Unique Sites of Israel: Biblical Aphek: From the Ark of the Covenant to Alexander the Great By Nosson Shulman and Israel Railways Worker Finds NIS 1M Check By Hana Levi Julian and What do the Nazi-collaborating Grand Mufti and Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi have in common? and "IS A DOCTOR'S HEALING GOING AGAINST THE WILL G-D???"
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.
The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember.
The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave.
What do the Nazi-collaborating Grand Mufti and Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi have in common?
photo Credit: courtesy Roth family
Malki Roth, a 15 year old girl with American citizenship was one of 15 civilians killed, including six other children and a pregnant American woman, at the Sbarro Restaurant massacre of August 9, 2001.
One of the terrorists who engineered the attack is Ahlam Tamimi, who was released from Israeli prison in 2011 in a prisoner swap and now lives as a celebrity in Jordan. Even though Jordan has an extradition treaty with the United States it has refused to honor that treaty to have Tamimi tried in the US and brought to justice. Arnold Roth, along with his wife Frimet, have been very frustrated these last few days. Last week, Jordan's King Abdullah visited the US for the third time since Joe Biden became president. Yet not only was the topic of Ahlam Tamimi not brought up by any US government official, but not one mainstream media outlet even mentioned this ongoing travesty – no questions in any White House or State Department briefings about what the US is doing.I was reminded of this seeming conspiracy of silence as I read this book review of Jeffrey Herf's Israel's Moment: International Support for and Opposition to Establishing the Jewish State, 1945–1949 by Sol Stern in Quileute. Herf notes that the notorious Nazi collaborator and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, was under house arrest in Paris after World War II. Yugoslavia requested the extradition of the Mufti to try him for war crimes he committed in the Balkans for the Nazis.
French Foreign Ministry documents unearthed by Herf explain why this was never going to happen. A diplomatic memo put the matter quite directly: If the French government complied with the extradition request from Yugoslavia, or indeed from any other allied government, "we would unleash a new wave of hostility against us in all the Arab countries, and would also deprive ourselves of the interesting and fruitful contacts that the Mufti maintains with important figures from the Arab world."In June 1946, French security forces guarding the house where Husseini was detained conveniently left the door open and he "escaped" to Egypt. The Mufti was granted asylum by King Farouk and received a rapturous reception upon his return. In Cairo, he was greeted as a conquering hero by the founder of the islamofascist Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna. The Mufti, al-Banna declared, was a great leader who "challenged an empire and fought Zionism with the help of Hitler and Germany. Germany and Hitler are gone, but Amin al-Husseini will continue the struggle."
Doing the right thing takes a back seat to pretending that monsters can be useful, directly or indirectly. Like the Mufti, Ahlam Tamimi is popular in the Arab world. The US wants to maintain friendly relations with Jordan. Instead of acting like a superpower, giving a message to the world that the US will pursue justice, the Biden administration is continuing the policy of sending hundreds of millions of dollars annually to Jordan to prop up its "moderate" king. Like post-WWII France, the US has decided that a murderous war criminal is an ally in achieving its foreign policy aims. There is one significant difference between the Mufti and Ahlam Tamimi, though.
American progressives and leftists who later pushed for Israel's independence first came together to launch a public campaign to bring the Mufti to justice for his collaboration with the Nazis and for possible war crimes. But Husseini was shielded from prosecution by high-level government officials in the US and France who were determined to protect Western influence in the Arab world. In Washington, the sudden concern for the Mufti's safety came from the same anti-Zionist faction within the Truman administration that later tried to block the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.
The people fighting for justice in the 1940s were progressives and liberals. The people who are fighting against justice today are progressives and liberals.The media in 1946 were aghast at how the allies allowed the Mufti to escape to freedom.
But the media today has erected a wall of silence to protect the murderer of Jews and Americans.Even though the Roths and others have tirelessly contacted media outlets and fought for coverage of the Tamimi case, the people who pretend to care so much about "justice" in other contexts have decided to bury this story.And the people who are shielding the criminals then and now happen to also be the people who are the most critical of Israel in the name of the same "justice" they trample.
{Reposted from the EoZ site}
PARASHAT KORACH- 2022 5782 פרשת קרח
"IS A DOCTOR'S HEALING GOING AGAINST THE WILL G-D???"
In many non-Jewish faiths there is a belief that because illness comes from G-d therefore, a physician may not render a cure because that would be going against the will of G-d. Baruch HaShem, Judaism believes otherwise. Our Torah HaKedosha commands the physician "VERAPOH YE' RA'PEI" (Shemot 21:19), that not only is it a Reshut [permissible] but in fact it is a Chova, a Mitzvah for him to do whatever is in his medical power, to cure the ill person. Our theological position is that We must do what We can, and the Ribbono Shel Olam will do what He wishes. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Our parasha takes this one step further. Following the death of Korach and his followers, we read in the Torah (17:6-15) that all Bnei Yisrael complained to Moshe and Aharon saying "You have killed the people of HaShem"! HaShem then says to Moshe "Remove yourselves from among this assembly and I will destroy them in an instant". Moshe then says to Aharon, "Take the fire-pan and put on it fire from upon the Mizbei'ach and place incense –and go quickly to the people and provide atonement for them, for the anger has gone out from HaShem –THE PLAGUE HAS BEGUN!".
Now here we clearly know why the people are dying. Should Moshe and Aharon interfere with the Will of G-d and seek atonement for the people. We could easily understand if Moshe were to pray for their forgiveness. But to do something to stop the plague that HaShem began, is that appropriate? Here is what happens: Aharon took as Moshe had spoken and RAN to the middle of the congregation, and behold the plague had begun among the people. He placed the incense and provided atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was checked. But in those few moments, the plague had claimed the lives of fourteen thousand seven hundred Jewish lives.
What is most interesting in this event is the scene of Aharon running to atone for the people. We would not expect an individual of Aharon's age and stature [he was 85 years old at that time [see Shemot 7:7], to engage in such undignified activity. This is the only time in the Torah that Aharon is described as running.
We are here being taught that Pikuach Nefesh, when life is at stake, it is important enough that one's dignity is suspended. Lives were at stake and Aharon did all he could, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, to save as many lived as he could. For every few seconds, hundreds more were dying.
Devine retribution is G-d's business—healing the sick is man's business. If G-d wants to punish someone, he can arrange for the punishment. He needs no support from us. If we are confronted with dangerously ill patients, our only agenda is to heal them as quickly as possible. LO TA'AMOD AL DAM REI'ECHA (VaYikra 19:16) applies even when the Ribbono Shel Olam is the source of danger. Our task is to heal and prevent death whenever possible.
Shabbat Shalom from Yerushalayim
Rabbi Aharon and Libby Ziegler
Unique Sites of Israel: Biblical Aphek: From the Ark of the Covenant to Alexander the Great
Well preserved Ottoman fortress at Tel Afeq (Aphek) National Park built in 1573. This rarely visited site has many well- preserved ruins of most of the empires that controlled Israel over its 4000 years!
Today we are exploring a unique site that possesses everything a visiting tourist would like to see! It is very centrally located, has incredible historical significance (the events that occurred here are stranger than fiction), and is kid-friendly. The nature here is beautiful, and there are ponds with battle boating, plenty of parking and it's even inexpensive to visit! Additionally, this wonderful place has well-preserved ruins from the multiple empires which have ruled the country over the last 4000 years, an extreme rarity (although Israel is well known for having well-preserved archeology from the different empires, it is uncommon to find them all at one site). One would think that tourists would be clamoring to visit, but this is not the case. Tourists seldom visit here, and even most Israelis are unaware of this location in their midst. So, let us now explore this site together!
At Tel Afeq (Aphek) nature trails, ponds, and archeology blend together to create stunning sceneries! Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The obvious question is why there are so many buildings and fortifications from different time periods here? The answer is that this location rests on an extremely strategic route. At one time, Egypt and Mesopotamia were the world's superpowers, and the ancient highway which led from one to the other went through here.
Although the entire road needed to be protected, empires prioritized control of this particular section (known as the Aphek pass) because this location was very narrow (only 2 kms long). The Yarkon River begins just a few feet to the west of Aphek making the land swampy, hardly the place to build a road. Just a short distance to the east was the mountainous region of Samaria. This was, therefore, the only place a road could be built, and whoever controlled this fort would essentially be in control of ancient travel.
Entrance gateway of the Egyptian Governor's house, circa 1450 BCE to 1100 BCE. The walls in the background (with the flags) would be built millennia later by the Ottoman Turks. Photo Credit: Bukvoed – Creative CommonsAttribution 4.0 International
The first to build here was the Canaanites (see Joshua 12:18). In the 15th century BCE, Pharaoh Thutmose III invaded Israel and conquered many cities, including Aphek. For the next 350 years (overlapping with the time period when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt) Egypt ruled the land. They allowed the Canaanite city kings to continue their rule as long as they didn't rebel, although they appointed Egyptian governors to oversee them.
The Egyptian Governors house of Aphek which was used circa 1450 BCE-1200 BCE. His task was to make sure the local Canaanite Kings didn't get out of line! Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Several ancient documents written in Cuneiform (the ancient international language of that time) were found here.
Egyptian Documents discovered in the digs
When the Children of Israel left Egypt and Pharaoh's army drowned in the Red Sea (see exodus 14) Egypt lost control of its overseas empire, including Israel, and once again the 31 Canaanite city states gained independence. When Joshua entered Israel, he fought 31 kings. Although he defeated the King of Aphek, the city itself was taken by the Philistines, setting the stage for arguably the most dramatic battle in biblical history!
Map of Joshua's conquest of Canaan. Though he defeated the army of Aphek (in red circle) the city itself was conquered by the Philistines.
In the days of Samuel the prophet, the Israelites waged war against the Philistines (with the former encamped at nearby Ebenezer and the latter at Aphek). The battle was a disaster for the Children of Israel, with around 4000 troops having been slaughtered. To turn the tides of war, the Israelites went to Shiloh, then home to the Tabernacle to retrieve the sons of the High Priest (along with the Ark of the Covenant) as merit in battle with them (see 1 Samuel 4). G-d, however, had other plans. Thousands of Israelite soldiers were killed, the Ark of the Covenant was captured, and the sons of Eli were killed (in fulfillment of G-d's promise made in 1 Samuel 3). The Ark of the Covenant would be dramatically returned to the Israelites several months later (see 1 Samuel: 6. For more on the return of the Ark to the Jewish people, click here).
The Ark of the Covenant. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
During the time of Alexander the Great, one of the most shocking events in world history occurred here! At the tender age of 20, Alexander became King of Macedonia and began his immensely successful campaign to take over the known world (circa 336 BCE). After conquering Lebanon, he entered Israel and was told falsely by the Kutim (Samaritans) that the Jewish people were revolting against Greece and that it would be in their best interest to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple (they were hoping to rid the land of the Jews so that they could take control). Upon hearing this, Alexander was irate and went to Jerusalem to punish the "traitors". The leader of the Jewish people and High Priest at that time was Simon the Just. When Simon heard that Alexander was coming, he put on his High Priest garments and walked with his entourage towards the powerful ruler all night long carrying torches (according to Jewish law, it's usually forbidden for the High Priest to wear his Service garments outside the vicinity of the Temple. Since this was a matter of life and death, it was permitted and even required). The two sides met at Aphek, where Alexander dismounted from his horse and did something that shocked everyone; he bowed down to the High Priest! The Greek generals that witnessed this were shocked and disgusted by this, asking "Your Majesty, why do you bow before a Jew?" Alexander replied "This is no mere Jew but one with the appearance of an Angel. Before I go into battle when I am to be victorious, his vision appears to me. Should I not bow to them?" Alexander then asked him "Why have you come to see me?" The High Priest wisely answered "Is it possible that the very Temple where we pray for you and your empire should be destroyed because of the misleading requests of these idolaters?". Alexander (upset about being lied to by the Kutim) told the priest "I am placing them in your hands to do with them as you so please." To celebrate, Alexander demanded that a statue of him be placed in the Temple (which is forbidden by Torah law). Simon the Just bravely answered that while he could not honor this request, he would decree that every Jewish boy born that year be given the name Alexander (which is how it became a Jewish name which is still used in Torah observant communities today).
Alexander bowing down to the High Priest dressed in his Temple service garments
The city reached its zenith during the Roman period when the infamous King Herod (Rome's puppet king of Israel), greatly expanded it with major building projects in 9 BCE. He renamed it Antipatris after his father (he particularly chose this area because of its rich soil, an abundance of water, and strategic location).
Remains of the Cardo (the main shopping street in Roman times). Much of it would later covered by the 16th century Ottoman Fortress. Photo Credit: Bukvoed – Creative CommonsAttribution 4.0 International
Because the city was conveniently situated on the Jerusalem-Caesarea route (the two most important cities in Israel of that era), this city played a large role in the Great Jewish Revolt (66-73 CE). When the Romans were on their way to put down the rebellion in Jerusalem, they were attacked here and badly defeated. The next year, General (and later Roman Emperor) Vespasian came here to settle the score. After a three-day battle, the Romans finally conquered it and destroyed the city (although they would soon build it back up).
Remains of the Roman Odeon (small but VIP theater). Photo Credit: Shutterstock
After the city was restored, it seems to have retained a major Jewish presence. According to Jewish sources, the righteous sage Rabbi Akiva had 24,000 students between the cities of Geva and Antipatris. The city continued to flourish until Byzantine times when a massive earthquake destroyed it (and most of Israel). It would never recover, though in 1573 a massive Ottoman fortress was built to protect the Damascus-Cairo highway it stood on (with 100 horsemen and 30-foot soldiers stationed here).
The inside of the fortress' well-preserved Ottoman guard tower built in 1573. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Because Tel Aphek sits atop the source of the Yarkon River, the British (who took control from the Ottoman Turks in WW1) built an elaborate pumping station to pipe its water to Jerusalem (to this day it is still the main source of fresh water for Jerusalem, though the originally British system is no longer in use).
Though no longer in use, the old British pumping station (built in the 1930's) can still be seen by visitors to the national park. Photo Credit: Bukvoed – Creative CommonsAttribution 4.0 International
The park has a lot to offer tourists of all ages and interests. If you are looking for something off the beaten track on your next trip to Israel, I highly recommend you visit here!
(All photos are either licensed by the author or available for public usage)
The Yitzhak Navon high-speed train station in Jerusalem.
An Israel Railways worker found a NIS 1 million check this weekend.
The check was in a wallet that was found late Thursday at the Yitzhak Navon high-speed train station in Jerusalem by a cleaning worker, according to Hebrew-language media.
The employee passed the lost bank check to the shift manager, who immediately placed it in a safe at the station.
On Sunday morning, after efforts by the shift manager failed to track down the owner, he contacted the lost and found department head at Israel Railways, Itzik Shitreet. The two men contacted the head of the railway's Finance Department, and all three then contacted the bank from which the check was issued.
A representative of the bank came to pick up the check during the day on Sunday.
"I felt a huge identification with the passenger who must have been in great distress over this," Haim Alouf, the shift manager said.
"I have recovered many lost items, but never one this costly. I am proud of the station staff and the cleaning worker for his integrity and commitment to the passenger."
