Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Netanyahu announces additional coronavirus restrictions and ‘Gaza is Everywhere!’: Anti-Zionist Activists Latch on to George Floyd’s Death to Bash Israel and The Great Threat to America, and to American Jewry By Caroline B. Glick and parsha Shalach and Just because G-d is a forgiving G-d doesn't mean you don't have to follow G-d's instructions

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Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor

Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money,  and spiritual engagement. Now also a Blogger on the Times of Israel. Look for my column

Love Yehuda Lave

Knowing that G-d forgives you doesn't give you the right not to listen

Knowing that G-d forgives doesn't give you the right not to listen

 

Great lessons for today are to be leaned from the inspirational stories of the bible.

 

Against the backdrop of the greatest Exodus in history, the Jews of 3333 years ago spend 40 years in the desert, going from place to place and essentially waiting for a Generation to die.

 

If you think I lockdown was bad, imagine it extending for 40 years!

 

One of the most famous inspirational stories is the story of the spies that went into the land of Israel, as advance men. The spies were either sent by G-d or by Moses depending on which version of the bible story you understand. It is not clear at all from the narrative. Arguments are made both ways and it is purposely left unclear as to whether they were on a mission from G-d (forgive me Blues Brothers movie) or Moses making an executive decision.

 

Whichever version of the story you believe, the Torah (bible) is very clear that the spies failed their mission. The ten spies that spoke against the land of Israel all died in a plague. All of the spies, except Joshua and Caleb, were struck down with a plague and died.

 

Obviously they didn't get a good result, but what lessons are we to learn today from the incident, which is why the Bible is a direct "ways" from G-d to teach us lessons for our time.

 

Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, is the founder of the Tanach Study Center www.tanach.org, is an internationally acclaimed Bible scholar and pioneer of Jewish Education on the internet. Rabbi Leibtag states that the people were not ready to do the Mitzvahs in the land of Israel. According to the Rabbi, it's not enough for Jewish people just to live in the land, they have to accept G-d's instructions regarding the Mitzvahs fully in their heart.

 

The people including the spies didn't have that in their heart. Knowing that G-d forgives doesn't give you the right not to listen to the commandments. This is the lesson we are still learning today. Although G-d is a forgiving and loving G-d, he also has a set of instructions that we don't follow at our own risk.

 

Speaking of following the instructions here is a quick story, though not biblical.

 

           

The Wailing What?

                   

Maureen and Patrick O'Connor are visiting Jerusalem for the first time and are pretty darn excited. On their first day, they get into a taxi and say to the driver, "Our friends told us of a very interesting site in Israel that we must visit. We can't remember the name, but could you please take us to the place where the Jews do their crying."

So the taxi driver promptly took them to the Income Tax Authority building.

           

       

The Portion of Shlach Lecha

The portion of Shlach Lecha

One Unusual Letter Reveals a Complete Story

The portion of Shlach Lecha deals with one of the most painful incidents which occurred in the desert as the Children of Israel made their way to the Land of Israel.

The Children of Israel are within reach of the Promised Land. In order to plan the strategy needed to conquer the land, the leaders of the 12 tribes are sent to collect intelligence.

The spies embark on their mission and upon its completion, they return and present their report to Moshe and the people.

Each of the spies saw the very same things but their interpretation of what they saw was different, and so they presented a majority report and a minority report. Ten spies reported that the local population was strong and well-fortified and that it would be impossible to defeat them in battle. The other two spies, Joshua and Calev, saw things differently. As Calev declared "Let us go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it (Numbers 13;30)."

The punishment for this lack of faith is pronounced immediately. The Children of Israel will continue their trek in the desert for 40 years until the entire generation which violated their covenant with G-d will pass away. The next generation will merit entering and possessing the Land.

The Talmud (Tractate Sotah 37) lists this covenant as one of the eight covenants (britot) between the Almighty and the Children of Israel and this is alluded to in the unusual manner in which the letter "chet" (the numerical value of the letter chet is 8) is written in the word "vayishchatem bamidbar"- and He slaughtered them in the desert" (Numbers 14;16).

And in the words of the Baal Haturim: the broken letter "chet" shows that they violated the Torah which they agreed to in eight covenants and therefore G-d gave permission to His ministering angels to administer the punishment for their sin and break them.

 

Netanyahu announces additional coronavirus restrictions

Coronavirus Cabinet Ministers unanimously decide on steps to limit gatherings and social functions.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu today convened the Coronavirus Cabinet to discuss further restrictions required in light of high morbidity data.

Coronavirus Cabinet Ministers unanimously decided on the following steps to limit gatherings and social functions:

- Halls and cultural performances: up to 250 participants.

- Circumcisions and funerals: up to 50 participants.

- Weddings:

* Up to the 16th of Tammuz, July 9th 2020 - up to 250 participants. The public and hall owners are called to hold them as much as possible in open spaces.
* From the 16th of Tammuz to the 10th of Av, July 31st 2020 - up to 250 participants in open spaces. In confined spaces, up to 50% of occupancy and no more than 100 participants.

- Prayers and other gatherings: up to 50 people.

- Higher education - switching to online exams (except for cases that have been agreed upon between the Health Ministry and Higher Education Council).

- Public sector work - 30% work from home (in accordance with arrangements to be determined by the Civil Service Commissioner and with administrative flexibility for the office Director).

 

'Gaza is Everywhere!': Anti-Zionist Activists Latch on to George Floyd's Death to Bash Israel

Anti-Israel activists on social media have recently launched a campaign that attempts to draw parallels between police violence in the US against African Americans and the alleged violence against Arabs by the Israel Police and the IDF.

Following the police's killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, anti-Israel activists immediately began drawing comparisons with what they describe as systematic and deadly Israeli brutality against Arabs, and that in some cases, Israeli policemen trained the US cops to be employ brutality.

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One image, typifying the campaign, depicts a photoshopped image of George Floyd on the security barrier between Israel and parts of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The anti-Israel German Das Palästina Portal published an article titled "Gaza is everywhere! What the current unrest and protest in the US have to do with Israel," arguing that police brutality can be attributed to an "ongoing Israelization of the world."

Several groups have applied violent terms such as "Intifada" (Arabic for uprising) to the current eruption of protests in the wake of Floyd's death.

The term Intifada was the name given to the first and second Palestinian violent riots in the late 1980s and early 2000s, which saw daily terror attacks, including suicide bombings, stabbings and shootings against Israeli civilians that claimed thousands of lives.

By describing the current wave of protests as a "black intifada", the groups' statements appear to constitute an incitement to violence and terrorism.

Samidoun, a global delegitimization organization with close ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a US-designated terror organization, released a statement titled "From Gaza to Minneapolis, one struggle for justice and liberation!" in which it called the protests an "intifada."

The statement declared: "We support the uprising in Minneapolis, the intifada of people subjected to an ongoing, vicious and structural racism, inheriting a lengthy and rich tradition of Black resistance, organizing and struggle."

The PFLP itself published a statement in Arabic in solidarity with protestors, stating that "it is not surprising for a country like the United States, which has a strategic alliance with the Zionist entity [Israel], to intersect with it in the discrimination, racism and repression that embodies its treatment of Palestinians."

The BDS National Committee (BNC) stated that "as long as this system of oppression continues, it is up to our grassroots movements to work collectively and intersectionally to dismantle it, from the US to Palestine."

BDS US group Adalah Justice Project linked white supremacy and Zionism, accusing them of being "underpinned by anti-Blackness."

The hashtag #PalestinianLivesMatter, inspired by #BlackLivesMatter, has been used on Twitter since at least 2015. However, the hashtag's popularity surged following the killing of George Floyd as BLM protests gained momentum in the US. Many activists campaigned to highlight intersectional parallels between African American and Palestinian causes, once again reviving this hashtag.

Usage of #PalestinianLivesMatter on Twitter grew exponentially from May 28-30, and was also highly visible to Twitter users from June 2-3, reaching an estimated 29.4 million users in this 24-hour period

This exploitation of the tragedy in the US is a strategic attempt by delegitimization groups to entrench themselves and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement as a focal point of the progressive Movement.

The Great Threat to America, and to American Jewry . By Caroline B. Glick

Scattered among the thousands of cellphone videos depicting looting and destruction in the streets of America's greatest cities are clips of a different sort. In these short videos, we see throngs of white people on their knees, bowing before black people and asking for forgiveness for their "white privilege" and the "structural racism" in the deplorable, irredeemable United States of America.

Earlier this week, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden symbolically embraced these genuflecting denunciations of "white privilege" as the official position of the Democratic Party. Biden had himself photographed on bended knee with a group of African Americans standing behind him during a visit to a church in Wilmington, Delaware.

These videos point to a socio-political phenomenon that sparked the riots throughout the country following George Floyd's brutal death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. They also make clear the reason that the liberal media in the United States continues to back the protests despite the fact that from the outset they have involved wide-scale violence, destruction and looting.

Contrary to the narrative being pushed by the media and America's elites, the riots are not a consequence of increased police brutality towards African Americans. As Heather McDonald documented this week in The Wall Street Journal, over the past several years, police violence against black people has decreased significantly.

The violence we are seeing is a result of the steep radicalization of progressive white Americans. Biden gave voice to this radicalization last summer when, during a campaign appearance in Iowa he said, "We choose truth over facts."

Last year, political scientist Zach Goldberg published an article in Tablet online magazine where he presented statistical data demonstrating the depth and breadth of the radicalization of white progressives over the past 10 years. Goldberg revealed that between 2010-2019, white progressives became the only demographic group in U.S. history to prioritize the interests of other groups over its own interests. White progressives prioritize the advancement of the interests of minorities and immigrants over their own and over those of American society as a whole. Moreover, as Goldberg showed, white progressive positions on race and immigration are more extreme than the positions black, Latino and Asian progressives hold on these issues.

Goldberg argues that the massive increase in internet usage by white progressives over the past decade is responsible for the radicalization. Online platforms have created an information bubble that has created a warped presentation of reality to those inside the bubble. In this warped reality, race relations are far worse than they are in reality. Hence, those who inhabit this bubble prefer "truth" as presented in the bubble to facts.

Goldberg is undoubtedly correct that the more time people spend inside their internet bubble the more removed they become from objective reality. But the internet isn't the only source of the radicalization. The Obama presidency was also a factor.

When Barack Obama won the presidential race in 2008, many Americans believed his victory was proof the United States had overcome its racist past. Obama however, did not support this view. Throughout his tenure in office, Obama used the power of his position to resonate and legitimize positions on race that until then had been relegated to the leftist margins of American politics.

Obama cultivated the view that far from being a post-racial society, America is inherently racist and that American racism is structural—that is, it was baked in and impossible to overcome. In so doing, Obama gave credence to the false claim at the heart of the riots: that black Americans are under continuous, existential threat from the state as a whole and from law enforcement bodies first and foremost. Calls by Hollywood celebrities and Obama administration alumni to defund the police take this view to its logical endpoint.

A third cause of the radicalization of white progressives is the higher education system. The more radicalized campuses are, the more radicalized graduates become.

The radicalization of white progressive politics has been given its most dramatic expression in the refusal of progressive mayors and governors to act forthrightly to end the violence in their streets. Instead, we had the likes of New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio (whose daughter was arrested for participating in the mayhem) stand with those burning his city.

In a letter to police sergeants in the New York Police Department, Ed Mullen, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, gave expression to the distress of New York police officers. "I know we are losing our city," Mullen wrote.

"We have no leadership, no direction, and no plan. I know that you are being held back and used as pawns," he continued.

He then asked the sergeants to hold the line.

"Remember," he added, "you work for a higher authority."

For American Jews, the violent riots constitute a challenge on several levels. First, there is the challenge of squaring their political identity with their Jewish identity. As the 2014 Pew survey of American Jews showed, around half of American Jews identify as progressives. As progressives, many American Jews share the views of their non-Jewish progressive counterparts regarding the need to prioritize the interests of minority communities over their own interests.

But the Jews' progressive desire to work on behalf of those demonstrating for African Americans places their political identity on a collision course with their Jewish identity. Black Lives Matter, the radical group leading the demonstrations, is an anti-Semitic organization. BLM was formed in 2014 as a merger of activists from the anti-Semitic Nation of Islam, the anti-Semitic Black Panthers and Dream Catchers. In 2016, BLM published a platform that has since been removed from its website. The platform accused Israel of committing "genocide" and referred to the Jewish state as an "apartheid" state.

The platform accused Israel and its supporters of pushing the United States into wars in the Middle East. The platform also officially joined BLM with the anti-Semitic BDS campaign to boycott, divest and sanction Israel. BDS campaign leader Omar Barghouti acknowledged this week that the goal of the BDS campaign is to destroy Israel. BDS campaigns on U.S. campuses are characterized by bigotry and discrimination directed against Jewish students.

BLM's platform's publication was greeted with wall-to-wall condemnations by Jewish organizations from across the political spectrum. But today, Jewish progressive are hard-pressed to turn their backs on the group, despite its anti-Semitism. As white progressives, they believe they must fight America's "structural racism" even at the cost of empowering social forces that reject their civil rights as Jews. As Jews, they feel that their rights should be protected. One progressive Jew tried to square the circle writing in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, "Today Jews need to support Black Lives Matter; tomorrow we can talk about Israel."

As white progressives radicalized over the past decade, radical Jewish progressives built a formidable Jewish organizational framework whose mission is to advance the progressive revolution. They have worked to recast Judaism itself as the apotheosis of progressive revolutionary ideals. under the banner of "tikkun olam."

Last week Tablet published a 20,000-word essay titled "Bend the Jews," on Bend the Arc, the flagship organization spawned by those efforts.

Bend the Arc first rose to the attention of the general public in 2018 in the wake of the massacre of worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The organization quickly put out a statement blaming President Donald Trump for the massacre. When Trump came to the congregations to pay his respects, Bend the Arc organized demonstrations against him.

Bend the Arc may not have members, but it has an annual budget of tens of millions of dollars. $28 million of its budget comes from three non-Jewish foundations that have no other foothold in Jewish organizational life. On the other hand, one of the funders, the Rockefeller Foundation, is well known for its generous support for radical anti-Israel and BDS groups.

To achieve its goal of reshaping the worldviews of American Jews, among other things, Bend the Arc trains Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist rabbinical students. It also pays the salaries of associate rabbis in various communities. With many synagogues long steeped in financial crisis due to dwindling membership, Bend the Arc's ability to pay rabbis makes its involvement with synagogue hiring an attractive option for many communities. This is doubly true for synagogues whose members are progressive.

As progressive politics paralyze Jews from acting against anti-Semites in their political camp, levels of anti-Semitic sentiment among white progressives are rising. As Goldberg reported, as white progressives became radicalized on issues related to minorities and immigration, they also turned against Israel. Today white progressives are hostile to Israel. And Goldberg argued that while they express support for Jews, "their sympathy toward and concern for Jews has become more conditional."

What is it conditioned on? On Jews not being opposed by blacks or other minorities that are considered by white progressives to be less privileged than Jews are.

On the burning streets of America today, leftist Jew-hatred is on clear display. Although New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio has prevented New York police from taking firm action against looters and arsonists, he did instruct them to use all necessary force to prevent ultra-Orthodox Jewish children from going to school. Earlier this week, police in Brooklyn chased a group of Hassidic children and their mothers off a playground in Williamsburg.

Even worse, synagogues have been vandalized in New York and Los Angeles. According to Yeshiva World News, 75 percent of Jewish-owned stores in an Orthodox enclave of Beverly Hills were looted last weekend. Graffiti in Los Angeles made clear that the businesses and neighborhoods were targeted deliberately because they are Jewish.

Between BLM's establishment in 2014 and the publication of its platform in 2016, anti-Israel activists went to great lengths to create an utterly false conceptual linkage between the Palestinians and African Americans. Today, anti-Israel activists in the United States have stepped up their efforts to capitalize on the riots. Anti-Israel activists in Bethlehem painted a picture of George Floyd wearing a khaffiyeh and draped in a Palestinian flag on the separation barrier. Photos of the picture are being heavily promoted on social media.

Democrats believe the riots will wreck President Trump's reelection hopes. Polls this week indicate that at least in the short term, the unrest is hurting Trump's chances of being reelected. Then again, it's possible the chaos in the streets will strengthen public support for President Trump, who voters may view as the last bulwark separating them from national destruction.

Whether Trump wins or loses in November, the radicalization of white progressives at the heart of the mayhem represents the greatest short and long-term threat to social cohesion in America. It also represents the greatest threat to the communal future of American Jewry, to relations between the American Jewish community and the rest of the Jewish world, and to US-Israel relations.

See you tomorrow bli neder We need Moshiach now

Love Yehuda Lave

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

PO Box 7335, Rehavia Jerusalem 9107202

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Monday, June 29, 2020

Breaking news--Israel Quarantine on coming to Israel extended to August First and The new HOLY WATER-Alcohol-We’ve gone from drinking it to rubbing it on ourselves and 11 Kippah Facts Every Jewish Guy Should Know By Yehuda Altein And when A Grief Therapist Faces Grief and Evangelical leader: Condemn Black Lives Matter’s attacks on synagogues and churches and Man Bites Dog: Jerusalem Police Bans Islamic Guard for Praising Terrorist By David Israel

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Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor

My blog didn't go out on time this morning due to my server having a glitch. At this point in our lives, it is like an act of G-d as we are always in his hands. My apoogies

Yehuda

 

Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money,  and spiritual engagement. Now also a Blogger on the Times of Israel. Look for my column

Love Yehuda Lave

The new HOLY WATER-Alcohol-We've gone from drinking it to rubbing it on ourselves

The new HOLY WATER-Alcohol-We've gone from drinking it to rubbing it on ourselves

I am fascinated by how quickly people adapt their behaviors. The virus has made everyone nervous and willing to do almost anything to change, to get back to the old normal.

 For those of us that are Orthodox, we are not about to give up going to Minyans. It is engraved in our souls that we must go to shul from childhood until they put us in a box to take us to our graves.

The Bible teaches that praying in a Minyan is getting close to G-d. When we pray in a minyan, G-d does not judge us individually but collectively so that we become much more able to connect to G-d regardless of our sins.

So it was with great pleasure they reopened the synagogues. We only had to change a few minor behaviors. With the change in the behaviors, it was common sense that it was no more dangerous in the synagogue than on the bus or store.

Social distancing in the Synagogue now means that the formerly full synagogue is ¾ empty. No one can talk to each other, because no one sits next to each other, so there is no more talking in shul. This behavior of talking in shul was always a sore point in Orthodox shuls where many of the people who come to pray were disturbed by it. There were books written about and many of the bigwigs proclaimed that the reason for everything from the Mashiach not coming to everything negative that happens in the Jewish world, was caused by talking in shul. Well, if it was true or not, there is no more talking in shul, because you would have to yell to talk to someone

Even saying hello in the morning to everyone is frowned on by some people. Like everything else in Judaism, there is a reason for that as well. The Jewish law (Halacha) is that you are supposed to say hello to G-d first before you greet anyone else. Forget the fact that normally the only time you can say hello to anyone is the morning prayer (in the afternoon and evening people rush in and out of the synagogue like a race course). I have always had a problem with this one as I love to greet people with a rousing Boker Tov because there is also a teaching is that you are supposed to great everyone with a smile when you see them. So there is tension between these two teachings.

One of the more fun parts of the old ways were the kiddushes after praying on Saturday mornings and sometimes even Kiddush clubs.

What is a Kiddush club you ask? In between the two morning services (Shacharit and Mussaf), the Torah is read, then the Haftorah and a Rabbi's speech. This usually takes at least 20 minutes. Enough time to go outside has some expensive alcohol (and the more expensive the better--the older single malt scotch at least 18 years old and everyone tried to outdo each other with the most expensive price. Not that anyone can really taste much difference between the brands--of course no one admits this).

And it you didn't have a shot at the Kiddush club, there were usually plenty of bottles at the Kiddush itself. Enough to get good and drunk if you so desired. But all that is gone now. There are no kiddush clubs there are no Kiddushes. Only prayer and no talking. So no one can say that we in shul for any other reason except to connect with G-d.

But wait the Alcohol is not gone! It's just in a different form. The history of hand sanitizer

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do note that, when it comes to preventing the spread of coronavirus, "if soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol." 

And indeed, that is the primary ingredient in hand sanitizer: alcohol. Most hand sanitizers contain anywhere from 60% to 95% isopropyl or ethyl alcohol mixed with water and gels like glycol and glycerin in order to prevent drying out users' skin. The resulting product is typically sold in a hand gel or liquid spray under brand names such as Purell or GermX.

But while alcohol has been in use as an antiseptic since the late-1800s least, the exact origins of hand sanitizer are up for debate. 

One version of the story points to Lupe Hernandez, a nursing student in Bakersfield, California in 1966, as the inventor of hand sanitizer after combining alcohol and gel for use by doctors in situations where they don't have time to access soap and warm water before treating patients.

However, a recent investigation by the Smithsonian Institution historian Joyce Bedi was unable to turn up any trace of Hernandez, or any evidence of a U.S. patent for hand sanitizer under that name from the 1960s.

There's also Sterillium, which the German company Hartmann claims was "the world's first marketable alcohol-based hand disinfectant" when it hit European shelves in 1965. It's made with glycerin and 75% alcohol. 

Still, others trace modern hand sanitizer back to Goldie and Jerry Lippman, the married couple that developed a waterless hand cleaner in 1946 for rubber plant workers who previously used harsh chemicals like kerosene and benzene to remove graphite and carbon black from their hands at the end of their shifts. The product, which they called Gojo (a portmanteau of their names) is a mix of petroleum jelly, mineral oil, and less than 5% alcohol that's still used today by auto mechanics and other workers to clean off substances like grease and oil.

The Lippman's mixed their first batches of Gojo in a washing machine in the basement of Goldie's parents' Akron, Ohio home, where the couple was living at the time, according to The New Yorker. They put the resulting product in pickle jars and sold it out of the trunk of their car.

Over the ensuing decades, Gojo continued selling their products as industrial cleaners. Then, in 1988, the company invented the hand gel Purell, which consists of 70% ethyl alcohol as its primary ingredient, along with propylene glycol. While Purell is now the world's best-selling hand sanitizer, it took some time for stores to carry the product that most everyday customers weren't really asking for. As such, Gojo did not release Purell onto the consumer market until 1997.

And like the Kiddush club, the more alcohol in the hand sanitizer the better, for killing germs. To watch people in shul take a hit every time they touch something or get called up for an Aliyah (being called to the Torah) is surreal. They feel it is a magic potion that will push off the virus and keep them safe. And they rub it on themselves as if it was holy water.  I have no idea whether it will or not, I just couldn't help noticing that the alcohol is not gone, it is now just in another form!

The Israel Airports Authority has informed all airlines that the COVID-19 restrictions for passengers entering the country are being extended for an additional month.

(June 28, 2020 / JNS) The Israel Airports Authority has informed all airlines that the COVID-19 restrictions for passengers entering the country are being extended for an additional month.

The ban on foreigners arriving at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport—and the requirement for Israelis returning from abroad to self-quarantine for 14 days—was scheduled to expire on July 1, but will now continue until August 1, amid a rise in coronavirus infection in Israel and other countries.

Some carriers, such as United Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines, continued flying to Israel throughout the pandemic, however. Others, such as Turkish Airlines and Wizz Air, have resumed flights to and from Israel, with destinations including London, Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest, Globes reported on Saturday.

According to the report, Israeli airlines El Al and Israir have not resumed full operations, but have conducted flights based on demand, while Arkia completely ceased all flights.

Ideas, that help explain how the world works

Pay Up

Morty Applebaum had a very unpleasant appointment scheduled with an IRS auditor who had come to review his records. At one point the auditor exclaimed, "Mr. Applabaum, we feel that it is a great privilege to be allowed to live and work in the USA. As a citizen you have an obligation to pay taxes, and we expect you to eagerly pay them with a smile."

"Oy, thank God," said Morty with a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to want cash."

Evangelical leader: Condemn Black Lives Matter's attacks on synagogues and churches

Laurie Cardoza-Moore: Black Lives Matter cannot lead the charge against racism while advocating the destruction of the only Jewish state.

A leading Evangelical Christian leader has spoken out publicly against the Black Lives Matter movement's anti-Semitic manifesto and silence after synagogues and churches were attacked and defaced during their protests last week.

Laurie Cardoza-Moore decried the hypocrisy of the movement, which has led the charge against racism while standing by anti-Semitic positions and remaining quiet as houses of worship were vandalized and desecrated across America during the recent riots.

"All true American patriots wept bitter tears at the brutal and needless death of George Floyd. Jews, Christians and people of conscience understand the inherent problems within our society that need to be addressed and healed. Racism of any kind does not belong in America and must be relegated to the annals of history. On the same token it would be hypocritical of Christian leaders to support the Black Lives Matter movement while ignoring their past calls to boycott the one and only Jewish State, outrageous claims that Israel has perpetrated a genocide and their total denial of the Jewish people's right to self-determination. We are reminded in Deuteronomy 16:20; Justice, justice, thou must pursue. These positions are anti-Semitic to their core and cannot go unmentioned," said Cardoza-Moore.

She added, "Synagogues and Churches were vandalized and defaced with anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and anti-Christian slogans during Black Lives Matter riots across the country. Destroying holy books or defacing houses of worship will not move forward the cause of Black America. These are hate crimes that must be called-out by the leaders of the movement if they want to retain any gravitas as anti-racists. Black Lives Matter cannot lead the charge against racism while advocating the destruction of the only Jewish State and staying silent when churches and synagogues come under attack during their protests."

Cardoza-Moore concluded, "Historically Jews and Christians of all backgrounds stood toe-to-toe in the American civil rights struggle. The late Reverend Martin Luther King was a Christian minister who stood alongside Rabbis in his peaceful marches for justice. Allowing the legacy of Reverend King and this movement to be hijacked by anti-Semitic, anti-Christian and anti-American forces is a great injustice in itself that needs to be rectified for the sake of our shared Judeo-Christian values and the future of these United States. There is a vacuum of spiritual leadership in this movement and it's time for Jewish and Christian leaders to unite publicly to call upon the leadership of the Black Lives Matter movement to fully renounce all hate from their platform and condemn hate crimes perpetrated in their name immediately so that the process of healing and restoration can begin."

11 Kippah Facts Every Jewish Guy Should Know By Yehuda Altein

 Kippah Facts Every Jewish Guy Should Know 


1. A Kippah Is a Head-Covering

A kippah is a head-covering traditionally worn by Jewish men and boys as a sign of reverence and respect to G‑d.

2. It Is Also Called a Yarmulke or Koppel

Kippah (lit. dome) is the Hebrew word for skullcap. It is also referred to in Yiddish as a yarmulke, or less frequently as a koppel (lit. little cap).

According to many, yarmulke is a contraction of the Aramaic words yarei malka, "awe of the King" (referring to G‑d), since wearing it reminds us that there is a Higher Being above us.

Read: What Does Yarmulke Mean?

3. It Is a Reminder of G‑d's Presence

Wearing a kippah helps us remember that there is a Higher Being to whom we are held accountable. Wearing a kippah is required by Jewish law for reasons of modesty and to distinguish ourselves as Jews,1 reminding us of our responsibility and privilege as members of the Chosen Nation.

Read: The Kippah: A Philosophical Perspective

4. Kippahs Come in a Variety of Sizes, Materials, and Designs

Kippahs come in various colors and designs, and are made from materials as diverse as velvet, suede, leather, and knitted yarn. Many sites offer personalized embroidering services and will add the images or words of your choice. (It is not uncommon to spot a boy with a kippah featuring his name.)

Some communities have developed kippah designs that are highly intricate works of art, such as those made by Jewish artisans from Yemen and Georgia, most of whom now live in Israel.

5. It Is Worn at All Times

The Talmud states that one should not walk the distance of four cubits bareheaded.2 A head-covering is also required when praying, reciting a blessing, or entering a synagogue.3 According to many authorities, head-coverings are required at all times (even when sitting in place and doing nothing).4

Read: My Son's Badge of Honor

6. It Is Sourced in the Talmud

The practice to wear a kippah at all times comes from an anecdote in the Talmud in which a woman was told by astrologers that her son was destined to become a thief. To prevent this from happening, she insisted that he keep his head covered at all times, to remind him of G‑d's presence and instill within him the fear of heaven. Once, while sitting under a palm tree, his head-covering fell off. Suddenly overcome by a burning desire to eat fruit from the tree which did not belong to him, it was in that moment he realized the strong effect wearing a kippah had on him.5

Read: What's Up With the Kippah?

7. Some Cover the Head Completely

In certain communities, it was customary to wear large, tall kippahs that covered the head completely. Many Lithuanian scholars of yesteryear are pictured wearing such headgear. The kippahs of Bukharian Jewry are similarly famous for their large size, as well as for their intricate embroidery.

8. Some Also Wear Hats When Praying

In addition to wearing a kippah, many men also wear a hat when praying. Donning a hat is viewed as an act of respect; as recently as a few decades ago, when men went out in public, they would make sure to wear a hat. A hat is also reminiscent of the turban worn by the priests during the Temple service.

Read: Why Wear Both a Kippah and a Hat?

9. Women Do Not Wear Them

Women and girls do not wear kippahs. One reason for this is that the kippah is there to remind us of G‑d's presence (see above). Women, who are more spiritually intuitive and possess more powerful faith, do not require a constant reminder.

Married women do cover their heads, albeit not with a kippah, and for different reasons.

Read: Why Do Jewish Women Cover Their Hair?

10. It May Be Discarded and Replaced

When a prayer book or other sacred object becomes worn out and unusable, it may not be discarded. Instead, out of respect for the object's sanctity, it is carefully buried in a Jewish cemetery. (Many synagogues provide this service on behalf of their congregants.)

Despite the kippah's special role in Jewish life, it does not possess any inherent holiness, and it may be discarded and replaced with another as needed.

Read: Proper Disposal of Holy Objects

11. A Printer Favored Lashes Over Walking Without a Kippah

Rabbis Pinchas and Shmuel Abba Schapiro, brothers and chassidic printers in the town of Slavita, were falsely accused of murder and arrested by the czarist police in 1839. As punishment, they were forced to run the gauntlet. While being led through two rows of vicious soldiers, Rabbi Shmuel Abba's kippah fell off. Despite the ongoing blows, he refused to proceed until it was returned to him.

This story sent waves through the Russian Jewish community, inspiring many to disregard their discomfort and wear a kippah at all times.

Footnotes 1.

Shulchan Aruch Harav, Mahadura Batra, Orach Chaim 2:6.

2.

Shabbat 118b and Kiddushin 31a.

3.

Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chaim 91:3.

4.

Shulchan Aruch Harav, Mahadura Bastra, Orach Chaim 2:6.

5.

Shabbat 156b.

By Yehuda Altein Rabbi Yehuda Altein is a writer, translator and editor specializing in Jewish subjects and handwritten family material. A former researcher for JLI's Machon Shmuel Research Institute, he has written on Jewish history, scriptural exegesis, halachah, and chassidut. Yehuda resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his family and enjoys collecting antique Judaica and exploring natural history in the Torah. He can be contacted at yaltein.writing@gmail.com. Art by Rivka Korf Studio, a Miami-based art design studio run by Rivka Korf, a coffee lover and mother. Rivka uses her expertise and creativity to run a team that creates masterful compositions and illustrations for corporate and large nonprofit organizations. More from Yehuda Altein  |  RSS © Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy.

A Grief Therapist Faces Grief

6 Truths for When the Pain Cannot Be Contained By Yehudis Karbal

s a therapist, I've learned that ultimately, all therapy is grief therapy—the knowledge that in this lifetime, we're always dealing with loss of some kind: loss of identity, loss of innocence, loss of dreams, loss of a loved one.

When the coronavirus hit the world and it became evident that this was a pandemic of epic proportions, I, like everyoneAll therapy is grief therapy else on this planet, was thrown into a new reality. I wondered if all of my personal and professional work during the past 40 years could possibly sustain me and my loved ones and my beloved "students" (aka clients). I knew that this global crisis was of a totally different nature. And so, would I be able to hold onto the "rope" of faith and trust in G‑d that was now shaking and challenging our reality?

Then came the news that my son-in-law, Shalom, in Monsey, N.Y., had been hospitalized. Not being able to travel to be there to be with my daughter and grandchildren (who were also sick with the virus) added to the anxiety. Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness overwhelmed our family as we tried desperately to hold onto any ray of hope. That week of his hospitalization was lost in panic, anxiety and dread, begging for any shred of possibility that he would recover and regain his health.

That was not to be. My son-in-law passed away on Shabbat, the 10th day of Nissan. The dreaded call came right after a Shabbat of intense praying. Impossible! This was supposed to be a month of miracles? The month of redemption—of going from slavery to freedom? Shalom? My son-in-law, who for 33 years was more like a son to me ... whose very presence represented shalom, "peace," to all who knew and loved him. He was truly a rock to his family and friends—a responsible, reliable and respectful mensch. How could our world exist without him?

To add to our anguish were the restrictions against travel. We couldn't support each other physically with our presence, our collective grief, our hugs, and the strength of family love. The following day was the funeral, which we witnessed on Zoom (from all over the world: England, Australia, Israel). It was almost an insult to our senses—the coldness of technology, and yet the relief of somehow seeing each other and being able to go through this nightmare "together."

Three days later, we needed to celebrate the holiday of Passover. Always, these days have been such a beloved time for our family. Now they passed like a blur. Being alone, apart, afraid; still, we went through the motions somehow. I found that all I could do was put myself on automatic, wondering if there were enough tissues in the world to wipe away the tears.

The weekly Torah portion recalled theThree days later, we needed to celebrate Passover untimely deaths of the two sons of Aaron, the High Priest. Aaron's response was vayidom, he was silent. That resonated with me. No words. Silence. The magnitude of this loss was so overwhelming that no thought or feeling could even be expressed. I waited. I waited patiently and impatiently for time to pass, for the ability to breathe consciously in the present moment. I turned to the painstaking work of allowing both the tears of grief and trauma, and of training and retraining my brain to stay away from the would/should/could of the past and the insistent anxiety of the future.

Being in the mental-health field (probably since I was 5 years old!), I have always tried to find the philosophy and the psychology behind the mysteries of life—to give reason and meaning to people, places and events that seemed so random—when it all seemed so desolate. And, of course, to learn how to function when the pain cannot be contained.

Gradually, over the years, I developed some direction, some tools and a set of beliefs that allows me to "hold these truths to be self-evident." Now, in a deeper way, I needed to come back to them. Perhaps they will also be helpful to others.

  1. Know that I don't know. Maimonides says the highest knowledge is "to know that we don't know." That certainly keeps us humble and puts everything into perspective. What can we really know about this lifetime? Past lifetimes? Our soul's journey? It's an eternal tease to have a brain that naturally wants to know and yet at so many points in life, we are blocked from knowing.
  2. Listen to the body. The mind-heart-body connection is so real. Listening to what the body is saying is vital for our mental and physical health. Physical symptoms beg for recognition and understanding. I couldn't budge my body beyond what it was capable of doing. Nausea, loss of appetite, uncontrollable crying, indifference, despair—all became my new companions.
  3. Accept without judgement. This is one of the hardest. The phrase, Bauch Dayan ha-emet, "Blessed is the true Judge," is easy to say, but not to internalize. G‑d does not serve me and my limitations. I am here to serve Him. I know that I can and will struggle with my response to pain and grief, it will be anger, denial, fight, flight, fear, etc. But in the end, my mental health depends on my ability to accept reality without judgement.
  4. No comparing or competing. Everyone grieves in his or her individual way. There isn't a right or wrong way to respond to loss; we must honor our own feelings. For guidelines and perspective, we need only look to the Torah for help and even inspiration.
  5. There will be questions, but no answers. There are so many questions: Why me? Why us? What could we have done to prevent this? Was there enough care when he went to the hospital? Will there be recovery from this chaos—this inconsolable heartbreak in our lives? Can there ever be healing? What can we expect from ourselves, our world, our future?
  6. Living with the duality of grieving and moving forward. The utter duality of this world becomes so poignant. When thrown by a tragedy, things seem unreal. Trauma often hijacks our connection to reality. Should we be able to enjoy a sunny day? The smell of spring? A new little life blessing this family? The pendulum of feelings and thoughts swings back and forth, sometimes violently, often with surprise, and without notice or time to adjust. At the same time, it is imperative that grieving doesn't hold us back from moving forward and living the life I know my son-in-law would want us to have.

Written for the shloshim of my dear son-in-law, Shalom Halevy A"H ben Shmuel Gurewicz

Dearest Shalom, you are sorely missed by all who know and love you. That love is eternal, and we pray for the time when our tears will turn to joy, and once again we can be united.

By Yehudis Karbal

Man Bites Dog: Jerusalem Police Bans Islamic Guard for Praising Terrorist By David Israel

The Jerusalem Police on Thursday issued a rare five-month ban from the Temple Mount compound to an Islamic Waqf guard who praised arch-terrorist Ramadan Shalah over the Waqf's radio system.

Ramadan Shalah, former leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, died this past Saturday after battling a long illness. In 2006, Shalah was placed on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list (Ramadan Shalah Who Turned Islamic Jihad into Iran's Proxy Dies of Stroke).

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"On behalf of the Al-Aqsa guards, we mourn the passing of the late great of our nation and of Palestine, Ramadan Shalah," the Waqf guard said on the group's radio system.

The Temple Mount, although under Israeli sovereignty, is administered by the Jordanian Islamic charity known as Waqf.

The police were notified by Tom Nisani, head of the Arab Desk at Im Tirtzu and founder of Students for the Temple Mount, who uncovered a video of the incident on the Facebook page of the Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency.

Nisani wrote the Jerusalem Police on Sunday that under Article 24 of Israel's Counter Terrorism Law it is illegal to commit "an act of identification with a terrorist organization, including by publishing words of praise, support or sympathy."

The Jerusalem Police responded on Monday that they were investigating the matter.

Nisani noted that "while we are pleased that this radical member of the Waqf will not be able to spew his anti-Israel venom on the Temple Mount for the next five months, he should be banned permanently. The time has come for Israel to assert its sovereignty over the Temple Mount once and for all. It's absurd that the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – is the only place in the Western world where Jews can't pray, and where Jewish visitors are at the mercy of the thuggish Waqf."

In fact, the Bible states that the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Joseph's Tomb in Shechem have all been purchased by our forefathers, and therefore the gentiles can't claim that the Jews don't have the right to possess them – and these three sites have seen the worst clashes over the validity of their Jewish ownership.

See you tomorrow, We need Mosiach now

Love Yehuda Lave

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

PO Box 7335, Rehavia Jerusalem 9107202

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