The Learn Experience Question Life is full of many learning experiences, also known as mistakes. Ask yourself frequently, "What can I learn from this?" Some people make mistakes and then berate themselves for making those mistakes. They can be especially critical of themselves when they make a similar mistake a second and third time. Some people even say to themselves, "Why do I keep making the same mistakes over and over again?" This question takes a person in the wrong direction. It's valuable to recognize when you make a mistake. "That was a mistake." But don't focus on the fact that you keep making the same mistake; instead, the next step is to ask yourself, "What can I learn from this to avoid similar mistakes in the future?" Don't obsess about your mistakes. Then your mind keeps its focus on what you did wrong and what you don't want to do in the future. Keep your mind on doing the right things in the right ways. Then your mind is focused on what you do want. When you ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" you are becoming more aware that you are becoming wiser and wiser. That's the mindset that you want for yourself. Love Yehuda Lave | | |  | | | Rabbi Meir Kahane: His Life and Thought, 1976-1983" (volume 2), has been published and now available in Israel. It can be bought from Yeshivat Haraayon Hayehdi (02-5823540) and from Pomerantz Books (02-6235559). Cost of book 88 NIS In the U.S. book can bought at Amazon.com.You can see a description of the new volume on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1518870619 I hope you find it as inspiring and exciting as I did while I was writing it. Sincerely, Libby Kahane | | | | | https://www.facebook.com/RabbiShmuleyBoteach/videos/10153332825801089/ | | | 
"Since the crash of" Sukhoi-24 "russian, Russia has taken every conceivable opportunity to undermine Turkey. Certainly my government behaves like a mature and experienced government, but our patience has limits. Faced with Russian efforts, we have, no fear, no remorse. We act with moderation, to bring our relations back to normal, if necessary, I assure you ,we can can occupy Russia in less than seven days with NATO and our regional allies " The Pentagon has responded to a globally-released 'Kill List', asking law enforcement to give extra protection for military personnel whose personal information was released, | | | By: Jewish Press News Briefs Published: December 16th, 2015 
Photo Credit: Courtesy Haifa University An inscription in Hebrew letters engraved on a large, 1,500-year-old marble slab, first of its kind to be found in Israel, was excavated in the Kursi Beach National Park on the east coast of the Sea of Galilee. The inscription confirms for the first time that the ancient settlement in the area was Jewish or Jewish-Christian. The common assumption has been for years that this was the location of the settlement of Kursi or "Land of the Gergesenes," which is mentioned in Matthew 8:28. Now, that assumption has received significant support. Prof. Michal Artzi of the Institute for Maritime Studies at Haifa University said that "this first evidence of the existence of a Jewish settlement strengthens the theory, which until now was considered folklore, that the settlement is Kursi." Artzi is the director of the excavation, along with Dr. Haim Cohen, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The existence of an ancient settlement at the site, on the northeastern coast of the Sea of Galilee, was already known in the 1960s, when the remains of a large pier were discovered below sea level. Later, a short distance away, the remains of a city were found, whose main characteristics made it appear like a Byzantine Christian site. The entire complex became a national park in 1980, and was given the name Kursi, after a nearby Syrian village. The sharp drop in the water level of the Sea of Galilee allowed researchers to return to the location of the breakwater, and after intensive work they realized that the ancient harbor is much bigger than they had thought, and may even be a separate settlement. They were surprised to find there a 59.05 by 27.6 inches marble tablet, with an Aramaic inscription in Hebrew letters. Two of the words on the tablet are "Aman" and "Marmaria." Apparently the Hebrew inscription was probably engraved in 500 CE, and according to the researchers, there was a Jewish settlement there which evolved into a mixed town. "The existence of a Jewish settlement on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee is a very rare thing. Until now we had no proof that Jewish settlements, which have disappeared over the years, actually existed during that period on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, except for the town of Migdal," said Prof. Artzi. Besides its testimony of the existence of the Jewish roots of the excavated settlement, the tablet is unique in other ways: it is the first of its kind found in Israel. Most inscription tablets of that period were made of mosaic; this is the first ever inscription on a slab of marble, specially commissioned from Greece. The inscription is at the entrance to an interior room in a building which probably was a synagogue. "The inscription consists of eight lines, which means it is very detailed," said Prof. Artzi. "Usually you won't find so many words in Hebrew letters engraved in stone, so that the person to whom it was dedicated had to have had a huge impact on the local people. There is no comparable dedication in details and cost in all the archaeological discoveries found in Israel to date." | | Dick Van Dyke at 90 (I should look so good at 90) https://www.facebook.com/evancutler/videos/10150282708802738/ https://www.facebook.com/Disneyland/videos/10153817437345742/?theater | | Speaking of Entertainers ==here is Jerry Seinfeld The American entertainer is due to perform four shows in Israel this weekend, all of which sold out quickly.  Jerry Seinfeld lands at Ben-Gurion Airport. (photo credit:SIVAN FARAG) Jerry Seinfeld, the successful stand-up comic and creator of one of television's most watched sitcoms, landed in Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday.
The American entertainer is due to perform four shows in Israel this weekend, all of which sold out quickly.
Seinfeld landed at Ben-Gurion in his private jet.
Seinfeld's first performance is scheduled for Saturday night at Menorah Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv. | | Labeling Jewish goods: then and nowThe EU's decision to label Jewish goods from Judea and Samaria coincides almost to the day with the anniversary of Kristallnacht. What an unhappy, yet utterly appropriate coincidence.
Ari Soffer
The writer is the Managing Editor of Arutz Sheva English/Israel National News.
Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 5:42 PM
Anti-Semitism is a curious thing. Unlike other forms of bigotry, which maintain the same tropes and characteristics throughout the ages, Jew-hatred has an uncanny ability to evolve over time to capitalize upon the prevailing popular discourse, both in its pretexts (from "Christ killers" and "racial impurity," to "Jewish bourgeois" and "Israeli occupation") and in its manifestations (Christian fanaticism, Nazism, Communism, radical Islam or anti-Zionism).
And yet, at the same time, anti-Semitism always follows the same basic patterns; beginning with systematic dehumanization of the Jews, intended to bring about their eventual isolation, and - if left unchallenged - ending in ethnic-cleansing or genocide.
Kristallnacht, the anniversary of which was marked just yesterday, is a graphic case in point. After years of escalating anti-Semitism - until then mostly non-violent in fact - Jewish businesses in Germany were marked out with Stars of David or the word "Jew," to "inform" others of the undesirable nature of those unwanted Jewish businesses and allow them to take action accordingly - be it via boycotts or through violence.
The orgy of extreme violence which ensued marked the beginning of the genocide of the world's largest Jewish community - European Jewry -and saw previously respectable people, by then thoroughly infected by the contagion of anti-Semitism, commit ugly, unspeakable acts. Interestingly, in the initial stages it was only specifically German Jews who were allowed to be targeted, while Nazi regulations forbade harming those with foreign citizenship for political reasons until later on in the holocaust.
In those days "anti-Semitism" was worn as a badge of honor by the Nazis and their supporters. It was not a dirty word. The evening after the pogrom, Joseph Goebbels wrote an article in which he lauded the "healthy instincts" of his compatriots: "The German people is anti-Semitic. It has no desire to have its rights restricted or to be provoked in the future by parasites of the Jewish race," he wrote proudly. Language which today can be found only in the furthest, most insane political fringes was then a part of the mainstream. Some disagreed, others vehemently agreed, while the decisive majority were somewhere in between.
Compounding the utter degradation of German Jews, authorities then fined the Jewish community for the damages wrought by the anti-Semitic mobs - essentially placing blame for the violence on the victims!
The "anti-Zionism" paradigm
Today, in Europe, another labeling campaign is being launched. It may look different - and in many of its details it is - but it is part of a chillingly familiar pattern of behavior.
Once again, its premise is to simply "alert" the consumer to goods produced by certain Jewish "undesirables," to enable them to take action accordingly - though its main instigators see it as just the beginning of a far broader boycott campaign (and are already insisting that it doesn't go far enough.) Once again, it is a policy endorsed at the highest levels. And once again, it is only part of a wider campaign to isolate and force to its knees the largest Jewish community in the world: the State of Israel.
Its immediate objective, at least for now, is to ethnically-cleanse Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and much of Jerusalem of their Jewish population. Some may find placing things in such terms somewhat jarring, yet if we are honest with ourselves that is precisely what is being called for. The proponents of this campaign are so utterly taken by their own narrative that they do not see the slightest irony in admitting as much in public. And why should they? The popular discourse has been so effectively desensitized to the notion of ethnically-cleansing Jews, as long as it is dressed up in terms such as "ending the occupation" or "dismantling the settlements", that even when the mask slips and the true meaning of such platitudes becomes apparent nobody notices or cares.
The timing of the European Union's decision to label Jewish "settlement" goods could not be more appropriate. Apart from coinciding almost exactly with the anniversary of Kristallnacht, it also takes place at the height of a campaign of terrorism waged by Arab anti-Semites against Jewish Israelis. It is a terrorism of knives, guns and mob violence targeting Jewish men, women and children alike, egged on by blood libels about Jews "executing innocent children," harvesting organs, and plotting to "destroy Al Aqsa Mosque," with the end goal being to solve the Jewish Problem in all of "historic Palestine."
By issuing this edict now, the European Union makes sure that, once again, we Jews are being forced to "pay" for the violence visited upon us - which we of course are responsible for by virtue of us not agreeing to ethnically-cleanse ourselves.
Twenty-first century Europe has effectively outsourced the sharp end of its Jew-hatred to those on the front lines of the struggle against Jewish self-determination. The modern-day Arab storm troopers act with impunity, while European tut-tut-tutting is focused entirely on their Jewish victims.
Today, the Jews' antagonists have replaced the banner of racial anti-Semitism with that of political anti-Zionism - that is, a fundamental objection to Jewish dignity, strength and freedom in our ancestral homeland, rather than to our perceived racial identity.
But while the details may be different, the endgame is more or less the same: Jews out.
The key difference this time, however, is that we are no longer at their mercy.
Unlike 1930s German Jewry, the Israeli Jewish economy being "marked" by European powers does not rely on them for its survival. Although many in Europe seem blissfully unaware, the world is far, far bigger than they; if self-righteous western Europeans prefer not to buy certain Jewish goods - or yes, even to boycott Israel entirely - our economy won't wither and die as they might wish. There are many other lucrative markets, including countries untainted by the apparently incurable virus of anti-Semitism. And even if the damage were to be significant, it will never be enough to force us to commit national suicide.
And unlike the defenseless Jews living in Europe and the Arab states during the early twentieth century, we are not doomed to face death at the hands of a stronger foe. Today, in Israel, our Jewish soldiers and Jewish Border Police strike fear into the hearts of our enemies and frustrate their plans again and again and again. Even our hardy Jewish civilians give them a serious run for their money. The Jews just don't die quite so easily any more - they fight back and win.
Which is, ironically, precisely why the State of Israel has become the new obsession of the contemporary anti-Semites. The one and only fundamental obstacle in the way of those who wish to replicate the sins of the past is the fact that the Jewish people are no longer a stateless, vulnerable people at the mercy of their whims.
The State of Israel, and the Zionist revolutionary movement which spawned it, are the expression of the Jewish people's legitimate, historic right to self-determination - but they are also the cure to the scourge of anti-Semitism. Not for the anti-Semites themselves of course - after 2,000 years it should be apparent just how right the Sages of the Talmud were when they proclaimed that the adage "Esau hates Jacob" is "a cardinal law of reality" - but for the Jews, the primary victims of anti-Semitism.
Europe may well return to its bad old ways - or maybe it will somehow be salvaged, who knows? But the miracle of Zionism means that finally, after two millennia, we are no longer its defenseless victims. We are free. | | http://tinyurl.com/osry6jsHundred of Israelis are protesting against the administrative detentions and torture of Jewish minors by the Shabak. By: Jewish Press News Briefs Published: December 19th, 2015 
Protest against Shabak torture of Jewish children, outside the Shabak chief's house in Jerusalem - Dec, 19, 2015
Photo Credit: TPS More than 1000 Israelis protested outside the home of Shabak (Shin Bet) chief Yoram Cohen in Ramot, Jerusalem. They are protesting against the ongoing administrative detentions and torture of the "Hilltop" minors, according to a TPS report. The Shabak is Israel's secretive internal security agency, the "Hilltop" youth are teenagers, many of them high school dropouts, who move to empty hilltops in Judea and Samaria and try to build new homes and communities there, and the "Jewish Unit" is a unit within the Shabak that is tasked with finding Jewish terrorists, whether they exist or not. The detained youths were not allowed to meet with their families or lawyers for 3 weeks. After some of the detained minors were finally allowed to meet with their lawyers last week, and the torture techniques being used on the teenagers became public knowledge, a groundswell against the Shabak's "Jewish Unit" tactics has begun to develop. The Shabak's "Jewish Unit" suspects that some of the "hilltop youth" may have been involved in the Duma arson that killed 3 Arabs in the Duma village, and they have rounded up all the teenagers and thrown them into the Shabak cellars where their lawyers report they have been tortured in order to draw out a confession. Yet despite three weeks of torture, apparently none of the minors have admitted to having any connection to the Duma attack, and the Defense Minister says there is apparently no evidence either. Last week, Defense Minister Yaalon said they believe the Hilltop children did it, but they only lack the evidence to prove it. Besides the administrative detentions of the teenagers, the Shabak keeps bringing other family members in for "questioning", sometimes keeping them for hours, only to let them go right before Shabbat. While arresting yet another minor at his parent's home last week, the Shabak allegedly told the parents that he wouldn't be seeing his T'fillin (religious articles) for a long time. Police have also arrested 4 people who were on the way to the Saturday night protest. According to the Honenu legal organization they were subsequently released. After most of the protesters left, a few dozen people tried to approach Cohen's house. Due to the reports of torture, Rabbi Dov Lior has given special permission for their lawyers to speak with the youths on Shabbat by cellphone, and even travel to where they're being held, if needed, according to an INN report. Even leftwing NGOs are beginning to speak out against the actions of the Shabak. The Shabak released a statement last week claiming that all their actions are within the law. | | Worldwide Shama Yisroel day on Monday night http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2015/12/worldwide-shema-yisrael-monday-21-dec-2015-9pm-israel-time.html | | Sweet Dreams and Bad Dreams - Do they have a message? - from Rabbi Sprecher Dec 20, 2015 Sweet Dreams and Bad Dreams - Do they have a message? | | |
