers with rocks and firebombs on Yom Kippur.
Published: September 23rd, 2015
Latest update: September 24th, 2015
Arab youth throwing a firebomb at Jews.
Arab youth throwing a firebomb at Jews.
Photo Credit: Issam Rimawi / Flash 90
It apparently was a "quiet" Yom Kippur for Israel's establishment media because no Jews were seriously injured.
That is the only way to explain reports that Yom Kippur was "relatively quiet," as termed by Reshet Bet (Voice of Israel) radio, despite at least 24 rock-throwing and firebomb attacks on soldiers and Jewish civilians.
After the holiday ended, the IDF reported that combat soldiers manning a post in the Jordan Valley foiled an attempted attack by a Palestinian Authority terrorist who was carrying an explosive device.
The soldiers arrested him when he approached their guard position, and no one was injured
During the day, Jerusalem Arabs missed their target in a firebombing attack on a Jewish home in the mixed Jewish-Arab Abu Tur neighborhood of Jerusalem.
More than 200 Palestinian Authority terrorists rioted near Hebron and threw rocks at police, and a firebomb was hurled at a Jewish home in Hebron.
Rock-throwing attacks also were reported in Har Homa, a large Jewish neighborhood at the southern edge of Jerusalem.
No injuries or serious property damage was reported, so for the media that are not concerned if Jews are targets of terrorists but not wounded or killed, it was a quiet day.
About the Author: Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu is a graduate in journalism and economics from The George Washington University. He has worked as a cub reporter in rural Virginia and as senior copy editor for major Canadian metropolitan dailies. Tzvi wrote for Arutz Sheva for several years before joining the Jewish Press

From my friend
Alan Ziegler

Rubio is articulate, smart, focused, understands the issues and has a vision.  Unlike most Washington politicians, he is free of haunting personal and political skeletons. He could also possibly correct the damage Trump caused to the Spanish constituents since he is a product of Cuban immigrants and may attract the Democratic Hispanic vote.


http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/09/22/rubio-popes-infallibility-does-not-extend-to-political-issues/


We all need a few chuckles.

                

                  





                   

                        







          

              
              

        
                  

                





                    

                       






                         

         






         

                





                

                           






      

          





       

                  




 













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