Friday, March 18, 2016

Author of Temple Mount books denied entry to Temple Mount

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

Expect Ups And Downs  

When a person works on himself in spiritual matters, he will find that he has ups and downs. It is easy to feel discouraged when one find oneself on a lower level than previously. Rabbi Tzadok Hacohen addressed himself to this when he said: "It is impossible for a person to have a major elevation without a prior descending." (Otzer Hamachshavah shel Rav Tzadok Hacohen, p.28)

It is unreasonable to expect constant successes. Look at each failure as a stepping stone to greater growth.

Love Yehuda Lave

Cold Blooded

John and Marry Smith purchased an old home in northern New York State from Sadie and Alfred Horowitz. Winter was fast approaching, and the Smiths were concerned about the house's lack of insulation. "If they could live here all those years, so can we!" John said to Mary confidently.

One November night the temperature plunged to below zero, and the Smiths woke up to find interior walls covered with frost. John called the Horowitzs to ask how they had kept the house warm. After a brief conversation, he hung up.

"For the past 30 years," he muttered, "they've gone to Florida for the winter."

Author of Books on Laws of Temple Sacrifices Refused Entry to Temple Mount

By: JNi.Media Published: March 14th, 2016

Rabbi Yehuda Kreuzer, dean of the Ha'Ra'ayon Ha'Yehudi (the Jewish Idea) yeshiva in Jericho, founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, was denied entry to the Temple Mount because of a halakhic treatise on the laws of the Pascal sacrifice he had written some ten years ago, Hakol Ha'Yehudi reported Monday.

Rabbi Kreuzer is a frequent visitor to the Temple Mount, and was among the very first rabbis to ascend there, which is why he was surprised last Thursday, on the first Rosh Chodesh day of Adar, when a policeman at the gate informed him the authorities had decided to deny him entry for classified reasons. The cop told the Rabbi that if he wishes to go in, he must first contact the David District Police, which covers the Old City of Jerusalem.

When he called the station, he was instructed to go there in person and sign a "document of discrimination," which police requires of Jews who have not acted, in the police's view, in an agreeable manner on the Temple Mount.

After repeated calls from the police to come down to the station, Rabbi Kreuzer finally acquiesced, and was introduced to a new intelligence officer who identified himself as "Alex," and began to question him regarding halakhic essays he had written and published ten years ago and earlier, among them works regarding the concrete halakhas of the Daily Sacrifice and the Pascal Sacrifice.

"It's a shame that in the Jewish State police is interrogating rabbis about halakhic books," Rabbi Kreuzer told the intelligence officer. The officer, for his part, inquired what was the Daily Sacrifice and when is it served (the term in Hebrew, Korban Ha'Tamid literally means the eternal sacrifice, which, admittedly, can be misleading to unschooled intelligence officers).

The Headquarters of Temple Organizations responded harshly to the seemingly arbitrary police action against the rabbi, especially since they were published a decade ago — what took them so long? They demanded the immediate intervention of Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud), and wondered how is it that under a rightwing minister and a religious police commissioner, the Jerusalem police continue to abuse Jews who simply wish to go up to the temple Mount without any "provocation."

"This police harassment over Torah publications is reminiscent of the darkest regimes we have experienced in our history," the organization said in a statement. They also announced that both of Rabbi Kreuzer's essays will now be republished, in a new, larger edition. Two copies are no doubt reserved for police intelligence.

The Daily Sacrifice essay is available here.

The Pascal Sacrifice here.

http://goo.gl/1X6QSI

Solar charging station on Betzalel Street

Jerusalem isn't short on hi-tech innovation, or cute ideas. This week, the first solar-powered charging station for cell phones was set up on Betzalel Street, near the Nocturno cafe. More are on the way.

cool-photographer-mom-Russian-kids

Who was Hiram Bingham and why is he getting a stamp?

Just an interesting piece of evidence of the curious behavior of the Roosevelt administration toward the Jews during WWII.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell gave a posthumous award for "constructive dissent" to Hiram (or Harry) Bingham, IV. For over fifty years, the State Department resisted any attempt to honor Bingham. For them he was an insubordinate member of the US diplomatic service, a dangerous maverick who was eventually demoted. Now, after his death, he has been officially recognized as a hero.

Bingham came from an illustrious family. His father (whom the fictional character Indiana Jones was based) was the archeologist who unearthed the Inca City of Machu Picchu, Peru, in 1911. Harry entered the US diplomatic service and, in 1939, was posted to Marseilles, France, as American Vice-Consul.

The USA was then neutral and, not wishing to annoy Marshal Petain's puppet Vichy regime and because of rampant anti-semitism of certain State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State Breckenridge Long, illegally (and without the knowledge of President Roosevelt) ordered its representatives and consuls in Europe, including Marseilles, Lisbon, Zurich et al, not to grant visas to any Jews. Bingham found this policy immoral and, risking his career, did all in his power to undermine it.

In defiance of his bosses in Washington , he granted over 2,500 USA visas to Jewish and other refugees, including the artists Marc Chagall and Max Ernst and the family of the writer Thomas Mann. He also sheltered Jews in his Marseilles home, and obtained forged identity papers to help Jews in their dangerous journeys across Europe. He worked with the French underground to smuggle Jews out of France into Franco's Spain or across the Mediterranean and even contributed to their expenses out of his own pocket. In 1941, Washington lost patience with him. He was sent to Argentina , where later he continued to annoy his superiors by reporting on the movements of Nazi war criminals.

Eventually, he was forced out of the American diplomatic service completely.

Bingham died almost penniless in 1988. Little was known of his extraordinary activities until his son found some letters in his belongings after his death. He has now been honored by many groups and organizations including the United Nations and the State of Israel.

You honor his memory when you re-send this

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