Friday, January 25, 2013

The Ocean of Tears: The Rise of Ya'ir Lapid

Ya'ir Lapid is not a Peacenik.  Ya'ir Lapid is not a Socialist/Communist.  Ya'ir Lapid does not want to uproot the Torah of Israel.  Say these things seven times, and you will realize that he is not a Leftist.  Like Bennett, he is something new and actually very good.  He would not have Shomer Shabbat Jews and Rabbis in his party list if he were any of these things.  He will likely form a partnership with Bennett even before forming a coalition with Netanyahu.

I wrote the above after the election:  And I also wrote this about Ya'ir Lapid:

(Here is the man (Ya'ir Lapid) who will be number 2 in the Knesset.  I know Rabbi Dov Lipman (#17 on his list).  I stayed by his house for Shabbat 7 times while dating my wife in Cincinnati, Ohio.  So I trust this article.  Ya'ir Lapid is no leftist.  He does not really fit into any of our traditional categories.


 Ya'ir Lapid is truly a survivor of a survivor of the Holocaust.  He survived his father's intense pain, the pain of Jewish history which is so so intense.  Writing this, I am starting to cry.  As I wrote on my blog in the comments, Ya'ir Lapid is that Ocean of Tears begging for Divine Mercy.  That might be the secret of this election after all.  It is 5am, and now I understand what happened as tens of thousands of undecided voters literally within 24 hours of the election rose like a storm to raise this survivor of a survivor from the ashes of the Holocaust.  There are now 6 million Jews here in Eretz Yisrael.  After the cruelty by which we treated each other in the Gog ben Gog (Gog W. Bush, Jr.) Shmittah cycle in 5765 over the Gaza expulsions, our collective suffering is our only merit for the Final Redemption in this Shmittah cycle, the Shmittah cycle of Obamanation the 11th horn dude.  

Rabbi Lipman is correct.  It would have been so easy to put Ya'ir into the framework by which we know his father Tommy (the one who hated G-d so much that he founded a political party around that idea).  Yet, apparently Ya'ir Lapid is not his father at all.  Like so many in this country, he is a 2nd generation Holocaust survivor coming to terms with the G-d of Israel.  He represents a vast ocean up in Heaven, an ocean of pain and suffering beyond comprehension.  Crying Crying, begging Heaven to listen to the tears of suffering of his holy nation.  Perhaps I should post this now or a bit later today.  Right now I am bawling.)

I will add more to this later about this ocean.  I want to transcribe word for word a story told by Rav Shlomo Carlbach zt"l about the Kotzker Rebbe and Rav Yitzchak Walker.  "In Kotzk the Truth was the most important thing.  In Walker loving people was the most important thing in the world"  The story explains the ocean of tears.

Then today I saw this.  Now I understand the greatness of what is happening here in Eretz Yisrael.  I understand how this election has been watched over so carefully by the Eibishter that every detail of its results will soon become clear.  Watch Ya'ir Lapid speak to a Chareidi audience last March right here.  This is a 25 minute video:  


After watching this, I always wondered what it would be like if Abraham Lincoln jumped forward into our hurting fractured society here in Eretz Yisael and started to speak.  He is not Shomer Shabbat, and for that reason he calls himself secular.  Pity.  As Rabbi Dov Lipman said:  Here is a soulful man filled with love for the G-d of Israel.  What are his mitzvot??:  COMMON DECENCY!!  Yes, yes, he is a unifying force.  Then I wrote this to others and as a comment on the Youtube video:

I voted for Bennett, but I like this guy (Ya'ir Lapid) a lot. He represents Israel starting to return to its roots. He put religious Jews in his party because he understands what those roots are. Bennett represents Yehudah (even if he very well might be Naftali ben Ya'akov coming back with the contract that Ya'akov signed with Esav proving that Eretz Yisrael belongs to us alone). He and Ben Ari even received about 10% of the vote together. He received 10% of the seats. And ancient Yehudah was 10% of the Army of Shaul HaMelekh.  See Shmuel Aleph: 11. Netanyahu and Lapid represent Israel. (Bibi is King Saul and Lapid...) The two, Yehudah and Yisrael, come together as one in Ezekiel 37:16. May it be now.

Now I have had time to reflect on this event.  And I ask who is Ya'ir Lapid?  So I wrote this to a friend when discussing the possible coalitions that might be made by our King Shaul, Binyamin Netanyahu.  1. One of them is a coalition between Likud, Bayit Yehudi, and Lapid.  2. The only other option is Likud, the 18 Chareidi seats, and Lapid since he has to be included in any coalition now.  In order for the 2nd possibility to take place there will need to be compromise on the part of Chareidi world, for obviously Lapid wants to compromise.  I pray for a compromise.  Compromise, what a wonderful word that is!  I doubt very much that Netanyahu will go for a third option of Bayit Yehudi and the Chareidi parties since the fractures of this broken society will never be healed that way, but someone suggested that he will take that easy way out and choose that narrow majority.  Yet, if there is no compromise which might take weeks or months to be hammered out, then Netanyahu will choose option one and the drafting of Chareidim will become a one way street.  And it might lead to riots, horrible riots, G-d forbid:

There should be no riots after this video.  He is a great man.  I sense tremendous greatness in what he is doing.  He has no hatred for Chareidim.  He loves them and respects them.  If someone riots after seeing this, then I will join on the side of Ya'ir Lapid.  

Then I ask the ultimate question.  Who is he?  And on this there is no way of knowing for sure.  Who is this Lincolnesque man??  And I conclude with a speculation on what is going on here:

His name means "A Torch will give light".  Is it possible that he is Mashiach ben Ephraim??  Who would have thunk?  Ben Ephraim returns our society here in Eretz Yisrael to a civilization based on common decency.  He fears G-d but is not necessarily Shomer Shabbat.  Is that him??  To be honest with you, I really don't know for sure.  But one thing I can say for sure.  He is not just a recovering son of a Shoah survivor.  He has recovered to help lead a broken nation back to the Yesod of the Torah:  Common Decency!!  Then I realized that if he is MBEphriam, many Chareidim will reject him.  Since they won't recognize him for what he is: the common decency that is a pre-equisite for the Torah.  Those are his mitzvot:  Common Decency.  Some Chareidim will join him, and some will riot against him.  He will not succeed against those who oppose him because Mashiach ben Ephraim can only defeat the Erev Rav.  He cannot defeat the Erev Ze'ir, those in the Chareidi world who want the galut to continue or do not understand that Common decency is kadmah to the Torah.  

Remember the Erev Rav worships the Avodah Zarah of world public opinion or personal popularity.  They are the left wing parties here.  According to the Zohar Bereishit 25, they have five soul roots: Amalekim (the most wicked full of himself prideful son of Eliphaz ben Esav), Nefilim (fallen angels), The Giborim (Men of Renown or Mighty Ones who are the sons of the Fallen Angels who had relations with human women), Refa'im (Og from the pre-flood world.  The Zohar places them as a sub-category of the Anakim.  Refa'im can also mean weak ones or even ghosts.  The City of the Refa'im was the first city conquered by the 4 kings lead by Kedarla'omer in Gen. 14:5), and Anakim (the Giants in Hevron).  This can be discussed later to explain the five left wing parties in this election.  They were: 1.  Labor (what is now the Communists lead by Shelly), 2.  Tsippi Livni (Tenuah was all about her), 3.  Kadima (Shaul Mofaz), 4.  Meretz (founded by Shulamit Aloni and Yossi Sarid), and 5. the joint Arab/ Jewish parties (Chadash did the best this time, but Avraham Burg tried to form another one recently).  Yes, there were five truly left wing Jewish parties representing the five soul roots of the Erev Rav.  Now you can guess which is which.  G-d splintered them off this time in order for us to see the final birur against the Erev Rav in action.  G-d willing more Jews will be brought out of their evil spell.  

The Erev Ze'ir is different.  They have Jewish souls, but they desire for the world of Galut to continue.  Outside Eretz Yisrael, they desire the desert lifestyle when G-d washed our clothes while we still wore them, for instance, or provided us Mon from Heaven.  Life is harder here in EY.  Gashmiyut is less prevalent, and we have few basements to sock it away anyway. The desert outside EY is a desirable place to sock away money in one's 401k for retirement.  Inside Eretz Yisrael, the situation is quite different.  The Chareidi world is poorer than the general population which is not the case, necessarily, in Chu"l.  Yet, there is a stake that some of their leaders have for the Galut to continue.  While our great Rabbanim will continue to serve in the re-established Sanhedrin, there will be a greater understanding than there is now how important it is to know that human decency is a pre-equisite before the Torah can be even be considered as a life-style.  It preceded the Giving of the Torah by 2447 years from the moment that Adam and Chava ate the forbidden fruit.  I believe that most Chareidim know this already and will willingly join with Yesh Atid's movement but will of course remain who they are, Chareidim.  The Torah itself is all about loving our neighbor as ourselves.  So they live it everyday anyway with each other.  Now it is time to unite with the rest of Klal Yisrael that do not know the Emeth and lovingkindness of G-d's Holy Torah.  I can even imagine that maybe ten or twenty percent of Chareidim will join "Limud Torah" battalions in the IDF to teach secular Israelis the basics of Judaism so that they will know why they are fighting for Eretz Yisrael.  This of course can be done in the context of a Hesder program for this type of national service (50% learning and 50% service).  Of course 30 to 40% of Chareidim should continue to learn full time, to be Matmidim, for in their merit all of Israel is blessed.  There are so many ways to initiate compromise so that the drafting of Chareidim does not have to become a Civil War.

Ezekiel 37: 16-17  Moreover, Son of Adam:  Take for yourself one wooden stick and Write upon it For Yehudah!  And for the Children of Yisrael his companions (his friends) then take another wooden stick and write upon it For Yosef, the Stick of Ephraim! and the entire House of Yisrael his companions.  And bring then together toward you into one wooden stick and they will be one(s) in your hand.

In short in order to truly be part of the redemption of the Jewish people which is unfolding before our eyes, first you must try to make Aliyah if circumstances allow.  Secondly, live here with G-d's Holy Hand.  Divine Providence comes directly from Him here, not from an angelic emissary.  And then be amazed as this process unfolds before your eyes.

From HaShem this has occurred, it is wondrous in our eyes!

67 Comments:

Blogger LondonMale said...

Dov,

I think the Charedim can compromise on national service without the need for military service.

Teaching Torah in army units and schools is a great idea, maybe extend it to youth clubs and old age homes too?

There are a huge amount of plastic bottles in the streets of Israel. There are many cages to collect them for recycling. The cages are often full, so the excess bottles get wasted. It may appear mundane, but collecting these for recycling would be healthy "fresh air, walking" and useful for the economy and of course for the ecology of Israel - a Mitzva!

So too making minor repairs to broken sidewalks/pavements, street lights, street signs - all things tied in with common decency and which may increase public health - i.e. repairing a broken hazard sign.

And how about patrols to clean the Tel Aviv streets of their dog mess, and the beaches of broken glass? And the parks of litter?

Non glamorous, but non-combative and useful to everyone.

A citizens social care corps.

Shabbat Shalom

1/25/2013 4:14 AM  
Blogger Jesterhead45 said...

If what you are suggesting of Yair Lapid is true then one can expect much of the Jewish Moshiach Blogosphere to soon flare up in a state of Cyber Civil War down the line (assuming he is not a sell-out to foreign powers like many on the right believe about Bibi and much of the Israeli / Jewish political establishments), with one of the strongest areas of resistance against him likely coming from Jews who have practically staked their entire lives on the belief that MBY / Moshiach is someone else (whether living or deceased).

While he sounds reasonable enough in spite his background (what with his father) and can see where you are coming from on a rational level with regards to Common Decency, I have developed a somewhat innate distrust of authority in general so I’ll wait and see whether his actions match his purportedly ordained role since many Jews have become desensitised over the years / decades / centuries / millennia by both the many false claimants as well as corrupt leaders / leadership that have always claimed to have our best interests at heart.

Btw, where does Bennett fit in all this?

1/25/2013 4:23 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

As mentioned in the post, I believe that Bennett is Naftali ben Ya'akov who in the famous medrash about the burial of Ya'akov, goes down to Mitzraim to retrieve the contract between Ya'akov and Esav over the sale of the rights of the firstborn. In the limited sense the contract demonstrated that Eretz Yisrael and The Cave of the Patriarchs in particular belong to the children of Yisrael so that Ya'akov could be buried in the Cave. So in the broader sense it means that only one nation can dwell between the Mediterranean and the River Yarden. Also since the Cave itself is a vestibule to Olam HaBa, placing Ya'akov to rest in there indicates that only Yisrael can lead Mankind into the Messianic Era. For whatever reason this Naftali has come to lead the Bait Yehudah who according to Shmuel Aleph 11 always makes up 10% of the Army of Yisrael, in particular there referring to the Army of Shaul HaMelekh. So Bayit Yehudi is Beit Yehudah and has exactly 12 seats, ten percent of the total number of seats in the Knesset. Also Naftali is swift and our Naftali is an expert in getting information out in cyberspace in a matter of milliseconds. Now that is quick.

1/25/2013 4:37 AM  
Blogger Moriah said...

That was a very impressive video. I watched the whole thing. I hope I'm not being fooled but I feel such warmth and sincerity pouring out of him. We need each other. I'm surprised he didn't evoke the name of Rav Kook who had tremendous love for all Jews and thought each has a very special role according to G-d's plan. By-the-way- HaRav Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal zt"l who wrote Eim HaBanim Smeichah did too.

1/25/2013 6:59 AM  
Blogger madaral said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

1/25/2013 9:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wish you were right about this but Yair Lapid rose to power on the wings of anti-hareidi and anti-settler propaganda so it makes me wonder. Chareidi bashing as a political tool is something i find rather abhorrent. His two red lines for being in the government are the Chareidi draft and talks with the Palestinians. So please excuse me for not feeling all warm and fuzzy. I am not part of the Tzibur Hachareidi and I think if suitable frameworks and proper spiritual environment could be created, some Chareidim in the army would be a good thing. Nachal Chareidi soldiers are great in combat. The reason chareidim object to army service btw, has to do more with the anti-religious environment than anything else. Lapid's ideas might not be so bad if the tactics employed wouldn't be so reminiscent of antisemitic Czarist Russia.
Hashem should only bless us with worthy leaders and there should only be love among Jews!

1/25/2013 10:58 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Time is short before Shabbat, but going into Shabbat, I want to post the following article on Arutz 7. Apparently, Lapid has told Shaul HaMelekh that he prefers Bayit Yehudi to be in the coalition (if a compromise with Shas cannot be worked out within the 6 to 8 weeks allotted to build a coalition.) May everyone, excluding the Erev Rav, join in now with a spirit of Brotherhood and Unity. And may more Jews leave the Erev Rav spirit of Communism and public self-hatred and self-flagellation in order to melt us into the dying spirit of this dying world which we call Olam HaZeh.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164568#.UQJpXB1LOTw

The Left wing may actually be coming to understand that Ya'ir Lapid is not one of them.

1/25/2013 1:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Our chaylim are enslaved (even for a good cause) for three years making something ridiculous like 100nis a month. Even worse are drafted olim who have no family here and the shamefully weak support which provides more a parnasa to the fundraisers.
The best soldier canidates of the nation could be hired for good wages and retained with bonuses like is done in almost all advanced armies, jobnicks could be hired as needed.
Pickup trash and dog poop!! Even a worse way than a reluctant conscript soldier to prove that the state owns expensive to care for slaves, if poop and trash is an important problem hire a minimum wage employee who can pay his own rent.
In Israel where highly trained and qualified combat officers over 30 who make aliyah are rejected the state and the media still need to prove that they literally own Jewish citizens as slaves from 18 to 21.
Make the army professional, end shirut leumi, properly hire workers if there is a a public need and a budget. The social indoctrination draft is a throwback to kibbutz communist times and only kept in place now to either beat up heradim in the media or to force schleppers to stay in yeshiva rather than getting a job.

1/25/2013 3:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Would like to add a few comments. Firstly, do not believe there are 6million Jews in EY right now. Most of the Russians and others who came are not Jewish and many conversions, are not up to par. (The conversion business is another story). Aside from that, agree with LondonMale, except for suggesting that chareidim do community service, if I understood correctly, where he suggests the chareidim pick up after dogs in Tel Aviv, c'v. That is beyond insulting and should never be. Agree with many of the commenters here about not jumping on the bandwagon in regard to Lapid. He has to prove himself first (his background, father). We don't know if he like many of the very secular politicians are really not what they purport to be and are really stooges for foreign powers, and hopefully is for real. Experience should teach us to be cautious. Hopefully, he proves he is the person Dov Bar Leib and all of us hope he is.

1/25/2013 4:16 PM  
Anonymous D.G.S. said...

Disagree that full-time study without accompanying honest income-producing labor is somehow a blessing on all Israel. It is shameful to be supported by charity and/or your own wife, no matter the reason (assuming one is physically capable of work). And no, work is not defined as Torah study. That is a circular argument and thus a fallacy.

Proof:

Rambam - “Anyone who decides to be engaged in Torah and not to work, and will be supported by tzedaka - this person desecrates God's name, degrades the Torah, extinguishes the light of our faith, brings evil upon himself and forfeits life in Olam haBa; since it is forbidden to derive benefit from the words of Torah in this world."

Avot 4:5 - "Do not make them (the words of Torah) a crown to magnify yourself, or a spade to dig."

Avot 2:2 - "Any Torah which is not accompanied by work will eventually be nullified and will lead to sin. Ultimately, such a person will steal from others."

1/25/2013 7:06 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Oh boy, Oh boy. Blame this on the fact that I often don't get to learn the Haftarah until Shabbat, usually late Friday night. It is about 9 or 9:30 on Friday night, and my daughter is singing Shabbat zemirot with me and then she continues to sing by herself. And I open up the Haftarah, and bang. It is all right there. Devorah was the Eishet Lapidot. Now this is interpreted in three ways by Chazal

1) she twisted wicks for the Menorah in the Mishkan at Shilo. Since wicks of that Menorah give off the light of Torah, then she is propagating Torah throughout Israel.

2)She was the wife of Barak aka Lapidot who goes off and fights the war against Sisera and Yachin with Devorah at her side. Barak is of course from Sheivet NAFTALI. (We will get back to that in a bit later.) So the question comes up. Why is Devorah sitting underneath a Tomer tree (Date tree) on top of Har Ephraim judging the nation. This brings us to option number three

3) Her first husband, Lapid or Lapidot, was from the Tribe of EPHRAIM. He passes away, but she is a widow who likely (or maybe not) had children from her first husband. Again, either his name was Lapid or it was Lapidot. So if option three is more likely than option 2, her first husband was Lapid from Sheivet Ephraim ben Yosef. I will have to look at the Gemorrah in Chulin where this is discussed. This option then allows for option number 2 to take place where Barak becomes a 2nd husband. This would of course infer, that Ya'ir Lapid who also gives off light is spiritually from the Tribe of Ephraim.

More on Barak from the Tribe of Naftali later.

1/26/2013 7:00 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Option number 3 would therefore explain why, as a widow, Devorah would be sitting under a date tree on the property of her first husband on Mt. Ephraim.

I am writing this from Kochav Ya'akov, but write now I am in an office which was a former shul on this yishuv. The name of the shul was Tomer Devorah. bye for now.

1/26/2013 7:05 PM  
Blogger Neshama said...

Dov, I voted for Bennett too. I hope everything you wrote is going to occur.

1/26/2013 7:22 PM  
Blogger Neshama said...

My husband read me the Haftorah nd I just didn't get it. Devorah ... Lapid/Lapidot ... Shevet Ephrayim . OMGosh!

Pease write some more. My heart is racing ... Now I feel enthused with expectation ...

However those Erev Ze'ir they will try to stop everything.

1/26/2013 7:32 PM  
Blogger LondonMale said...

It is important that I clarify that my idea of a Social Corps for no military national service is not an anti-Charedim idea. It would be for all who wish to not be in a military function. As for picking up litter, dog mess and so on, this is not an insult. Walking the streets of Tel Aviv (in particular) is a hazardous experience. Cleaning them, and encouraging recycling, would be part of common decency. Sadly too many of the dog owners there do not clean up.

As for plastic bottles, have a look next time you walk along Derech Yaffo or near the Zion Gate in Jerusalem. Bottles thrown into bushes, gutters, left on benches. The glass ones are collected by the homeless and poor, but the plastic ones are an eyesore and an embarrassment in the capital city, the holy city. Removing them for recycling is far from demeaning.

Non-Jewish Singapore has far cleaner streets, why should we suffer from trash?

Keeping the streets cleaner is all part of a mindset that we live with other people, not just in a world where we can take what we want as individuals without a care for others.

1/26/2013 7:54 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Even the 3rd Admor of Sadigora did not think that it was beneath his dignity to sweep the streets of Bnai Brak or Tel Aviv where he lived on Yom Atzamot (The Day of the Ingathering of the Dry Bones), Hey B'Iyar. And for that alone it rained on the 5th of Tevet, his Yahrzeit, for 51 years straight, until this year when it did not. So sweeping and cleaning cannot be beneath the dignity of anyone.

Neshama, my heart is racing too. When I looked at the Haftarah of Devorah and saw where the Tomer Devorah was on Mt. Ephraim (on the nachalah of her first husband Lapid or Lapidot), I knew I had discovered something wonderful. I have been on a high all day. The Erev Ze'ir cannot stop this. If the stick on which it is written For Yosef, the stick of Ephraim! and the stick on which it is written For Yehudah! came together in the hand of Yechezkel HaNavi, then they can can come together in the hand of our King Shaul (Netanyanu) too. Without the Chareidi parties he can easily form a government with Bayit Yehudi (Beit Yehudah) and Yesh Atid (Beit Ephraim?) made up of 62 seats without the Chareidim. I believe they see this and understand, (some of them), that they will have to compromise.

For whatever reason, the gilgul of Naftali ben Ya'akov has been put in charge of the For Yehudah faction and Ya'ir Lapid has been put in charge of the For Yosef faction.

We are not in the Ben David mode yet, but we truly are in the Mashiach ben Ephraim mode and all the players except Seriah (Chushim ben Dan) are on the scene right now. I pray that Yehonatan Pollard somehow has a role to play in this too, rather than spending his entire life in jail, G-d forbid. Seriah will likely appear in when the Syrian War somehow blows up since his is the lion cub that leaps forth from Bashan, the Golan Heights. And he will chop off Esav's head. I have an opinion who that is, but no way to prove it yet. The two kings have not fallen yet. There is a massive Russian presence on the ground in Syria so that Antiochus is gaining right now. The 2nd king? Can you say Istanbul is Constantinople? If Erdogan is Constantine, off with his head!! Keep in mind, the modern Turkish flag is red, even though it is not a Hamitic country. The Red is Edom.

Yes, many in the Erev Ze'ir will resist, more in UTJ than in Shas. The reason is simple. The majority of Ashkenazic Chareidim are in Chu"l. So a movement that exists to protect Judaism in our present galut, will want to protect Jewish life in let us say, New York City too. Rav Ovadia Yosef does not have this dilemna. The vast majority of the Sephardim are here in E.Y. And many of his Sephardim live in poverty here. We just passed through the the week most associated with parnassah, Parshat HaMon and Tu B'Shevat. Parshat haMon was election day itself. A compromise would benefit all Jews here in Eretz Yisrael. I am sure Shas is aware of this. We shall see which way this goes. I pray for compromise.

1/26/2013 8:29 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

I am happy to share my wonderment about all this with my readers of this blog.

1/26/2013 9:11 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Keep in mind that Netanyahu is a Ramai. He will play chess for 6 weeks until the last minute. I am not sure from where he learned to be a ramai. Binyamin was the only son of Ya'akov that did not receive he kiss of Lavan. Yet, his chess playing like moving Migron from the top of the hill to the bottom of the same hill has kept Yeish Din out of our Erev Rav justice system seeking to destroy more unauthorized outposts. They look with distress at things like that, and say: He moved Migron but kept it on the same hill!! What have we really accomplished? And yes, he did the same to world leaders like Sarkozy who publicly expressed this frustration in things like the open microphone incident. Yet, Ramiyut (he would call it Chess) has its costs. It eventually comes back to bite the Ramai. In Hebrew the word for Chess is Shach Mat (The Shah is dead). One might call it in English Checkmate. In the end a king will die from these deceptions on his part. We pray that it is not him.

1/26/2013 9:20 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Just an afterthought, maybe Binyamin learned Ramaiyut for a holy purpose from his father Ya'akov. Ya'akov played it straight with Lavan, but he had already deceived his father, Yitzchak to get the blessing. Yet, of course, there are those who would say that it was his mother's idea, for she learned it from Lavan too, who happened to be her brother. At that point, Rivkah is not heard from again in the Torah. Even her burial is a closely guarded secret.

Ramayut is necessary to keep peace. For instance, when asked by someone: "Hey isn't the bride pretty?" at a wedding, one should lie and say yes even if one does not think that it is true. Bibi would argue, "Look the entire world is all over me to cave in on Judea and Samaria. Therefore, I have offered them longterm discussions with the invented people until, literally, Kingdom comes (the kingdom of Mashiach ben David). I have delineated that we are not absorbing 5 million so called refugees, and Yerushalayim will not be divided, but we can discuss anything else...until Kingdom comes!" Now he knows that the invented people want 2/3rds of the Holy City and they want to shove 5 million refugees down our throat. So they won't talk to Netanyahu. He definitely plays Chess better than they do. Yet, he won't hurt their feelings by calling them The Invented People because then the boycott and sanctions and divestments (BDS) groups worldwide will make doing business in Israel harder. By the way, Lapid might be thinking the same way on this issue for the purpose of getting the world off our back because we do want to do business. Yehudah himself realizes that "Doing business" is important, but in the end the Truth must win out. Somehow over the next three months (I still believe that we are in the 9 months), the Truth will come out....and there will be Yosef saying I am Yosef, is my father still alive?

Remember the medrash. Naftali comes back with the shtar (between Ya'akov and Esav over the Firstborn rights, the deed for Eretz Yisrael). Chushim ben Dan lops off Esav's head while the eyes of Esav (Amalek) fall unto the thighs of Ya'akov. The thighs of Ya'akov surround the Yesod which of course is Mashiach ben Ephraim. So far it seems that we are in progress.

1/26/2013 10:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The shepard wakes?
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=300995

1/26/2013 11:56 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

So why would Iran issue a warning like this on Tu B'Shevat? Why would they publicly say that an attack on the Assad regime is an attack against them on this auspicious date?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-01-26-14-55-01

Is it just that the Patriot missile batteries in Turkey are now operational as of today? These Patriot batteries can be used for both defensive and offensive missiles.

1/27/2013 12:01 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Sharon should never have been PM. Yet, he was one of the best Generals of all time in world history. Interestingly the name Seriya ben Dan the gilgul of Chushim ben Dan is spelled with a Sin and not a Samech. So Sharon's name has both the Sin (or Shin) and the Reish. The Nun in his name was always the problem. Nun is the native fish of the Kinnereth (the sea of Galilee). There is a medrash about a Nun turning upside down and all those on the fish that they thought was as island being overturned. This is what happened in Gaza. People went to live there in order to give Klal Yisrael security after the evacuation of Yamit in the Sinai. Ariel Sharon put them there and then destroyed what he had built. Remove the Nun, and add a Yud and a Hey and one gets, Seriyah ben Dan, the one that will leap forth from Bashan (the Golan) at the end of days.

Up to this point, all of Sharon's victories were in the southern theater of operations in Sinai and in Egypt, especially during the Yom Kippur War. Sharon played no part in the Golan....yet. But we are talking about a miracle beyond comprehension if he actually wakes from a coma with his brain function intact. I am not making any bets. But if you want someone who is deaf to what others say about him, read about his life not in any of his autobiographies or authorized biographies like Warrior or The Shepherd. He truly was one deaf human being most of his life.

1/27/2013 12:23 AM  
Blogger Daniela said...

I have some basic respect for Tommy Lapid: he always was very upfront and honest, and no one among us is in a position to judge people who have been in his position. But that his son should have the same status and be entitled to the same deference, is no less ludicrous than the UNHCR attributing "displaced person" status to people born 50+ years after the war that displaced their grandparents. However, I would admire your deference towards, as you put it, a survivor of a survivor, if only you had the courtesy to extend the very same deference to haredim. "Survivors of survivors" too, "from the ashes" as well, yet, not much sympathy.

1/27/2013 12:31 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Oh I forgot, his first name does mean Lion of G-d. But he is no longer young of course so that he is not a young lion or a lion cub. See Moshe Rabbeinu's blessing of Sheivet Dan. He says lion cub springs forth from Bashan (the Golan). Yet, if he gets a new lease on life, who knows! But again we are talking about a miracle beyond comprehension.

1/27/2013 12:31 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

I do Daniela. We are all in pain here, especially in the Ashkenazic sector. So we should share the burden and help each other.

1/27/2013 12:35 AM  
Anonymous mkf said...

Dov, would you reference where you earlier talked about Sharon awakening? I thought it was recent? I am of course intrigued by this report in light of what you said earlier. (but now i can't find it)..It was different i think than the blessing of Dan...thx.

1/27/2013 12:39 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Again I forgot to answer a question or point raised above. Yes, there are 200,000 Russian goyim here thanks to the Erev Rav who wanted to bring them all here, irregardless of whether they were non-Jewish men with Jewish wives or whether they were Jewish men with non-Jewish wives or maybe goyim with one Jewish grandparent. When Shamir left power, no one cared to check one's Jewishness at the airport. So a big problem was created, of course. Yet to make up for that deficit, there are at least a quarter of a million Jews here without Israeli citizenship that our Census Bureau would never bother to count. Most of them simply learn here full time in one yeshivah or another. I know several who simply never bothered to change their Visa. I will not mention names of course because somehow they have worked hard to escape detection. I happen to know someone who has done this for 20 years already! So it is good thing we will never know for sure the exact number until Mashiach comes. Then we will take an indirect census, probably with Makhzit HaShekel. A discussion of this is in the sidebar of this blog. A more direct count will require a specific commandment to do so from G-d.

1/27/2013 12:49 AM  
Blogger בְּשֵם יְהוָֹה וְיֵשׁוּעַ וְרוחַ מִרְיָם said...

There is no earthly bliss not watered by tears.

filipinim proverb translated, obviously, now would Y'all in Northern Israel's Outhouse mind ANNEXing Sinai, Gaza, yarden, livnon, syria, kurdish autonomous oblast

top of da mournin' und spacibo eloiKIM inn advance

1/27/2013 12:55 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

I actually wrote an essay about Sharon being Chushim ben Dan (Seriya) years ago before I even started this blog, long before he started talking about the evacuation of Gush Katif which I think was at the Herzeliya Conference in 2003 after he had been re-elected Prime Minister in January of 2003. Yet, the problem with him only serving in the Southern theater of military operations still remains. He never leaped forth from Bashan. He never was a General in the Golan. I can't remember if I mentioned that earlier essay on this blog. Yet, I did write about this years ago before I even made Aliyah in July of 2003. I shared the essay with a few friends and then forgot about it when he went and committed the Crime of the Century in Gaza. Anyone who enabled him to do this is also a criminal too. I am working hard at trying to forget about the various enablers except for the ones who actually say, "I am really sorry." I want to forgive those, and I am ready to do so. I am sometimes asked, "Why don't you forgive and forget?" My only answer is, "I will forgive if someone really asks forgiveness." It is pretty simple.

1/27/2013 1:06 AM  
Blogger Daniela said...

We should not share the burden and oppress our neighbour R"L, but rather follow our path in life, with Torah, chesed and mitzvot, strengthen each others, and then very soon there will be no burden to share, HKBH will stop crying, and Eliyahu Hanavi will come and teach us, and then it will only be a few days until Moshiach.

1/27/2013 1:11 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Oh the guy on the tourist Visa for 20 years? He still managed to serve in the IDF. Don't ask me how.

1/27/2013 1:23 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

sorry, one more thing. The problem with forgiving those who never ask forgiveness is that the same people end up doing the same thing again and again only in different ways.

1/27/2013 1:28 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Last correction. Some vowelize Seriya as Seraya. The consonants are the same though. For our specific case of Sharon, it does not matter how it is vowelized anyway.

1/27/2013 2:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I differ greatly with Dov Bar Leib and London Male on the one suggestion they feel is proper but I know that it is not. That is, picking up after dogs in T.A., where the ultra secular even carry these dogs in their arms, but do not have the decency to pick up after them. For religious Jews who usually do not own dogs, to be relegated, let alone, in E.Y. to pick up after them is degrading and insulting and would be sinful for Jews to push this on G-D fearing Jews. We are not talking about sweeping streets or doing regular manual labor, that, of course, is proper and even a pride to do that in our holy EY, but not picking up after dogs - Think about it and you will understand.

1/27/2013 2:33 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Whoa, I never mentioned dog poop. Sweeping the streets to clean a city is done by many here and is paid for by the various municipalities or yishuvim. Of course not everyone is suited for that type of work, but it can actually pay well. I am not sure (maybe yes and maybe no) that it should be done as part of any civil service by those serving in the IDF. I only mentioned the Limud Torah brigades. The rest of the possibilities should be discussed over coffee. It would likely take weeks or even months of discussions to come up with a compromise. Only if everyone could be calm when talking about this with each other.

A more immediate concern is teaching hard sciences and mathematics, mentioned by Lapid, on the video. It is best to start young. And obviously both Math and the hard sciences (Chemistry, Physics, Life Sciences, Astronomy, etc.) can be taught in a way that does not make the students Kofrim B'Ikar. I agree with the Chareidi perspective on the social sciences like anthropology and sociology. There is a lot of goyishe narishkeit in those fields by people like Margaret Mead that is best to shun. The Truth in the lower realms only exists in the hard sciences, not in the soft sciences.

1/27/2013 2:55 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Believe it or not, a study of America's Founding Fathers might be worthwhile even if the only Jew among them was Alexander Hamilton. These are men that understood human nature from a "Biblical perspective" and who for the most part lived exemplary lives with a few notable exceptions, like the guy who murdered Hamilton, Aaron Burr. America tried to build a civilization of common decency even if it was not lishma, but for the purpose of making money at the 33rd level of purity, after the Mon fell three days in a row for a Chazakah. Ask any Free-Mason why it is important to be decent, and he will tell you that it helps promote general prosperity of the civilization. Yet, these were men who at least on the level of common decency lead exemplary lives with their fellow Americans. The US is called Artzot haBrit for a reason. It had a covenant of common decency with G-d which lasted about 200 years even if that covenant was only with other citizens of the US, and not with slaves, Indians, or Mexicans. It is falling apart now, of course, but the nolad was pretty good. This last comment here is just a thought, but at least it is worth considering. Yes, we read about the lives of our Tzaddikim regularly, but it is worth noting how a gentile society that is not bound by the Torah wrote the two greatest documents of all time where men providentially came to an agreement with each other without prophets or Divine Revelation as a guide: The Declaration of American Independence and the US Constitution. I grew up in the Midwest where even at the time I was growing up, these Compacts were still understood as the Founders understood them. It is not that way anymore, but what America once was is part of the historical record.

Of course this is only a suggestion, but if an Israeli wants to understand why America at one time was Israel's best friend (as long as it did not conflict with American prosperity of course), a study of its founding principles is in order. Most leftists here likely do not have a clue why America was the greatest gentile civilization in history. And religious Jews took it for granted that Americans just were better people than Europeans. But American exceptionalism was planned by its founders and is no accident. The nation under G-d there in the US might be dead now, but to understand what it was, might help some understand human decency here in EY.

1/27/2013 3:25 AM  
Blogger Daniela said...

There is nothing wrong with any job or profession and all are needed. There is a lot wrong with forcing people to do something (incidentally, the nazis were very fond of sending rabbis to clean the streets or wash their cars). Does the country have a shortage of nurses / cleaning people / anything else, you name it? If so, the govt needs to hire people or to subsidize these jobs. But suppose that the country prefers to assign people, as it was done in communist countries. Even so, there are plenty of young people who smoke joints all day and demand subsidized housing, there is xian clergy whose water bills are sent to the taxpayers, there are arabs who have their own neighbourhoods and towns where no jew may dare to live, and I don't hear any comment about it.

The real reason, as we all know, is that some people are prepared to do anything in order to change the haredi lifestyle and "assimilate" into their society. And what has math to do with it? I thought right-wing (as opposed to communism) held that each parent should decide for their children and each person, when old enough, for him/herself. Some are suited for hard sciences, some for law school, some for medicine, yet others are traders and investors. (Hope you don't really think soft sciences are junk.) Guess what, if these people happen to be haredim from EY, they leave, because in EY they can't get a job despite being top people. Some people are artists or athletes, yet others study theology or philosophy, this is the case in all religions and among all peoples. We leave them all alone. Only if we believe a group is a cult that brainwashes its members, we advocate for the state to get involved. For example by forcing, say, public school as it was done in the Soviet Union, and force every 5-yr-old to study math, chemistry, physics, engineering: it's better to start young. As for Torah, officially it was prohibited, but it was done in the evening, taking time away from sleep. The situation in "western" europe was not much different. Anyway, back to math. I am aware in USA there are people whose ignorance in the hard sciences is appalling, and some of them have Ph D from ivy league university. Why don't you suggest that hard sciences are forced upon every US child? There are many private schools and homeschoolers in USA, most of them are academically appalling. In EY as well there are plenty of ignorant children who don't know math and who don't know Torah either.

My reasoning relies exclusively on materialistic considerations: yet I would have imagined a religious Jew to hold that even a few minutes of Torah study is much worthier than a degree, and to believe Torah tells us about (the truth contained in) sciences.

1/27/2013 3:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I read the Haftorah and took notice also - very exciting! In my understanding, Lapidot means torches or high energy.


Ovadiah prophesies the downfall of Edom.

Ovadiah 1:18

"And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken."


I have heard that America represents Tyre in prophesy. Tyre was a busting hub of commerce. It had the convenience of being located on the seas where ships could come right up to her docks and unload. It was a place of tremendous riches and power. A place where other nations (immigrants) went to to work and do the jobs the people of Tyre would not do. Tyre was like a brother to Israel But Tyre betrayed Israel and we know how that turned out. Just a thought.

1/27/2013 5:55 AM  
Anonymous mkf said...

1) "But American exceptionalism was planned by its founders and is no accident. The nation under G-d there in the US might be dead now, but to understand what it was..." Dov, this is why i have always said America will be judged differently and more severely because they did declare it was a nation under G-d. Then to turn it's back on Israel and do the things it does brings a harsher judgement in my opinion.
2) The comment you made recently - maybe in a comment rather than the body of the blog post...had to do with the Shepherd awakening not to do with the young lion springing forth from Bashan. Do you remember where / when it was?

1/27/2013 10:56 AM  
Blogger Neshama said...

I happen to know of a famous Rabbi writer, who when he first came to Eretz Yisrael and was starting out and raising a family, had to find a job. What did he do until he finally got started, he was a street sweeper. He was able to support his family, like a mentsh. There is nothing wrong with doing whatever one needs to do to support wife and kiddies. It's an honorable thing. Hashem will eventually help the right Parnassa to find you!

1/27/2013 11:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for the last comment by Dov which is beautiful and in a couple of paragraphs does sum up the historical beauty of what was the basis of the founding of America, a medina shel chesed, which is now heading in the wrong direction. Because of its exceptionalism, it created a finer and G-D fearing group of people, called Americans, who, on the whole, are not like their European forebearers.

1/27/2013 3:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Any honest job, even the doggy doo scooper, to support a family especially in E"Y is important and full of cavod. I just believe people especially those who are asked to protect us with their life should be employed in the Torah way and paid properly for their service. Drafting boys then paying them $25 a month especially at 18 is not the Torah way, to a lesser extent nor is offering an alternative of unpaid labor and calling it sherut leumi, if people want that they can apply and volunteer their time, plenty will.
Ideally the army should only give the honor and cavod of bearing arms in defense of Yiddin to those who are shomer mitzvot, over 20, not in shana rishona, or with a new house or vinyard, and who when called want to go and are not afraid.
This army which throws draft dodgers into jail, even married frum women, to make an example, this is not the way of the Torah and makes for a worse army.

1/27/2013 5:33 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

All stands to change during this last three months of "the nine months". Apparently the world will go to war first before any coalition is formed....in Syria and Lebanon, and in Turkey at the Russian and Persian borders between them and Turkey....Did I mention the Bosporus? The Russian Navy needs the Bosporus to get from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean Sea. This is where another required subject for all "Geography" comes into play.

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=7198

Of course, what would a world war be without a nuclear armed North Korea. We are about to cross over the Tzeit Kochavim line from my earlier post, Korea is in the Twilight Zone between now and sometime in the next 2 1/2 years. Is it now or 2 1/2 years from now? I don't know, but the Syrian War will be big. Is it a 3 month war as the Zohar talks about? If it is, it will include North Korea. That would be months 7, 8 and 9.

One thing for sure, it is easier to go after Jihadis in Timbuktu (that would be in Mali) than to support Jihadis against Syria's secular Baathist Antiochus. So until now NATO has chosen the easy way out. But if that news piece is correct, time has run out.

1/27/2013 5:50 PM  
Blogger Neshama said...

I really was thinking this:

"Shelly Yucky (Yachimovich’s) leadership of the Labor Party is likely to be challenged after its disappointing election performance." The Times of Israel

1/27/2013 6:27 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

MKF: I looked for a while for this comment that I also vaguely remember. But I will have to do a more intensive search later. I did not see it in the Travail of the Shepherd post. Maybe Omri or Gilad have changed their father's name recently to help cause this to happen? The question still comes up about whether his mother's conversion was halakhic though. Yet, it would be something else if he awakens, a real neis.

1/27/2013 6:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whoa. What a piece of news, if it plays out as you think, Dov.

On an earlier topic, in most places doggy-doo (or "pooper-scooper") laws usually hold the dog-owner responsible for his/her dog's poop. Why do otherwise in E"Y? Why give that responsibility to anyone else, let alone haredim? I agree with Daniela at 3:52AM and Anonymous at 2:33AM on this and add that if the seculars really want to demonstrate how to take one's own responsibility, let them show some common decency and clean up after their own dogs.

Before I made aliyah I was a dog owner and cleaned up after him, as we were expected to.

CDG, Yerushalayim

1/27/2013 6:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

One can get quite upset reading comments on a religious blog when comments on the chareidim are in negative terms. In the meantime, let it be known, that anything good that occurs in EY is due mainly to Torah learning, one of the foundations of the world's existence. This all-out war against chareidim (I'm not a chareidi at all but a Jew find this all reprehensible) which started with the secular/leftists going all out to rid the Land of them and how easily fooled the religious public became so they shouldn't feel like outcasts (political correctness?)and then joined this hoopla, finding all kinds of excuses to tar and feather them also. The chareidim are doing only one thing wrong (a big one) taking money from the government - that's always a very bad idea anywhere. They need to stop taking these handouts and continue their lifestyle as before; hopefully, learning Torah and those who are not learners, can join the army if they wish or go for training in careers of some kind (what pleases them) because it then becomes nobody else's business. The TRUTH is this hoopla is all about taking Torah out of Judaism/Israel and those siding with the enemy within, and calling themselves religious will one day find themselves in the same situation, because this war is against Torah. No doubt about it!

1/27/2013 7:37 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

London Male: I have a sense of impending great danger there in Britain.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164621#.UQVlxx1LOTy

If they are doing this now, imagine what life will be like in Britain if Netanyahu brings in Bennett into his coalition. I realize that the London Times is not much worse than the NY Times, but the seething anti-Semitism of the nations is about to rupture out.

There is no war against Chareidim being expressed here. Yet, I suspect there will be those who will declare that such a declaration of war is being declared on this blog. A compromise on all the societal issues to unite Klal Yisrael will likely take weeks or months to reach. I do notice today that Shas is interested in conducting these talks...but event from Syria will likely overtake us.

1/27/2013 7:42 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

And I believe that I specifically commented that a certain percentage, to be worked out by the parties involved, should remain matmidim and the rest should be in a hesder program with some form of national service as part of that program, such as Limud Torah battalions to teach secular Jews the basics of Judaism. The Limud Torah battalions or brigades would concentrate their efforts either in secular schools or amongst their fellow soldiers in the Army so that secular Jews begin to have a better understanding of what they are fighting for.

Yet, there will be many who will view the above statement as a Declaration of War against the Chareidi world. Now that will be very sad, a real pity.

1/27/2013 7:53 PM  
Blogger Neshama said...

If only:
One Big Happy Government

1/27/2013 8:18 PM  
Blogger Daniela said...

Seems to me the solution is very easy. You people can teach secular Jews, or should I say, Israelis, assuming they feel like being taught and assuming you think it's correct to teach them (I was taught it's better for people to be unaware of their aveirot). You people can do national service and military service. We will stay away from the melting-pot, and Israeli charedim who don't like the new status quo will either face trouble al kiddush Hashem or give up their passports - get another citizenship or possibly become apolids - and move elsewhere, either way we will with all our might support our own, which however, is nothing in comparisons to the blessings we get in return. You can do whatever you want, and Jews who are not Israeli citizens don't vote. There is no need to sweat the issue is there?

1/27/2013 8:25 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Yes, some amongst the Erev Ze'ir will respond thusly as Daniela has written. Yet, I don't expect massive change overnight anyway. Discussions about a compromise will likely drag on for months. And some solutions will take years to implement. Yet I don't think that anyone in the Chareidi world will be chartering flights to Micronesia or the Marshall Islands anytime soon.

The Chazon Ish said that it would take two generations for the Torah world to recover from the Shoah. Now Rav Matisyahu Glazierson, in lecture notes that I have from 30 years ago, said while there are 40 years in a generation, there are only 30 years from one generation to the next meaning that ten years of each 40 year generation overlaps with the next generation. So two generations is a total of 70 years. Yet, alas this 2nd generation is now overlapping with the next or 3rd generation. We are half way through that ten year overlap now in year 65 between generation number 2 and 3. It would be best to start preparing now to positively affect the mainstream here in Israel toward Torah and G-d, than to be chartering flights to leave the country. Call it a five year plan til year 70. Look at Lapid's video again. I don't see him talking about destroying Torah or Judaism. And in the end everyone will prosper if we work together.

1/27/2013 8:48 PM  
Blogger Daniela said...

"take years to implement" I recall you mentioning that by 5776 at the latest we will have the Geulah and it's not possible to delay it any further, not even by hypotetical negotiations and subsequent agreements, did I remember correctly? I am not sure if you and your rabbis have changed your mind about it. Now it appears the geulah is contingent upon assimilation of - may I say it? The old, ghetto Jews, weak and skinny and pale, with their beard and black kapote, those who insist upon being apart? Meek and humble, and who softly daven while being lead R"L to slaughter? Those whom, let it be said quietly but audibly, are cowards, ignorant, backwards and unhygienic, and for their own sake need to be "civilized" forcibly and turned into good Zionist missionaries who then are sent out to preach to the chilonim? Is that "share the burden", or "the white man's burden"? Nope, nothing new under the sun, nothing new in the "program" of Mr Lapid Jr. nor in his speeches. I defer to the mighty powerful Israelis, with weapons and with muscles and with technology and with oaths "never again", but we keep our old-fashioned ways, which the Medinat and Zionism no longer need.

1/27/2013 10:32 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

The adjectives are yours, Daniela. I won't even debate it because obviously you think the worst of us for even suggesting Achdut. The White Man's burden was never a two way street. The integration of Chareidim is, and everyone should be respected while working out a solution. No one is asking for Chareidim to give up their way of life, just to be part of the larger Jewish world by contributing to it. Now that I think of it, in America most Chareidi schools have a vibrant math and hard science curriculum along with the Limudei HaKodesh. Yes, school days are extra long for kids to accommodate the holy and the mundane in every school day except Sundays which were just for Limudei HaKodesh. I don't remember anyone at the Agudas Yisrael of St. Louis living in a ghetto. If it can be done in St. Louis, it can be done here. The draft issues are unique to Eretz Yisrael and solutions are possible as long as creative minds work together.

1/27/2013 10:49 PM  
Blogger Daniela said...

Yes I do, and you think the worst of us, I have read what you think of Rabbi Elyashiv, seriously, how can I be deluded you respect me more than Rabbi Elyashiv? If you can not accept him dissenting, will you accept me dissenting? Of course you won't, and actually you are very open about it - which I admire and appreciate, I respect you (I don't respect people who do it deceptively), you say openly that you want all Jews who do not conform to a certain haskhafah to change their ways and find a middle ground with, say, the dati leumi community in EY. You have made it clear you believe this is very valuable and will also pave the way for Moshiach. Fair enough. However, one thing is to say: let us establish a kehilla and schools and yeshivot and kollelim and national service opportunities and army brigades according to such approach, let's call it middle ground, which, then, those who wish will enroll into -- I fully am with you on this one, there are many paths to Torah. Another thing is to say, this has to be forced upon everyone, and those who are unwilling to, as you say, compromise, for them you have not-so-nice words (eg Brooklyn). Yet another thing is to say that those who don't subscribe to your approach are not a part of the Jewish world and do not contribute to it (last time I checked, it's upon Torah study than the whole world rests, and it does not say "the illuim's" - also, as you know very well, illuim will study anyway, they did in Soviet Union and under the nazis, they did under the Romans' persecution and in the days of the inquisition and in front of the cossacks; it is the "weaker" people who can and will, G-d forbid, change their lifestyle under duress).

You seem to believe, correct me if I misunderstand, that in the days of Moshiach we will all be similar. I was taught differently, I was taught that minhagim will remain in the days of Moshiach; may be the opinion you follow is the correct one, but, let Moshiach Ha Melech and the Sanhedrin say so, for the time being I am entitled to my path no less than you am entitled to yours. I have never disputed legitimacy of Zionism nor attacked the dati leumi community nor suggested the state of Israel should be disbanded. I have simply stated not everyone's path is aliyah, military or religious service, and purchasing a home in EY.

1/27/2013 11:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is worth mentioning that between haftacha hakenasa(basic minimum pay) of 1000NIS a month and full transfer of datot from the yeshiva for around 700NIS.
People begrudge full time torah scholars with large families a massive maximum subsidy of around $500 a month as though it were defrauding the middle class somehow!!
There are no food stamps in Israel, you can with many letters of recomendation and finding a donor to make a contribution get a weekly sack of vegetables naybe a sack of flour or sugar from some chessed organizations.
These people who live from family funding or on fund raised private money bring billions of dollars and pounds sterling into the Israeli economy are called leaches.
Does the draft force even those not well suited into learning in kollel til 30, I think that was the design of the tal law not a side effect.
Much of heradi history is reaction to attack from non traditional Jews, the pressure of course backed the Heradim into a non traditional corner that additional hate will not fix.
Kill the draft and offer a professional torah army which fights for the lives of its chaylim by always striking at the rodef first not constantly having a command policy which exposes them to danger and often allows their blood to be spilled to please the lust of the euro-trash and smalinim,

1/27/2013 11:43 PM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

My comments about Eliyashiv which I try to keep to a minimum is solely because of his endorsement of Sharon's great evil, simply by enabling his government ostensibly for the cash. Rav Ovadia Yosef Shlita did not do the same. He abhorred what Sharon wanted to do for at least 15 months prior to the Geirush. He figured out pretty quickly how evil Sharon's plans were. He spoke with military men in order to make a p'sak on the matter and quickly repelled any idea of the righteousness of Sharon's folly (for the purpose of keeping Omri out of prison).

I happen to know what happened now after the Disengagement. Rav Eliyashiv wanted to do a public teshuvah. He wanted to first take all the Torahs out of his Ark at his shul to do a ceremony begging G-d for Mercy, BUT HIS ASKANIMIM WOULD NOT LET HIM. They said it would ultimately degrade his name if he ever admitted that he was wrong. What really bothered them was the flood of lawsuits for damages that would have been filed against his askanim (his Geihazis) for misinforming him in the first place about what the Disengagement was all about. So the thugs that limit access to him are far more to blame than he was. Yet, he was alert and should have done a full investigation of the matter as Rav Yosef did. By watching and waiting the last 7 1/2 years for an apology before he died, I received an education in what the Erev Ze'ir is all about. They exist to perpetuate the Galut even to the point of acting indecent to their fellow Jew if that behavior delays the Geulah. This problem is far more prevalent with UTJ than it is with Shas for the reason stated above. Most Sephardim are already here in Israel. So they have a lot a stake in our mutual success here in the Land of Israel.

Now in my mind the subject of Eliyashiv is closed because he has passed on, and talking about it further will not bring the Geulah.

Don't expect to hear this in any newspaper on this matter. It has been stricken from the Chareidi record by the Geihazis that control access to aging Poskim at UTJ.

These same thugs raised millions for an Asifah to ban unfiltered access to the Internet by adults. I have no issue with that Asifah. If people want to have an Asifah to place a Chumrah on themselves, MORE POWER TO THEM. I have no issue with that whatsoever. I just have a question. Back on the 5th of Av, 5765 there was a massive Asifah at the Kotel to beg G-d for Mercy to stop the impending Geirush Project. A quarter of a million people showed up to participate, and another 300,000 tried to get there but there was no space to put them in the Plaza. I got there four hours early and had a front row seat next to Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l. The Ashkenazi Posek had ruled that boys from Kamenetz and the Mir could not go because upon leaving the Kotel Plaza after a perfectly kosher event, men and women would squeeze through the Dung and Cardo Gates to leave the event. So the tzniyut issue was because leaving the event would present a problem of men and women squeezing against each other upon leaving the event. I understood this issue because I saw it happen. Again, no problem with the p'sak. But the first thing in my mind was, "Why not set up a closed circuit tv system to broadcast the event worldwide so that students at Mir and Kamenetz could daven together with the Klal at the Kotel??" It bothered me for years, and the fact that Eliyashiv had been silent throughout for months was already a problem. This would have been a way to unite with the Klal. Yet, they had the cash for a closed circuit tv system to ban unfiltered Internet access 7 years later. You see, that there might be a problem with this?? What is the possibility that they, those same askanim, would do the same thing again if they had the chance?? Odds are pretty high, and that is a BIG problem.

1/28/2013 12:40 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

So the problem with that Asifah to ban the unfiltered access to the Internet is that everyone made a big deal about how they had a closed circuit tv system to broadcast it all over the world. Yet, when it came to preventing the Geirush which has brought untold suffering on Jews who live in the Southwest corner of the country with longer range and more accurate missiles, where were the closed circuit tv cameras for that event to prevent that horror from happening in which hundreds of thousands of other Jews participated at the holiest spot on earth???? Why were there no closed circuit tv cameras there for all of us to daven together? What ideas do you have so that this never happens again?? Does it even matter to you that it happened enough times here already? Yet, as said above, if no one apologizes for this great evil, it would happen again in the hands of the same people who allowed it to happen the first time.

1/28/2013 12:59 AM  
Blogger Daniela said...

Dear Dov, there is a mitzvah to be silent if one will not be listened to. I will only suggest the remote possibility that, if R"L Rabbi Elyashiv could have been mislead or make a mistake, perhaps you, too, might be mislead or wrong.

1/28/2013 1:06 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

I kept my silence for over 7 years. I have investigated this matter in every possible way, to look for a kula which could have explained it all. But after 7 years of trying to figure this all out and investigating this through and through and watching people in the SW corner of E. Yisrael living lives running away from longer range and more accurate missiles, I cannot run away from the inescapable conclusion that someone at UTJ owes us all a profuse apology.

1/28/2013 1:23 AM  
Blogger Daniela said...

Not even diamonds are forever. I don't interfere with sovereign countries' decisions, and Israel's legitimate government (after it has been formed) may well decide to reoccupy Gaza/Aza, even tomorrow. You are a citizen of Israel and I do not doubt Israeli citizens are capable of self-determining their country for the best.

1/28/2013 1:57 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Ah, but diamonds don't have to do teshuvah in order to prevent the same horrible mistakes from happening again by making the same mistakes or doing the same sins over and over again. People do have to do that, and since these are the askanim that surrounded your Gadol, it is you that has to encourage them to do teshuvah. It matters not where you live, it is you that has to encourage them to repent. These decisions were made 8 years ago now in order to keep you happy and prosperous in the lands of your dispersion. Forcing Jews out of Gaza kept the price that you paid for gasoline much cheaper because the Saudis were made happy by our treating each other like garbage. So it is you that has to come and realize that this was not worth the cost in lives here in Israel. These askanim surrounding your Gadol, acted for your economic benefit not for the benefit of our lives. Do you understand that? You cannot divorce yourself from these decisions because you live in a different country.

1/28/2013 2:25 AM  
Blogger Daniela said...

Wait a moment Dov. The government and the Parliament / Knesset of a sovereign country and a democratic one, actually a right-wing government you yourself might have voted for, after many debates decided to withdraw from Aza (after many promises to those who had moved there). You blame all of this on a certain Rabbi, whom you actually don't call Rabbi (a basic courtesy we usually extend even to reform congregation leaders). I suppose you hold we are all reshaim and we will all burn in hell, but that is besides the point. If we are such evil people, why do you want us to make aliyah? Please explain. If we are reshaim why do you want us to settle in EY, even though bad people bring curses, in any land and much more so in EY? So that we should suffer? So that our children should be brainwashed in army / civil service and lose respect for our Rabbis, those you consider reshaim? Also, you mention "happening again by making the same mistakes or doing the same things over and over again". Why so? Are you perhaps a little bit afraid that your PM and your new government might withdraw from other areas and destroy other settlements? And do you want us to be in EY so that you can blame it upon us, the reshaim, the parasites, those who lack human decency? You voted the candidates you liked better, you promoted them on the internet and so I assume you trust them, you even attribute them a messianic role, then it is not my fault if they should throw you to the dogs, is it? I told you all along I would not trust them! But if you do trust them - good for you - I wish you are correct in your evaluation and surely you can run the country smoothly and effectively without new aliyah waves. In fact I would think you'd believe the country will only benefit from getting rid of the evil and loathed parasitical Erev Ze'ir and of the despicable followers of Rabbi Elyashiv, let alone bring in more from abroad.

1/28/2013 2:59 AM  
Blogger Dov Bar-Leib said...

Actually, that is not the way it happened at all. I was here for part 2 but not for part 1. In January of 2003, by a 40 to 18 seat margin, Sharon along with Sharansky's two seats trounced Amram Mitzna precisely because Sharon was "against unilateral evacuations from Gaza". It was the main part of his campaign platform at the time. He then formed a coalition which included Ya'ir Lapid's father Tommy from his "I am angry with G-d because of all the suffering in Ashkenazic Jewish history" party called Shinui. Tommy had received 15 seats because there are a lot of Ashkenazic Jews in this country that are angry with G-d. 15 seats is one out of 8 Jewish voters. It definitely gave me pause at the time about Aliyah, but we came anyway. Later that year at the Herzeliya Conference, Sharon made a 180 degree turn against the voters that put him in power. In May of 2004 after Rav Ovadia Yosef started haranguing against Sharon's Disengagement plan, Likud voters in a referendum then trounced Sharon's plan by over 60% of the Likud's own voters. Sharon interested in keeping his sons out of prison by avoiding prosecution by a left wing prosecutor bulldozed ahead. Then he has a spat with Tommy Lapid in December of 2004, and makes a famous announcement that without either Shas or UTJ to enable his coalition, the country is going to new elections. Tommy had left the government. Shas immediately said No to such a coalition, but on the 9th of Tevet 5765 just before the fast, UTJ sends a letter of intent to enable Sharon's coalition. Apparently the askanim at UTJ had their own plans and did not inform Your Rav of the dangers of such a foolhardy plan. Plus there was IS 290 million sitting on a table somewhere with UTJ's name on it if they joined. There was another way to support the hungry melamdim that really needed the money. Every religious Zionist in Israel wanted to send either Rav Mordechai Eliyahu or Rav Avraham Shapira to talk to Rav Eliyashiv to offer his Ashkenazi yeshivah world three or four months worth of parnassah just to clear the air by holding elections by keeping UTJ out of the government. The reset button would have been pushed, and there was no way of really knowing how those new elections would have transpired. But it did not happen. UTJ signed a coalition deal about two or three weeks later, and the rest is history. Before joining a vote was held of the Moetzah of Rav Eliyashiv and the Gerer Rebbe. There were 16 on the Moetzah. 6 voted to join. 8 abstained. And 2 voted against. The 2 truly holy men against the plan were the late great 5th Admor of Sadigora and the Rebbe of Erlau, may their names be blessed forever and ever. I really have no interest in discussing the other 14 except to say that 6 is not Rov (a majority) of 16. The decision to join was therefore made by Rav Eliyashiv and the Gerer Rebbe. We will never know what would have happened had this gone to new elections, but if the elections in 2003 were a clue, then Sharon would have been tossed out on his ear. So it is your responsibility to convince those askanim that deceived your Rav that they must do teshuvah for putting our country into a dangerous position. You cannot claim to be a passive observer as explained above.

1/28/2013 3:34 AM  
Blogger LondonMale said...

Thank you Dov, for the warning about the UK and rising anti-Semitism. It is quite shocking actually that The Times (of London) would run such a cartoon, for that newspaper is very much a right wing traditional newspaper.
I am am keeping a close eye on developments in case I and the wider community need to get out quickly.

I will email you with further details that I wish to remain out of the public realm at this time.

1/28/2013 4:17 AM  
Blogger Daniela said...

Are you stating the Israeli politics is totally corrupt and rotten to the core, all over the political spectrum? Is that what you really think of the Medinat you want us all to immigrate to? And does your achdut express itself with the suggestion that I should have the audacity and the arrogance, G-d forbid, to lecture people much greater than myself? Surely you can speak your mind to them without my assistance. Surely you and your favourite candidates and the rest of their voters-base can run the country without our assistance too. We will keep watching it on video.

1/28/2013 11:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://kleinonline.wnd.com/2013/01/28/obama-secretly-pledges-to-divide-jerusalem-will-press-israel-into-new-so-called-land-for-peace-talks/

1/28/2013 5:58 PM  

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