Bookstore in Chicago and more on the Temple Mount and Sukkot

Expend For A Friend

The Sages say that having a friend is so important that one should be willing to pay for it! (Talmud - Avot 1:6). Why? Because we are not objective about ourselves. A true friend is there with you when you fall to help you get up. As they say, " A friend in need, is a friend indeed."

Paying a price does not necessarily refer to financial payments. We might need to spend time and energy to keep a friend. We may have to tolerate some of his negative habits. Or at times he might quarrel with us. Nevertheless, the price we pay for a close friend is a worthwhile investment.

Some friends are very expensive but they are worth it!! Sometimes you have to let them blow off steam or ignore them for awhile until they come back to normal, but the investment pays off and you have them in your life.

 Today being Evev Yom Kippur (tonight it starts) I am off to the Temple Mount to help prepare for our rights to one day build it again (see story below from Rabbi Yehuda Glick). I wish everyone a meaningful fast in our opportunity to get close to G-d.

Love Yehuda Lave

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Why I am a Jew by Rabbi Johnathan Sacks

http://www.aish.com/jw/s/Why-I-Am-a-Jew.html?s=mm

*So, I was walking through the mall in Chicago and I saw that there was a
"Muslim Book Store." I was wondering what exactly was in a Muslim bookstore
so I went in*
*As I was wandering around taking a look, the clerk stopped me and asked if
he could help me*
*I imagine I didn't look like his normal clientele, so I asked, "Do you
have a copy of Donald Trump's book on his U.S. Immigration Policy regarding
Muslims and illegal Mexicans?"*
*The clerk said, "F.... off, get out and stay out!"*

 

*I said, "Yes that's the one," Do you have it in paperback? *

 

KAPAROT - 2015 (5776)

(this is the controversial practice because live chickens are used--here is an alternative)

Showdown In Elk Town - Human Planet, Cities, Preview - BBC One a

REAL STAG PARTY

by BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794wEIbHlDc&feature=em-share_video_user

Yehuda Glick Optimistic for 'Great Change' on Temple Mount

Yehuda Glick commends new minister of internal security, hints that he favors Jewish ascent to Temple Mount.

By Benny Tucker

First Publish: 9/1/2015, 2:56 PM

Yehuda Glick

Arutz Sheva

Yehuda Glick, Chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund, told Arutz Sheva Tuesday that he was shocked to learn that a sign in Hebrew had been placed at the entrance to the Temple Mount, stating that visits and tours of the Mount have to be coordinated in advance.

After contacts with the police, the sign was removed.

Glick said that the police quickly understood that putting up the sign was a mistake. "We encounter harsh decrees once in a while," he explained. "In the course of the last year they have been allowing in smaller groups and carrying out intrusive inspections. This deters Jews from coming. We contacted elements within the police and drew their attention to the seriousness of the matter. We were glad to learn that the sign was removed."

Glick had warm words for the new minister of internal security, Gilad Erdan (Likud), who he said has been taking action regarding the Muslim rioting in the Temple Mount.

"At the end of the 100 days, it is important to me to note that Minister Erdan – beside his activity in appointing a new police commissioner – has taken upon himself the subject of the Temple Mount, and we feel the great change in the way matters are handled vis-a-vis the Arab elements that are creating trouble on the Temple Mount."

Glick hinted that Erdan – who is secular, but was raised in a religious home – sees with favor a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, and not just for religious reasons. "There is an attempt to improve the situation," he said. "There is a religious and sovereign interest favoring the ascent of Jews to the Mount, and these things are stated in our meetings with Minister Erdan as well. With him, we found an attentive ear and a new spirit can be felt."

Despite his serious injury last year, when a would-be assassin tried to murder him, he is continuing his activity as Chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund at full throttle. "With the grace of God and thanks to the prayers I am getting better," he said. "I am not yet 100% well, but my motivation has grown and doubled. The degree of interest in us has tripled. There is great interest from rabbis who were not interested in the past, and who were even opposed to the ascent [by Jews], and now encourage the ascent to the Mount.

"I am continuing with greater strength. The terror attack showed me that there are hostile elements who do not want us to be on the Mount and that encourages me to act. There are numerous tours on the Mount, including religious and secular students. It is gathering steam and I call upon the wide public to come and ascend the Mount."

This is one of the reasons that the Arab nations are so hot not to have Jews have the right to pray on the Temple Mount. The Moslems believe that the Temple Mount has holiness for the Jews. If only our own Jewish people in the Torah as much as the Arabs do!!!!

Succot starts on Sunday night..I am including this now, because there is not much time left.

Judaism has something for everyone. If you like to drink, we have Purim. If you like asceticism or self-denial we have Yom Kippur. If you like to play with fire, we have Lag B'omer (celebrated with bonfires!) If you like to dance, we have Simchat Torah, and ... if you like the great outdoors, we have Sukkot!

Sukkot starts Sunday evening, September 27th. Sukkot means "booths." During the 40 years of wandering in the desert we lived in Sukkot. We are commanded in the Torah regarding this holiday, "You shall dwell in booths for seven days ... so that your generations will know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in booths when I took them out of Egypt, I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:42-43). We are commanded to make our Sukkah our main dwelling place -- to eat, sleep, learn Torah and spend our time there. If one would suffer from being in a Sukkah -- i.e., from rain or snow -- or heat and humidity -- he is freed from the obligation to dwell there. We make, however, every effort to at least eat in the Sukkah -- especially the first night.

The love and enthusiasm you put into building a Sukkah and decorating it makes a big impact on your children. A friend told me that his father was a klutz (not handy) with tools and their Sukkah would oftentimes fall down. But, what he remembers is his father's love for the mitzvah of building the Sukkah and happiness in building it each time. We cannot decree that our children have our love for our heritage. However, by showing them our delight and energy in the mitzvot, they build their own love for Torah and the holiday. A teacher once said, "Parents only owe their children 3 things: example, example, example."

We are also commanded to wave the arbah minim, the Four Species, during the week-long holiday. There are many deep and mystical meanings to be found regarding waving the Four Species. Waving them in all four directions of the compass as well as up and down is symbolic that the Almighty controls the whole world, the winds and all forces -- everything everywhere. A second lesson from holding the Four Species together -- all Jews are bound together as one people, be they saints or sinners, knowledgeable or ignorant (see Dvar Torah!).

The Torah tells us, "...On the fifteenth of the seventh month (counting from the Hebrew month of Nissan when the Jews left Egypt) shall be the holiday of Sukkot, seven days (of celebration) for the Almighty. The first day shall be a holy convocation; all manners of work (creative acts as defined by the Torah) you shall not do; it is an eternal decree in all of your dwelling places for all generations" (Leviticus 23:34-35).

Sukkot is called zman simchateinu, the time of our joy. Joy is distinct from happiness. Happiness is taking pleasure in what you have. Joy is the pleasure of anticipating a future good. If we trust in God and know that everything the Almighty does for us and will do for us is for our good, then we will know great joy in our lives!

Deuteronomy 16:13-15 tells us "The festival of Sukkot shall be to you for seven days when you gather from your threshing floors and your wine cellar. You shall rejoice in your festival ... for the Almighty will bless you in all of your produce and in all of the work of your hand and you shall be completely joyous." It is fitting that Sukkot is a harvest festival. People who work the earth are amongst the most religious of people trusting in the Almighty (followed perhaps by fundraisers ... ). They take a perfectly good seed that could be eaten and they stick it in the ground not knowing whether there will be rain or drought or floods or pestilence. They put forth hard work not knowing the outcome. They trust in the Almighty for their food and their very existence.

The mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah teaches us trust in God. We tend to think that our possessions, our money, our homes, our intelligence will protect us. During Sukkot we are exposed to the elements in a temporary hut. Living in a Sukkah puts life into perspective. Our possessions are transient -- and our corporeal beings are even more transient than our possessions. Life is vulnerable. Our history has borne out how transient are our homes and communities. No matter how well-established, wealthy and "secure" we have become in a host country, in the end it too has been a temporary dwelling. Our trust must be in God.

As King David wrote in Psalms 20:8 "There are those who trust in chariots and those who trust in horses, but we trust in the name of the Almighty." Only the Almighty is the Creator of the world, the Master of history, our personal and caring God Who can be relied upon to help us.

During the Festival of Sukkot when we had our Temple in Jerusalem, 70 offerings were brought-- one for each nation of the world -- so that the Almighty would provide rain for their crops. The Talmud tells us that if the nations of the world understood the value of what the Jewish people provided them, they would have sent their armies to defend our Temple in Jerusalem to keep it from being destroyed!

Sukkot is one of the Shelosh Regalim, Three Festivals (the other two are Pesach and Shavuot), where the Torah commands everyone living in Israel to leave their homes to come to Jerusalem to celebrate at the Temple. For the last 2,000 years since the destruction of the Temple, we've been unable to fulfill this mitzvah. May we soon be able to fulfill this mitzvah once again in its entirety.
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Brainy quote and the basics for Yom Kippur

   Practice What You Know

If you visit the best doctor in the world and the doctor cures you, you will become ill again if you do not follow the doctor's instructions. Can anyone blame the doctor? It is your own fault for not following the doctor's suggestions.

Similarly with wisdom, the ideas will only be able to help you if you constantly put them into practice.

Today, ask yourself: What ideas that I already know would make a major difference in my life if I applied them?

Right now, the before Yom Kippur,  I am still suffering from having two infected teeth. One had a root canal and now I have to wait for the other. The Dr (Dentist) in this case didn't diagnose the problem. I had to diagnose it myself. I know from my previous wisdom what the problem is, primarily because I have had root canal before. So sometimes the best Doctor in the world (after G-d of course) is yourself.

Love Yehuda Lave

Hebrew language--The Language of the DNA of Creation!!  very powerful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od-xkRDw6nk

Three Secrets for a Happy Marriage:

1) Give  2) Give more  3) Give in

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Guidelines for the holiest day of the Jewish year – the Day of Atonement.

by Rabbi Shraga Simmons

Following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses pleaded with God to forgive the people. Finally on Yom Kippur, atonement was achieved and Moses brought the second set of Tablets down from Mount Sinai.

From that day forward, every Yom Kippur carries with it a special power to cleanse our mistakes (both individually and collectively) and to wipe the slate clean.

This works on two conditions:

(1) We do a process called teshuva – literally "return." Teshuva involves four steps:

• Regret – acknowledging that a mistake was made, and feeling regret at having squandered some of our potential.
• Cessation – Talk is cheap, but stopping the harmful action shows a true commitment to change.
• Confession – To make it more "real," we admit our mistake verbally, and ask forgiveness from anyone we may have harmed.
• Resolution – We make a firm commitment not to repeat the harmful action in the future.

(2) Though the combination of teshuva and Yom Kippur atones for transgressions against God, it does not automatically erase wrongs committed against other people. It is therefore the universal Jewish custom – some time before Yom Kippur – to apologize and seek forgiveness from any friend, relative, or acquaintance whom we may have harmed or insulted over the past year.

Angel for a Day

On Yom Kippur, every Jew becomes like an angel. In the Jewish understanding, angels are completely spiritual beings, whose sole focus is to serve their Creator. The Maharal of Prague explains:

All the mitzvot that God commanded us on [Yom Kippur] are designed to remove, as much as possible, a person's relationship to physicality, until he is completely like an angel.

Just as angels (so to speak) stand upright, so too we spend most of Yom Kippur standing in the synagogue. And just as angels (so to speak) wear white, so too we are accustomed to wear white on Yom Kippur. Just as angels do not eat or drink, so too we do not eat or drink.

This idea even has a practical application in Jewish law: typically, the second verse of the Shema, Baruch Shem, is recited quietly. But on Yom Kippur, it is proclaimed out loud – just like the angels do.

Five Aspects

There are five areas of physical involvement from which we refrain on Yom Kippur:

1. Eating and drinking
2. Washing
3. Applying oils or lotions to the skin
4. Marital relations
5. Wearing leather shoes

Throughout the year, many people spend their days focusing on food, work, material possessions (symbolized by shoes) and superficial pleasures (symbolized by anointing). On Yom Kippur, we restore our priorities to what really counts in life.

As Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler writes:

On Yom Kippur, the power of the [physical] inclination is muted. Therefore, one's yearning for spiritual elevation reasserts itself, after having lain dormant as a result of sin's deadening effect on the soul. This rejuvenation of purpose entitles a person to special consideration and forgiveness.

Structure of the Day

On Rosh Hashana, the Books of Life and Death are open and God writes who will be granted another year of life. For many, this decision hangs in the balance for nine days until Yom Kippur, when the final decision is sealed. With this in mind, the prayers of Yom Kippur are designed to stir us to mend our ways:

• The Yom Kippur prayers begin before sundown with the haunting melody of Kol Nidrei. The Torah scrolls are all removed from the Ark, and the chazzan (cantor) chants the Kol Nidrei prayer three times, each with greater intensity.
• The special Yom Kippur Amidah (standing prayer) incorporates the Al-Chet confession of our various mistakes. With each mention of a mistake, we lightly beat our chest with the fist – as if to say that it is our impulses that got the best of us.
• The Yizkor service – said in memory of loved ones – is recited following the morning Torah reading.
• The lengthy Mussaf service features a recounting of the Yom Kippur rite in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. A highlight was the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies – the only person to do so, this one time a year. The Mussaf service also records how the High Priest would pronounce God's holy name, and in response the assembled Jews would prostrate on the ground. When reaching these passages, we too prostrate ourselves on the ground.
• At the Mincha service, we read the Book of Jonah, the biblical story of a prophet who tried to "flee from God" and wound up swallowed into the belly of a huge fish.
• While a regular weekday has three prayer services, and Shabbat and holidays have four, Yom Kippur is the only day of the year that has five. This final prayer is called Ne'ilah, literally the "closing of the gates," which serves as the final chance to ensure that our decree for the year is "sealed" in the Book of Life. At the conclusion of Ne'ilah, the shofar is sounded – one long blast, signifying our confidence in having passed the High Holidays with a good judgment.
• At the conclusion of Yom Kippur, Havdallah is recited over a cup of wine. There is no blessing on spices (unless Yom Kippur was on Shabbat), but we do use a Havdallah candle – which should be lit from a flame that burned throughout Yom Kippur.

The Fast Itself

The Yom Kippur fast begins before sundown, and extends 25 hours until the following nightfall.

During the afternoon hours leading up to Yom Kippur, it is a special mitzvah to eat a festive meal.

For making your fast easier, hydration is the key. Avoid coffee or coke, because caffeine is a diuretic. Heavy coffee drinkers can also avoid the dreaded headache by slowly reducing the amount of consumption over the week leading up to Yom Kippur. (See Aish's "Guide to an Easy Fast")

At the festive meal, eat a moderate portion of food so as not to speed up the digestion process. After you complete the festive meal, leave some extra time before sundown to drink.

In Case of Illness

If someone is ill, and a doctor is of the opinion that fasting might pose a life-danger, then the patient should eat or drink small amounts.

The patient should try to eat only about 30 ml (one fluid ounce) and wait nine minutes before eating again. Once nine minutes have passed, one can eat this small amount again, and so on throughout the day.

With drinking, try to drink less than what the Talmud calls "melo lugmav" – the amount that would fill a person's puffed-out cheek. While this amount will vary from person to person, it is approximately 35 ml (just over one fluid ounce) and one should wait nine minutes before drinking again.

How does consuming small amounts make a difference? In Jewish law, an act of "eating" is defined as "consuming a certain quantity within a certain period of time." Otherwise, it's not eating, it's "nibbling" – which although is prohibited on Yom Kippur, there is room to be lenient when one's health is at stake.

The reason for all these technicalities is because eating on Yom Kippur is regarded as one of the most serious prohibitions in the Torah. So while there are leniencies in certain situations, we still try to minimize it.

Note that eating and drinking are treated as independent acts, meaning that the patient can eat and drink together during those nine minutes, and the amounts are not combined.

Having said all this, if these small amounts prove insufficient to prevent the health danger, the patient may even eat and drink regularly. In such a case, a person does not say Kiddush before eating, but does recite "Grace After Meals," inserting the "ya'aleh veyavo" paragraph.

Now what about a case where the patient's opinion conflicts with that of the doctor? If the patient is certain he needs to eat to prevent a danger to health, then we rely on his word, even if the doctor disagrees. And in the opposite scenario – if the patient refuses to eat despite doctors' warnings – then we persuade the patient to eat, since it is possible that his judgment is impaired due to illness.

Wishing you a meaningful Yom Kippur!

This Palestinian mother was shown such kindness by Jews when her young son was treated, free of charge, for his heart problem in an Israeli hospital. She freely acknowledges this, but she still hopes that her child will grow up to be a martyr. This video is a rare look into the mind of someone who worships death and destruction. She describes the difference between her culture and all of Western society perfectly when she explains that for her people life is meaningless.

https://www.facebook.com/398799110143354/videos/773517276004867/

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Upcoming Blood Moon to Lead to "Messianic Advancement"

By Rivkah Lambert Adler July 31, 2015 , 7:50 am

"The sun shall turn to darkness, and the moon to blood, prior to the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." (Joel 3:4)

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/blood-moon.jpg

April 2014 Blood Moon. (Photo: Anne Dirkse/ Wiki Commons)

Blood moon enthusiasts around the world are eagerly awaiting the appearance of a final blood moon of a special four-moon cycle, known as a tetrad, on September 28, 2015. What makes this particular tetrad unique is that each blood moon occurs during a Jewish holiday, making it a very rare historical occurrence.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/46098/upcoming-blood-moon-messianic-advancement-jewish-world/#zvTKmMsbl9Y3Wi3F.99

In a recent talk he gave in Jerusalem, Rabbi Mendel Kessin, a rabbinic scholar, spoke about the connection between the appearance of blood moons on Jewish holidays and historical events that bring the ultimate redemption closer. At the 36-minute mark, Rabbi Kessin introduces the history of blood moons to his Orthodox Jewish audience and explicitly connects the blood moons to redemption.

Kessin begins by explaining that a lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is between the sun and the moon, turning the moon dark. Lunar eclipses happen approximately every 12-18 months, according to Kessin. Rarer than an ordinary lunar eclipse, he continues, is a blood moon, which turns the moon red instead of dark.

Rarer still are tetrads – sequences of four blood moons six months apart. And extremely rare, happening only four times in 500 years, are tetrads that fall on the significant Jewish holidays of Passover and Sukkot [Feast of Tabernacles]. These sequences included the years 1492, 1948, 1967 and 2015.

It is commonly known that in 1492, Columbus discovered America. What is less well-known is that, on July 30, 1492, the entire Jewish community of Spain, approximately 200,000 individuals, were expelled by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Columbus' discovery of America provided the Spanish Jews with safe harbor. As Kessin teaches, the discovery of America softened the exile of the Spanish Jews and, in that way, moved redemption forward. According the Kessin, the exile of the Jewish people began to ease up as far back as 1492.

The next tetrad falling on Jewish holidays happened in 1948, when the State of Israel was founded. The third extremely rare tetrad on Jewish holidays was in 1967, when the city of Jerusalem was reunited. Now, in 2015, the final blood moon of the current tetrad is scheduled to fall on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

In addition, the blood moon this Sukkot will occur just two weeks after the end of the current Shemitah year. This is significant because the Talmud, the most important collection of rabbinic teachings in Judaism, suggests that the the messiah will come in the year following a Shemitah year.

Speaking to Breaking Israel News, Kessin said, "Each one of these is a messianic advancement. There are incredible events that predate the messiah."

Why would God make blood moons a sign for the Jews? Traditionally, as recorded in the Talmud, a lunar eclipse is a bad sign for the Jews, who mark time with the moon.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/blood-moons.png

On the other hand, the Jewish holidays of Passover and Sukkot are considered nights of the greatest protection of the Jews. The first night of Passover is referred to in Hebrew as leil shimurim, a night of guarding. Additionally, the outdoor booths in which Jews dwell during the holiday of Sukkot are meant as reminders of the fragile huts that protected the newly freed slaves during 40 years in the desert after the exodus from Egyptian slavery.

In essence, Kessin explains that the presence of a blood moon, which would otherwise have been a bad omen, is a good omen for the Jews whenever it falls in this sequence. "Every time a blood moon happens [on a Jewish holiday tetrad]," said Kessin, "there is messianic advancement."

Kessin reminded Breaking Israel News that the threat from Iran is also messianic, which he says can be clearly seen from the 13th century Biblical rabbinic commentary known as the Yalkut Shimoni. Rabbinic scholar and author Rabbi Nachman Kahana translates the relevant section of the 800-year old commentary:

Paras (Persia-Iran) will be the dread of humanity. The world's leaders will be frustrated in their futile efforts to save what they can, but to no avail. The people of Yisrael will also be petrified by the impending danger. And HaShem will say to us, "Why are you afraid? All of this I have done in order to bring you the awaited redemption. And this redemption will not be like the redemption from Egypt, which was followed by suffering. This redemption will be absolute, followed with peace.

"We have now entered the countdown to the messiah, which is unbelievable," Kessin told Breaking Israel News. "Based on the [verse from the Book of Joel cited above], based on what's happening, something awesome seems to be in the works. Fascinating!"

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/46098/upcoming-blood-moon-messianic-advancement-jewish-world/#zvTKmMsbl9Y3Wi3F.99

Fire broke out Saturday in the old Hamashbir building on King George Street in central Jerusalem.

By: Hana Levi Julian

Published: September 19th, 2015

Fire broke out at the old Hamashbir building on King George Street in Jerusalem.
Photo Credit: Hadas Parush / Flash 90

Fire broken out Saturday at the old Hamashbir Latzarchan building on King George Street in central Jerusalem.

The main part of the building has been empty for a while, but the building's 'Off the Wall Comedy Club' and a yarn store on a lower level have been popular haunts for veteran Jerusalemites.

The building is also nestled cheek-and-jowl to the Lev Yerushalayim apartment hotel, another long-time 'de rigeur' for foreign tourists, including many Americans.

It is not yet clear what started the blaze; however, Israel Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told JewishPress.com there has been no indication the fire was deliberately set.

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• 
Yehuda Lave The joke is that I walked by and the fire was going for an hour in the center of town and no fire department showed up..How can the city let a fire burn in the center of town and not have the fire department show up? And now the whole area is a stinking mess and who knows how long before they clean it up?

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Things Not To Say On A Shidduch Date

 

"…and a silent small voice will be heard…" ( the prayer of the U'Netaneh Tokef)

 

In a real sense, the "silent small voice" is the truest and most authentic voice that exists. In silence, there are no distractions, and the individual is left to listen to his own internal voice, without any interruptions.

 

The shofar serves as a call to our inner selves. Indeed, the phrase in U'Netaneh Tokef which precedes "and a silent small voice will be heard ..." is "and the great shofar will be blown."

 

The source of the phrase "a silent small voice", used by Rabbi Amnon of Mainz (Magence) in his beautiful prayer, which is included in the heart of musaf (both on Rosh haShana and on Yom Kippur) is God's words to the Prophet Elijah at Mount Horeb:  "And He said: "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a silent small voice." (First Kings 19:11-12)

 

The greatness of the "silent small voice" is that in allowing one to hear his own inner voice, it allows him as well to experience Divine revelation. (David Magence)

 

Shabbat shalom and Shanna tova to all!

Love Yehuda Lave

By negating the body, we give preeminence to the soul. Life is a constant battle -- between the yetzer tov (the desire to do the right thing, which is identified with the soul) and yetzer hora (the desire to follow your desires, which corresponds with the body). The Talmud compares the body to a horse and the soul to a rider. It is always better to have the rider on top of the horse -- to have the rider controlling the horse and not the horse controlling where the rider is going!

Jewish tradition teaches that on Yom Kippur the yetzer hora, the desire to follow your desires, is dead. If we follow our desires, it is only out of habit. On Yom Kippur we can break our habits! Here are three questions to think about on Yom Kippur to help you develop your life plan:

1. Am I eating to live or living to eat?
2. If I am eating to live, then what am I living for?
3. What would I like written in my obituary or on my tombstone?

Love Yehuda Lave

Now for a little humor -necessary to keep things in perspective

Things not to say on a Shidduch Date

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZm2rYe7tzY

Stuff Jewish Men Rarely Say

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7FUi1q0K-cU

Preview YouTube video Stuff Jewish Men Rarely Say

Back to serious stuff:

SS St Louis: The ship of Jewish refugees nobody wanted

When we were refugees

By Mike Lanchin BBC World Service

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27373131

On 13 May 1939, more than 900 Jews fled Germany aboard a luxury cruise liner, the SS St Louis. They hoped to reach Cuba and then travel to the US - but were turned away in Havana and forced to return to Europe, where more than 250 were killed by the Nazis.

"It was really something to be going on a luxury liner," says Gisela Feldman. "We didn't really know where we were heading, or how we would cope when we got there."

At the age of 90, Feldman still clearly remembers the raw and mixed emotions she felt as a 15-year-old girl boarding the St Louis at Hamburg docks with her mother and younger sister.

"I was always aware of how anxious my mother looked, embarking on such a long journey, on her own with two teenage daughters," she says.

In the years following the rise to power of Hitler's Nazi party, ordinary Jewish families like Feldman's had been left in no doubt about the increasing dangers they were facing.

Image copyright Howard Barlow Image caption 15-year-old Gisela Feldman on the St Louis

Jewish properties had been confiscated, synagogues and businesses burned down. After Feldman's Polish father was arrested and deported to Poland her mother decided it was time to leave.

Feldman remembers her father pleading with her mother to wait for him to return but her mother was adamant and always replied: "I have to take the girls away to safety."

So, armed with visas for Cuba which she had bought in Berlin, 10 German marks in her purse and another 200 hidden in her underclothes, she headed for Hamburg and the St Louis.

"We were fortunate that my mother was so brave," says Feldman with a note of pride in her voice.

Tearful relatives waved them off at the station in Berlin. "They knew we would never see each other again," she says softly. "We were the lucky ones - we managed to get out." She would never see her father or more than 30 other close family members again.

By early 1939, the Nazis had closed most of Germany's borders and many countries had imposed quotas limiting the number of Jewish refugees they would allow in.

Cuba was seen as a temporary transit point to get to America and officials at the Cuban embassy in Berlin were offering visas for about $200 or $300 each - $3,000 to $5,000 (£1,800 to £3,000) at today's prices.

Image copyright Getty Images

When six-year-old Gerald Granston was told by his father that they were leaving their small town in southern Germany to take a ship to the other side of the world, he struggled to understand what that meant.

"I'd never heard of Cuba and I couldn't imagine what was going to happen. I remember being scared all the time," he says, now aged 81.

For many of the young passengers and their parents however, the trepidation and anxiety soon faded as the St Louis began its two-week transatlantic voyage.

Feldman, who shared a cabin in the lower part of the ship with her sister Sonja, spent her time walking around the deck chatting with boys of her own age, or swimming in the ship's pool.

On board, there was a dance band in the evenings and even a cinema. There were regular meals with a variety of food that the passengers rarely saw back home.

Under orders from the ship's captain, Gustav Schroder, the waiters and crew members treated the passengers politely, in stark contrast to the open hostility Jewish families had become accustomed to under the Nazis.

The captain allowed traditional Friday night prayers to be held, during which he gave permission for the portrait of Adolf Hitler hanging in the main dining room to be taken down.

Six-year-old Sol Messinger, who was travelling with his father and mother, recalls how happy everyone seemed. In fact, he says, the youngsters were constantly being told by the adults that they were now safe from harm: "We're going away," he heard people say again and again on that outward journey. "We don't have to look over our shoulders any more."

Image copyright Getty Images

But as the luxury liner reached the coast of Havana on 27 May, that sense of optimism disappeared to be replaced by fear, then dread.

Granston was up on deck with his father and dozens of other families, their suitcases packed and ready to disembark, when the Cuban officials, all smiles, first came aboard.

What happened next?

• 288 passengers went to Great Britain, all of whom survived WW2 except one who died in an air raid in 1940
• The Netherlands took 181 people, Belgium 214 and France 224
• 87 of these emigrated before Germany invaded - of the 532 left, 278 survived and 254 died
• The journey was the subject of the 1976 film Voyage of the Damned

Source: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

It quickly became clear that the ship was not going to dock and that no-one was being allowed off. He kept hearing the words "manana, manana" - tomorrow, tomorrow. When the Cubans left and the ship's captain announced that people would have to wait, he could feel, even as a little boy, that something was wrong.

For the next seven days, Captain Schroder tried in vain to persuade the Cuban authorities to allow them in. In fact, the Cubans had already decided to revoke all but a handful of the visas - probably out of fear of being inundated with more refugees fleeing Europe.

The captain then steered the St Louis towards the Florida coast, but the US authorities also refused it the right to dock, despite direct appeals to President Franklin Roosevelt. Granston thinks he too was worried about the potential flood of migrants.

The Holocaust

Why did ordinary people commit atrocities?

By early June, Captain Schroder had no option but to turn the giant liner back towards Europe. "The joy had gone out of everything," Feldman recalls. "No-one was talking about what would happen now."

As the ship headed back across the Atlantic, six-year-old Granston kept asking his father whether they were going back to see their grandparents. His father just shook his head in silent despair.

By then, people were openly crying as they wandered the ship - one passenger even slit his wrists and threw himself overboard out of sheer desperation. "If I close my eyes, I can still hear his shrieks and see the blood," Granston says quietly.

In the end, the ship's passengers did not have to go back to Nazi Germany. Instead, Belgium, France, Holland and the UK agreed to take the refugees. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) posted a cash guarantee of $500,000 - or $8 million (£4.7m) in today's money - as part of an agreement to cover any associated costs.

Image copyright JDC Image caption Captain Schroder's letter thanking the JDC for arranging visas for the passengers

On 17 June, the liner docked at the Belgian port of Antwerp, more than a month after it had set sail from Hamburg. Feldman, her mother and sisters all went on to England, as did Granston and his father.

They both survived the war but between them they lost scores of relatives in the Holocaust, including Feldman's father who never managed to get out of Poland.

Messinger and his parents went to live in France but then had to flee the Nazis for a second time, leaving just six weeks before Hitler invaded.

Two-hundred-and-fifty-four other passengers from the St Louis were not so fortunate and were killed as the Nazis swept across Western Europe.

Gisela Feldman, Gerald Granston and Sol Messinger spoke to Witness - which airs weekdays on BBC World Service radio.

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Since I almost had to have a tooth pulled, this joke spoke to me.

Chaim Yankel went to visit his dentist, Dr. Goldstein and sure enough, his candy habit had caught up to him.

Dr. Goldstein: I have to pull the aching tooth, but don't worry – it will take just five minutes.

Chaim Yankel: And how much will it cost?

Dr. Goldstein: It's $150.00.

Chaim Yankel: $150.00 for just a few minutes of work?!

Dr. Goldstein: I can extract it very slowly if you like

 

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Now we have it in black and white from our "peace Partner" they want us out or dead!!

Be Enthusiastic 

Give a person enthusiasm and you have given him a key to success. Enthusiasm isn't everything, but it goes far.

When a person goes for a job interview, enthusiasm will give him a better chance of getting hired. Of course, enthusiasm without knowledge and skill alone isn't enough. But an enthusiastic person is more likely to gain the necessary knowledge and skill.

Enthusiasm is energy. And energy is what you need to get up and go. Unfortunately, there are many of whom it can be said, "His get-up-and-go has gotten up and gone."

Don't let that be said about you. Be enthusiastic, and enthusiastically increase the enthusiasm of others.

Love and Happy New Year from Yehuda Lave

It doesn't get any plainer than this. We are dealing with another Nazi and we expect to make peace with him. Rabbi Kahane was thrown out of the Kinneset for saying we wanted to have our own country and the Arabs that are here want us out instead. If they say it, it is OK? They defend Christians? The Christians in Israel have all run from the Muslims. But the Christians here feel safe with the Jews.

We must make up our mind. They consider us occupiers and that lie, Jews can't handle...Lets get them out of here before we have no country.

Abbas: Israelis have no right to desecrate our holy sites with their filthy feet

Arab-Israeli Conflict

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH \

09/16/2015 19:06

Abbas: Israelis have no right to desecrate our holy sites with their filthy feet

• Riots breaks out on Jerusalem's Temple Mount for third straight day

• 
  

Palestinian leader's comments come amid the violence at Jerusalem's Temple Mount over the past few days.

Mahmoud Abbas. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Palestinians won't allow Israelis to "desecrate" Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday, referring to the tensions surrounding visits by Jews to the Temple Mount.

"Al-Aksa is ours and so is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They have no right to desecrate them with their filthy feet. We won't allow them to do so and we will do whatever we can to defend Jerusalem," Abbas said in his Ramallah office during a meeting with east Jerusalem activists.

Abbas said the Palestinians were determined to prevent Israel from passing its scheme to "divide" the Aksa Mosque compound.

"There will be no Palestinian state without Jerusalem," he stressed. "We are in Jerusalem and we will stay in it to defend our Islamic and Christian holy sites. We're not going to leave our country."

He praised Muslim male and female worshipers whose job it is to harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount.

"Each drop of blood that was spilled in Jerusalem is pure blood as long as it's for the sake of Allah. Every shahid (martyr) will be in heaven and every wounded person will be rewarded, by Allah's will."

Also Wednesday, Abbas phoned Morocco's King Mohammed VI and discussed with him the situation in Jerusalem in light of the controversy surrounding visits by Jews to the Temple Mount.

and here of course is the US solution...BAN JEWS FROM ISRAEL

After Three Days of Clashes on Temple Mount, US Calls on Israel To Ban Jews

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz September 15, 2015 , 10:18 pm

5.7K 153

54 25Email 6.3KShare

"Thus says the Lord, 'I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of Heaven's armies will be called the Holy Mountain." (Zechariah 8:3)

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/temple-mount-al-aqsa-mosque-violent-protest-clashes-islam-muslim-mask-.jpg

Illustrative: A masked Palestinian youth flashes the "V" for victory sign near the Dome of the Rock during clashes with Israeli riot police. (Photo: Sliman Khader/Flash 90)

For the third straight day on Tuesday, Israeli Police and Palestinians clashed on the Temple Mount, drawing sharp criticism from the UN, the US and the Muslim world.

As police escorted Jews going up to the site on the second day of the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hasana, they were met by dozens of Palestinians who attacked them with rocks, iron bars and firecrackers. A firebomb was also thrown at police, setting wooden beams on fire. The rioters attempted to barricade themselves inside the al Aqsa Mosque but police forced their way in, using tear gas and stun grenades.

Five policemen were lightly injured and an unspecified number of Palestinians were arrested. The director of the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency unit, Amin Abu Ghazaleh, reported that 26 Arabs were injured.

United States State Department spokesman John Kirby condemned the clashes on Monday, stating, "The United States is deeply concerned by the increase in violence and escalating tensions surrounding the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. We strongly condemn all acts of violence."

"It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and preserve unchanged the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount," he added.  The "historical status quo" Kirby is referring to is a ban on Jews on the Temple Mount.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday evening in a special security meeting that "rioters would not be allowed to prevent Jews from visiting the Mount," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Condemnation against Israel has also poured in from across the Middle East. Jordan's King Abdullah addressed the Temple Mount violence in a press conference in Amman on Monday, AFP reported. "Any more provocation in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel," Abdullah said. "Jordan will not have a choice but to take actions, unfortunately."

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/189-TMHF%20new%20book%20banenr.jpg

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said "the Israeli escalation on the Temple Mount is a declaration of war," threatening reprisal attacks against Israel, Walla! reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a phone conversation to act against Israel's "breach" of the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to the Turkish Hurriyet news website, saying that Israel's actions were "unacceptable" and a cause for "serious indignation" in the Muslim world.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir condemned Israel for the Temple Mount actions after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. "A discussion was conducted on the Palestinian issue and what is happening at the al-Aqsa Mosque, and how to deal with these aggressive moves by the Zionist enemy in an attempt to seize the mosque, as well as how to intensify the efforts of the Arab and Muslim countries to condemn these Israeli actions and confront them on all tracks, in accordance with the request of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with unanimous approval of the Arab countries," the Saudi Press Agency reported.

UN coordinator Nickolay Mladenov spoke during a Security Council meeting Tuesday, urging Israel to maintain the "historic status quo," which prevents Jews from visiting the Temple Mount. "As the Middle East faces a vicious tide of terror and extremism, such serious provocations have the potential to ignite violence well beyond the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem."

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/48898/after-three-days-of-clashes-on-temple-mount-us-calls-on-israel-to-ban-jews-jerusalem/#78hOxesl2QBpDGer.99

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1915 - an eye opener...and Life matters

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Anxiety Builds Courage

From the perspective of courage, every time you experience fear you have another opportunity to increase your level of courage.

With some situations, the very fact that your initial reaction is one of fear, in itself renders the words you say and the actions you take into courageous words and deeds. If you would be doing the very same thing and it would be easy for you, it would not be a courage-building event.

Now that you needed to overcome your anxiety and fear, your level of courage is rising. This opens you up to a wealth of future possibilities that would not have been possible without the courage you are adding to your character.

Some things in life you can't change easily. Don't frustrate yourself and do something you enjoy, like reading a book to take your out of the uncomfortable moment as you build courage.

Love Yehuda Lave and Shanna Tova

 This New Year

May you get a clean bill of health

from your dentist, your cardiologist, your  gastroenterologist, your urologist,

your proctologist, your podiatrist,  your plumber and the IRS.

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall.

May your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol,

your white blood count and your real estate taxes not increase.

May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere

in the rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there,

may you find a parking space.

And above all else…

May what you see in the mirror delight you,

and what others see in you delight them.

May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes,

and tell the world about your virtues.

May you want what you have, so as to be truly content with your lot.

May you be at peace knowing that that which you so lovingly instilled in your children,

is sufficient to carry them through the rough spots they'll encounter along the way.

May you never be too busy or too late to really be there for the people you love.

And finally, may your world be filled with love and laughter. 

May you be strong and healthy, hopeful and grateful, and may you be able to rejoice

in the good fortune that is yours for many years to come.

Amen

How to age gracefully (very cute)



• How to Age Gracefully

 PM Netanyahu's New Year's Blessing to the World!

 http://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-in-new-years-blessing-netanyahu-calls-for-the-world-to-stand-united-with-israel/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Happy+New+Year+from+United+with+Israel+%28Look+Inside!%29&utm_campaign=20150913_m127347978_Happy+New+Year+from+United+with+Israel+%28Look+Inside!%29&utm_term=bibi-249x169_png

 

 

Something to think about!

 1915 - an eye opener...

 

THE YEAR IS 1915


The year is 1915 - One hundred years ago.  What a difference a century
makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1915:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year ...

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year.

A dentist $2,500 per year.

A veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year.

And, a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at home .

Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they
attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the
press AND the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, And, used Borax or egg yolks
for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their
country for any reason.

The Five leading causes of death were:

  1.    Pneumonia and influenza
  2.  Tuberculosis
  3. Diarrhea
  4. Heart disease
  5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars ...

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write

And, only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local
corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to
the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian
of health!"  (Shocking?)

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or
domestic help...

There were about 230 'reported' murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself.

From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD all in a matter of
seconds!

It is impossible to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

 

 

 

 

Jewish Lives Matter

The deal is written but it is not yet sealed.

by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have very special significance. They determine our fate for the coming year. It is the time of Divine judgment. In the heavens above mankind is evaluated, our deeds weighed and our actions considered. A decree written on Rosh Hashanah is held in abeyance awaiting final approval on the Day of Atonement. Whether the world acknowledges it or not, this is the most important period of time in the year, the final days in which we can still change our personal fate as well as the destiny of mankind.

And remarkably enough, just as above so too below. For months the world has watched with ever growing bewilderment as a deal has been put in place with Iran, the major sponsor of worldwide terrorism, which ensures them of eventual nuclear capability as well as the immediate boon of over $150 billion to carry out their nefarious plans for universal domination. The plan is written – but it is not yet sealed. In the very 10 days set aside for the heavens to render final judgment, America's political leadership is given its last opportunity to nullify what over 70 percent of Americans and 90% of Israelis consider nothing short of suicidal.

It is in the prayers uttered by Jews in synagogues around the world at this time that we so clearly address our contemporary concern. "On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed – who will live and who will die." In case we took the threat lightly, the Ayatollah of Iran chose to remind us: "You will not see the next 25 years," Khamenei said just before Rosh Hashanah, referring to Israel. "God willing, it will be nothing – no Zionist regime by the next 25 years. Until then, struggling, heroic and jihadi morale will leave no moment of serenity for Zionists."

It is a great irony of history that those who plot the greatest evils do not conceal their plans; they publicize in advance their genocidal ambitions and rely on the naïveté of the civilized world not to take them seriously. Hitler spelled out exactly what he would do to the Jews in Mein Kampf. The Western world wrote it off as pure rhetoric, exaggerations with no link to reality. That is what allowed the Holocaust to happen.

The world is once again guilty of the same misconception. On the very eve of passage of the deal predicated on the belief of Iran's willingness to join the family of peace-loving nations, Iranian leadership spells out loudly and clearly that annihilation of Israel and all of its inhabitants is its nonnegotiable goal. And the deal is still on the table. It is written – but it has not yet been sealed. The politicians will be discussing and debating. And the calendar reminds us that we are in the midst of the 10 days of repentance and the very same moment of judgment is taking place in the heavens above.

So much is hanging in the balance. Jewish lives matter – and so do our prayers.

Shockingly, there's been no anguished response, no furious denunciation, no screams of outrage at the ayatollahs promised commitment to genocide. No defenders of the deal have come forward to proclaim with equal vigor that annihilation of Israel is a deal breaker and that Jewish life matters. No one, not the President of the United States or any world leaders, felt sufficiently motivated to denounce a pledge for the destruction of a member of the United Nations and the extermination of an entire people.

There is a mantra that has gained much popularity in the United States today because of valid outrage against the sin of racism: "Black lives matter." And they most certainly do. We must add another group which has somehow lost claim to love or even legitimacy in the hearts of those ostensibly carry the banner of brotherhood: "Jewish lives matter." Bigotry and prejudice are sins even when its victims are Jews. Anti-Semitism may today be fashionable but it is just as abominable as racism rooted in color.

Who would have believed that a mere half-century after the Holocaust we again need to remind the world of this simple truth? Jewish lives matter.

During these days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we need to reflect not only on our own future but on the fate of mankind. So much is hanging in the balance. Jewish lives matter – and so do our prayers. May we all be sealed in the Book of Life.

 

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