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Jan 31, 2018

IKEA coming to Bet Shemesh?

is IKEA's next store going to be opening in Bet Shemesh?

Israelis love the IKEA stores.

IKEA was looking into opening a new branch of the store in Jerusalem, but the permits were slow in coming. IKEA officials supposedly got frustrated with the delays and decided to look for alternate locations.

They have supposedly liked what they have seen in Bet Shemesh and have either decided to open in Bet Shemesh (according to YWN), or are seriously considering it (according to Mynet Jerusalem).

If this is real, and if it happens, this will be a big coup for Bet Shemesh.


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Quote of the Day

The IDF has one chain of command - just one. Rabbonim are not part of the chain of command of the IDF. The place of the rabbonim is in the community, the shul and the yeshiva.

  --MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), about the rabbonim who have recently spoken up regarding the issue of drafting women to the IDF





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BOOK REVIEW: THE ORCHARD

A Guest Post by Dr Harold Goldmeier

The Life and Times of Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef
50 CE to 135 CE

A BOOK REVIEW OF
THE ORCHARD

Yochi Brandes with Translation by Daniel Libenson

Gefen Publishing
English-language copyright 2017
ISBN: 978-229-930-7

Judaism has no heroes except God. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are mortals in Jewish tradition renown for accepting and spreading monotheism. They lived according to Torah values in an age dominated by whim and unbridled passions.

None is more a hero than Moses.  Yet, sins and petulance prevent Moses from entering the Promised Land despite being the only human to see the face of God.  Jewish heroes must demonstrate to the people an unwavering faith in One God and willingness to lead their people and die for them if need be.

Popular Israeli novelist Yochi Brandes tells the life story of Akiva in an intriguing fiction format frequently from the point of view of women in his life The Orchard. Akiva is destined to become one of Judaism’s heroes, but Brandes does not treat Akiva with kid gloves. Brandes portrays Akiva overly devout, and willing to sacrifice his children to a life of abject poverty. His wife must go to the marketplace and sell goods. She is so lonely she laments feeling like an agunah, while Akiva is away for years, living “in the bubble of Torah. Nothing interests him.”

What is a novel without intrigue and Brandes does not disappoint. Akiva is thrust into a tenacious web of power struggles between rabbis, an angry rich father-in-law and the daughter who defies him to marry Akiva, internecine fights dragooning Akiva to choose sides between rabbis who are his mentors, friends, chevrusas and scholars he admires. Prestiege and power are on the line for winning control of houses of learning that set the path for Jewish philosophy, hermeneutics, exegesis and precepts for eternity.

Then there is living under the yoke of Roman occupation, the spreading “message of Jesus to the Romans. Crowds of (Jews) flocked to him. That’s what brought about his end. The mass appeal of the Nazarenes is a threat to the empire, then and now.”

As early as page 19, Brandes lets readers feel the love Akiva has for God in an erogenous exchange with his wife and lover. She visits Akiva in his solitude while living in a cave learning the secrets of Torah and fomenting a love of God. She constantly pushes Akiva to become the giant Torah scholar she knows is his potential:
“I move closer and sit down beside him, my legs touching his. He takes my hand and places it in the hollow into which the water is flowing. My fingers are on fire, a shiver runs down my spine…We sit for a few moments without speaking. I lean my head toward him. I watch him, not wanting the silence to end. But he makes that odd statement again: ‘I love God.’ My throat tightens. I never before imagined that a person could be jealous of God. Feel the silence, Rachel.” She is relentless wanting Akiva to learn the Torah, and takes the opportunity to compel in the pursuit. In a climax the turning point in his life, Rachel persuades Akiva, to let Torah “penetrate into your heart. He smiles, and the smile reaches his eyes. I know that I have done it.”

Akiva pays the price for the Jewish rebellion with a chilling description of his torture and death. Despite all odds it is Akiva who lives in history as a Jewish hero, his name revered throughout the ages for he believed “The State of Judea will live in security from the desert in the south to the Lebanon in the north,” with the Roman defeat by Bar Kokhba.  


On a final note, some readers may recall the controversy surrounding a two-volume book, Making of a Godol, published in 2002, and authored by Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky. The book was about the life of his esteemed father. The book was banned in the Orthodox world and pulled. Leading rabbis condemned it being disrespectful to the lives of rabbinic leaders, because it shared tidbits about them reading newspapers, Russian books in his father’s youth, a “sore loser” at chess. The book humanized his father.

I can imagine what these 21st century censors might do if any of them read The Orchard. Brandes might face demonstrators outside her home, or even death threats for her realistic presentation of the life of Rabbi Akiva. These censors still argue today against the vision of Akiva asking, “What led Rabbi Akiva to drag the nation of Israel into a pointless and unwinnable war?”   


buy The Orchard on Amazon.com


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the rav that chases down pedophiles (video)

Rav Yaakov Horowitz talks about a sex offender registry and about his new book for the Israeli public





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Israelis: Is making aliya important? (video)






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Interview with Former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro at the INSS Conference (video)








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Synagogues of New Brunswick and Newfoundland Canada (video)







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Hakol Haba From Jerusalem - S2E3 (video)








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Jan 30, 2018

Germans test gas on people

according to the news (a simple search will turn up all the newspapers reporting on it, so no need to link), German automakers tested their exhaust and emissions systems on humans (and monkeys) making them inhale nitrogen dioxide to see the results and effects of the exposure.

I guess the German scientists and automakers felt the tests with the Zyklon B 70 years ago weren't quite conclusive enough... no word yet on whether the test subjects were Jews..


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doing our part on the roads of Bet Shemesh

Another bad accident in Bet Shemesh had a car hitting a 4 year old child last night and sending him to the hospital in moderate condition.

There have been a number of tragedies recently in Bet Shemesh, some of them fatal, many involving children.

Some are calling it a curse, or an ayyin hara, on the city. Some are saying the city is being punished for "bad behavior" on whatever issue is close to the person saying so. Anytime anything bad happens to anyone or any place should be a cause for people to look inwards and see where they can improve, and the families and communities should surely be doing so.

I don't know from mystical stuff, so I am going to leave the issue of curses and blame aside for the mystics and kabbalists to deal with. What I can look at is the roads, the driving, the walking...

Bet Shemesh is a city that has had a tremendous population growth. The roads are not particularly safe - many have potholes, are poorly designed or placed traffic circles, crosswalks that are faded or lacking (we just learned that the city recently "cancelled" all the crosswalks in the shopping center of RBS), faded lines, curbs that jut out too far into the street, poor visibility in many places with views blocked by overgrown brush and weeds, and more. Drivers, as in many places, are distracted by their phones or other distractions, drivers are driving too fast, not giving the right of way, not letting pedestrians cross. Buses are speeding through the streets, while bus drivers are distracted with passengers, with passengers paying and with other distractions. Pedestrians jump into the street whenever they feel like it. Pedestrians are often not paying attention to traffic, cross before ensuring a nearby driver saw them, crossing nowhere near the crosswalks,are distracted by their phones and other things.

Just the other day, on Friday, I was driving down a main road and a family went into the street to cross in the middle of the block, nowhere near a crosswalk. The parents were towing a couple of little kids by the hand, while pushing a stroller and each parent holding a number of bags and cases. They were crossing in the middle because it was opposite a bus stop they were rushing to as they wanted to make the bus in time to go for Shabbos wherever they were going. One of the kids got loose and ran into the middle of the street. I was driving patiently and saw the scene and stopped my car with them in front of me. The father eventually collected the kid, barely even saying a word about it. Had I been distracted or driving too fast, I would have run over that kid, and maybe the father too. Fault isn't the issue. Fault doesn't bring the smashed kid back. The parents should be crossing carefully by the crosswalk, the city should repair the fencing in the road that was dismantled by pedestrians who want to cross in the middle, drivers should be paying attention and driving carefully, the kids should be taught road safety and not jump into the streets, parents should be careful that they have control of their kids in the streets.

Bet Shemesh is a big city with over 100,000 residents. Accidents happen everywhere, and in big cities they happen more just by the nature of there being more people and more drivers, and often the infrastructure has been neglected, if it was even up to par in the first place.

Be careful out there. The city will or will not do it's part in improving the roads and improving road safety. We can only do our part. Pay attention on the roads, whether you are a pedestrian or a driver.





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women and female doctors

new pashkevilim are up on the walls of Haredi towns calling upon the women of the community to not use the services of male doctors but only to use the services of female doctors.

The truth is that intially i understood the pashkevil to be referring to "female doctors", or OBGYNs. Upon rereading the sign, I see it seems to refer to all doctors, and not just OBGYNs. They are calling on women to only get themselves examined by female doctors and not male doctors.

They are also upset at what they seem to think is the refusal of the various kupot cholim to employ and provide female doctors for the community and call upon the people to leave whichever kupat cholim does not make female doctors available.

The good thing about the sign is that, while it quotes things several rabbis have [supposedly] said, it does not bear the signatures of any rabbonim as if this is a call from them. Anybody can print a sign saying whatever they want and nobody can stop them, so this is just a sign from some anonymous person saying what he/she wants - if you ascribe any authority to such signs in general, this one does not even claim any rabbinic authority.

I am wondering why this calls for females to visit female doctors and not male doctors but does not call upon men to only visit male doctors and not female doctors - unless it is specifically referring to gynecologists without explicitly saying so.

I also do not know why the kupot are not providing the necessary amount of female doctors, if the local community is requesting it. Are there not enough available? It is interesting to me that people who do not want their wives and daughters to get higher education, academic degrees and the like, will go ahead and demand female doctors. Maybe they should consider sending their daughters to medical school to ensure there will be enough female doctors available to the women of the community.

People should visit whatever doctor they feel will give them the best care available, whether female or male. Tzniyus can and should be a concern, among other issues, as one takes into consideration many issues when deciding which doctor to use.


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Facebook Status of the Day

and the conversation continues.. personally I think the comments are probably more interesting than the original post, though the OP is also fsotd worthy..




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Headlines Podcast: When to go to a Rav & When to a Therapist: Preparing Future Rabbonim (audio)







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Made In Chicago: Milt’s Extra Innings (audio)

what a kiddush hashem!







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Real Time With Bill Maher 2018 01 26 on Trump's Jerusalem announcement (video)







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Synagogues of Nova Scotia (video)







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Babylon - Akiva (video)







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Jan 29, 2018

Facebook Status of the Day

the post explaining by Sruli Besser caused almost as much controversy as the pixelated picture he was trying to explain




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beis din revokes divorce settlement

And here is another interesting divorce case... "interesting" being in the sense that it was deemed fictitious and canceled retroactively.

At some point in the marriage, Husband filed for divorce, after some trouble between them. After conciliation, he closed the file as they decided to stay together. Several years later, Wife filed for divorce. They used a middleman to negotiate terms of the divorce and when negotiations were finished they submitted the agreement to the beis din for approval. The agreement concluded that the house would go to the wife and the agricultural land would go to the husband. The beis din approved and arranged the gett.

A few years later Husband goes to the beis din and says he wants the entire thing canceled retroactively as the divorce was fraudulent and fictitious. Husband explained that at the time they were going through serious financial difficulties, as was the entire industry of agriculture. The purpose of the divorce and the "agreement" in which the house was given to Wife was just to keep the debtors hands off of the house. Husband says as proof that after the gett was concluded, they continued to live together as husband and wife. He also submitted some sort of memorandum signed by the two parties admitting the divorce had been fictitious.

The wrinkle in this claim is that Wife then comes forward saying that the divorce was real. Wife argues that the divorce was negotiated in the courts and with the middleman for a period of years. The divorce was real and not because of temporary financial difficulties. Wife admits that Husband moved back in after the divorce and lived in the house, but she explains that she was being nice because he had nowhere to live and they lived separately in the same house and did not have yichud together. Wife claims she signed the memorandum under threat and in an effort to move things along.

After much deliberation the beis din decided that the gett had been a kosher gett and was given properly. The gett has nothing to do with the financial agreement and the gett cannot be canceled. Being that the financial agreement had been agreed upon in, and approved by, beis din, it is also final and cannot be canceled, even if the various claims are true.

The only open issue for discussion being a document signed prior to the divorce in which they state that the purpose of the settlement would be to avoid the debtors and save the house. The beis din decided that this is considered a "modaa"- an announcement that they know what they are about to do is under pressure and the intent is not genuine, and that document is real, meaning the agreement signed by both parties is invalid as it was signed under pressure, as pre-determined by the modaa.
source: Behadrei

Now that the divorce was kept in place and only the settlement was canceled because of the modaa, they should really tell us what happened next. The choices are that perhaps the couple remarried, or perhaps they worked out a new financial divorce settlement. 


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bug-free strawberries

In the frum community nowadays strawberries are considered one of the most infested of the fruits and vegetables and many say that there is no way, halachically, to eat fresh strawberries unless they are pulverized.

According to an article in Behadrei, even such people who think strawberries are infested will now be able to enjoy fresh strawberries. According to the article, a frum guy from Bnei Braq who works in agriculture just spent three years investigation the issue and consulting with the various experts and designed a new method for raising strawberries. He is now producing what the article calls, "FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, Strawberries without bugs"., and it is supervised under the kashrut certification of Belz Machzikei Hadas.

According to the article, the strawberries have been examined over a long period of time in labs and have no bugs. The article does however conclude saying that the hothouse has produced "strawberries that are kosher and clean from most of the common bugs, not including a few individual bugs that are rarely found and can be easily removed with a good washing".

Wait, so for the first time ever they don't have bugs or for the first time they still have bugs but not so many? And we will still have to wash them well - and will they still define the required washing as including soaking in soapy water or water with chemicals for x amount of time?

I am overjoyed that he has succeeded in his mission, and I am overjoyed that maybe now many more frum Jews will be able to enjoy fresh strawberries... but "for the first time in history"? really? For the first time in history there will now be strawberries without bugs? seems a little dramatic.

is this esrog good for Sukkos?
this is what they call a strawberry?

I want to know when they will come to market and be available in the local shops for purchase...


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One on One with Alan Dershowitz - Jan. 25, 2018 (video)






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Israeli Arabs: Why do you wear Hijab? (video)






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Melech Zilbershlag with the Haredi tradesmen: Shtreimel Macher (video)

(the dialogue is in Yiddish, so make sure you have captions enabled from the bottom of the Youtube bar so you can see the Hebrew captions, if you don't understand the Yiddish)





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Meet the Mentors: Episode 1, making a deal (video)







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Yonatan Razel and Arkadi Duchin: Yesh Bi Ahava (video)






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Jan 28, 2018

Interesting Psak: remarrying without a gett

A very interesting divorce case just went through the beis din. When I say "interesting" I mean in the sense of curious.

The beis din in Haifa heard the case of a woman who has refused to accept a divorce. The couple were married in 1973 and over the years had 4 children. After they both had affairs, they had been separated for 8 years and besides for hate, they have no relationship or communication with each other.  He says whenever he tried to talk to her, she would just start screaming and cursing, and that she has worked to turn the kids against him.

Wife says he is making false accusations and that she still loves him dearly, even though they have had a cold relationship for a while, and she requests conciliation.

The beis din initially decided to send them for conciliation but after seeing that there was no change they decided to order for a divorce. Wife refused to accept the gett and continues to refuse it. By now the husband has requested to be allowed to marry despite still being technically married to his first wife.

The beis din further decided, based on her admission that during conciliation talks she rejected him and acted roughly towards him, that her refusal is not because she really wants to be with him but is a form of vengeance. 

The beis din decided that because Husband is sephardic, and the sephardic community and rabbonim never accepted the cherem drabbeinu gershom against marrying multiple wives, he is allowed to marry another wife now, against the wishes of the first wife.

Normally, a husband being allowed to marry a second wife, usually via a "hetter mea rabbonim", needs to first deposit a gett with the beis din, in case the wife at some point decides to accept it, in this case he was not instructed to, considering it being deemed her refusal to accept for no justifiable reason, along with the fact that he is allowed to marry a second wife according to the Sephardic custom.
source: Ynet and Psak Din

So curious!

How does their determination to let him remarry with no limitation of cherem drabbeinu gershom get around the Israeli legal ban against polygamy or bigamy? Speaking of which, any time there is a hetter mea rabbonim how does this work legally?

In this case they deemed it unnecessary to even bother getting a hetter mea rabbonim, which is what they usually do in extreme cases. This raises the complaints that men have so much easier solutions to such cases than women, and calls for urges to the batei din and rabbonim to find usable solutions for women as well so they do not need to be stuck but could get out of horrible situations just like the men can.




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Quote of the Day

Ashdod is a city of inclusion.. I lived in a neighborhood next door to a shul. The kids went to shul and then went to the sea. Everything was accepted, lighting the shabbos candles and then lighting a cigarette form the shabbos candles. This coercion is not acceptable.

  -- MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz), at a rally in Ashdod regarding the minimarket law and the status of Shabbos and stores in Ashdod

Gilon's statement has raised a bit of a ruckus in the Haredia media. How brazen of him to talk about, with no shame, how they would light shabbos candles and then light their cigarettes from those candless???!! How dare he!!

From another perspective, at least they lit Shabbos candles!

The kiruv organizations and religious groups take pride in showing from the statistics of Israel that Israel is largely not a secular society, but a traditional one, and even the majority of Jews who do not formally observe the Shabbos, do so in some way, such as with Shabbos candles, kiddush, and a family meal, even if after they do other things.

So what is the big deal that they light their cigarettes form the Shabbos candles? As a matter of fact, unlike with Hanukkah candles, Shabbos candles are meant for our benefit and to enjoy. Obviously we are not supposed to use them to light cigarettes, or anything else, but using them in this manner is no worse than lighting up the BBQ, turning on the television, driving to the store or the beach or whatever else they do.





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Facebook Status of the Day




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The Polish law is a Polish joke

in light of the new law in Poland making it illegal to say that Poles are responsible for Holocaust crimes no Polish soil, I would like to immediately break the law and say that while the Germans devised and carried out the Holocaust, the Polish people were largely complicit (barring exceptions of Poles who risked their own lives to save Jews) and acted brutally in killing of Jews throughout Poland. They are welcome to come arrest me.

And, in light of the new law in Poland, I would like to hear some ideas for laws we could pass in a similar vein.. things like making it illegal to say Israelis love to eat eggplant, or make it illegal to claim that Israelis stand in line in an orderly fashion at the supermarket

This Polish law is basically matching the stereotype of all the Polish jokes ever



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Nikki Haley to U.N. Security Council: Where is the Palestinian Anwar Sadat? (video)






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Israeli Frenemies- Jan. 26, 2018 (video)







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Test Drive with Yishai Lapidot (video)







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Synagogues of Saskatchewan Canada (video)







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Chaim Meir Fligman Presents: "אילן" ft. Achim Fligman, Shulem Saal, Moshe Glick, (video)







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Jan 25, 2018

Picture of the Day




these images are from Bnei Braq this morning after heavy rains caused some serious flooding in the central region.

The worst part of this is that most of that water will go to waste..


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Deri sued in beis din for deporting migrants

Minister Aryeh Deri is, once again, being sued, in beis din, for his work as Interior Minister.

This time it is a fellow named Dr Uri Weiss suing Deri.I don't know anything about Dr Weiss, but he seems to bear the description of being a leftist activist.

Weiss is suing Deri for his decision to deport illegal African migrants to Rwanda. I guess he figured a Haredi minister would not be able to ignore the decision of a beis din.

Weiss's claim is that the decision to deport them to Rwanda puts them in danger of being abused violently there and treated very poorly, and that is in opposition to the Torah commandment to not give over an escaped slave to his master - לא תסגיר עבד אל אדוניו.

Weiss explains that sending them to Rwanda is a death penalty for many and will be torture for many. Rwanda has not promised them citizenship and it does not follow the Noahide laws. The solution of the Torah for such a person is the passuk that says to let him live among you.
source: Kikar and Actualic

I wait to see what happens. A private beis din really should refuse to hear such cases that involve national politics and the like. At most this should have to go through the official Rabbanut beis din, but even they really should not be empowered to hear such cases. I am curious as to what a beis din would say. Especially in light of the fact that these are not slaves and the statement of the passuk might not apply to them.



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Tweet of the Day

what would be a more appropriate word, if mentsch has to be taken out of the dictionary?







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Palestinians: Do you support using money in Gaza for tunnels to fight Israel? (video)







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One on One with Alan Dershowitz - African Asylum Seekers (video)






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I AM ISRAEL - Official Trailer for Churches with Director David Kiern Intro (video)

Celebrate Israel in your church, synagogue or small group! For free screenings, DVDs and Blu-Rays, visit http://iamisraelfilm.com/.





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Forward Shtetl Food Taste Test (video)



Watch Avital Chizhik-Goldschmit, the Forward's Life Editor, and Steven Davidson, an Opinion Fellow, taste 5 Jewish foods from the Ashkenazi shtetl days -- including two types of herring -- and one spicy Sephardi favorite.






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Avi Ilson Chosson & Kallah (Official Music Video)







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Jan 24, 2018

Quote of the Day

Tel Aviv is also conquered territory

  -- MK Hanin Zoabi (UAL)

responding to a question about her opposition to the possible opening of a new medical school in the University of Ariel and if her opposition would be the same even if the discussion were for a school in Tel Aviv.

If anybody thinks the issue between the Israelis and Palestinians is only regarding Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank), think again....



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need objective rules for Kotel events

The interesting brouhaha right now is the decision yesterday by Rabbi Rabinovitch when VP Mike Pence went to the Kotel. Rabbi Rabinovitch decided that the male and female journalists and photographers needed to be separated with the women placed behind the men and their site of view cut off, making their work difficult.

I don't know what is the right move in such a situation.
On the one hand, this was not a religious Jewish Orthodox prayer session - the entire Kotel had been cleared out of people for Pence's visit, so no Jews were praying there, so technically no separation was really needed. Also, this was not a situation of mingling, but of professional journalists trying to work and document the event.
On the other hand, it is the Kotel, and I can see Rabbi Rabinovitch not wanting to differentiate between events, especially as he makes the rules of conduct in the Kotel area stricter over time - even though many events (though fewer and fewer as time goes on) there are mixed.
Additionally, and this is a he says she says situation, Rabbi Rabinovitch says they had the same arrangements back when Trump visited the Kotel. The journalists deny that and say they were allowed to work as regular all together when Trump visited and this is new.

At the end of the day, I think the solution is that there needs to be some sort of set of rules decided on by some sort of body created for this purpose and not just by the whims of one person who does not have to answer to anybody.


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Proposed Law: canceling a service, ending the spam

Doesn't it get annoying when you cancel a service, such as a phone plan with a cellphone company, only to stay on their lists and continue to get those annoying calls offering you great new deals to switch your service back to them all the time?

MK Uri Maklev (UTJ) has proposed a law that should put an end to all that. Maklev has proposed that canceling a service should also automatically be considered as an instruction to cancel any agreement for receiving any advertising and solicitation.

Maklev says that when someone wants to stop a service he also wants to stop the advertising to him. Taking out a service with a company is not a lifetime relationship meant to last forever. When you cancel the service you are also canceling all agreements that were made between yourself and the company.

Meaning, any continued unsolicited attempts to sell you would be prohibited under the spam laws.
source: Kol Hai News




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Why Jewish families are moving to Canvey Island - BBC Stories (video)

very interesting documentary







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on intermarriage (video)





and Arab MKs..




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The Auschwitz Volunteer: Witold Pilecki (video)






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Synagogues of Alberta Canada (video)








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BTS Shabbat 2017 12 29 05 Lecha Dodi (video)

wild




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Jan 23, 2018

segregation arrives in Gur for kosher smartphone holders

Smartphone owners have been targets of derision and punishment in the Haredi community for a while now. We've seen smartphone owners be declared unfit to daven for the amud, get aliyas, blow shofar, hear shofar, witness weddings and more.

The latest, in the Gur community, is separate classrooms for children of people with smartphones -and that is for people with approved kosher smartphones. Anybody in Gur who claims to need a smartphone, can get permission to obtain a kosher smartphone with filtering. It seems that so many people have gotten permission for the smartphones that they are going to be opening separate classrooms to filter out those kids from the kosher cellphone kids.
source: Actualic

Classroom segregation makes me wonder if we will soon see separate water fountains and bathrooms...I guess at least they aren't throwing the kids out of school and rejecting the applications of such kids.




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Proposed Law: Fixed Payments

Ever look at one of your regular "long term" bills, like Bezeq or the gas company, electric company, etc, and wonder what "tashlum kavua", or "fixed payment" includes or refers to? I know I have.

MK Eitan Cabel (Hamachane Hatzioni) has proposed a law, that was passed yesterday, that is meant to protect the consumer by requiring companies to specify what "fixed payment" means on their bills. They will have to detail the various items and services included in that fixed payment and detail the cost of each.

Cabel explain that this fixed payment is not a military secret or the top secret ingredients of Coca Cola and there is nor reason the consumer should not know what he is paying for. If the companies cannot explain what the tashlum kavua is for, they can get rid of it and stop charging the customer for it.
source: Kol Hai News






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Vizhnitz and Hava Nagila

I heard on the radio last night in the name of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe that the tune for the song Hava Nagila was originally a holy hassidic tune that was later appropriated by the Zionists.

I see the Hebrew wikipedia page does say that the tune was originally of Hassidic origin, originating from the Chernobler sect but commonly used in a number of sects including Belz, Chabad, Rozhyn, Karlin and others. It also says the tune is commonly played at the 7th circuit on Simchas Torah and also by some sects at the simchas beis hashoeva. The Vizhnitzer Rebbe told his hassidim in 2015 to sing the tune, without the words, at the simchas beis hashoeva, as it is a holy tune taken by the zionists and it is their responsibility to bring it back to its holy source. It only became a "Zionist" song in 1917 when Avraham Tzvi Edelsohn composed it to celebrate Allenby's arrival in Jerusalem, which many saw at the time as a precursor to the arrival of mashiach.

I never knew this. Fascinating.







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Headlines Podcast: Genetic Testing in Halacha (audio)


another good episode from the Headlines podcast.. I have no specific comments on this very interesting discussion, except for one point, and that is that Dor Yeshorim was founded in 1983. According to the discussion, I think it was Gideon Weitzman who said it but not sure I am remembering correctly, there was no genetic testing until Dor Yeshorim came along. I dispute that. My parents told me when I was dating that they had been tested for the Tay Sachs carrier status way back when (it would have been the late 1960s, though I do not know when exactly). True, it was not the same system - they did it in a hospital and were told the results, unlike the way Dor Yeshorim does it. My point is there was genetic testing before Dor Yeshorim, just not in the way and scope and organization as it is done by Dor Yeshorim.




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VP Mike Pence in Israel, speaks in Knesset (video)







Pence's speech starts at the 1:25:00 mark



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KSY - Rabbi Michel Twerski Morning Shiur Beshalach on recent tragedy in RBS (video)







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Synagogues of Illinois (video)







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HASC Concert 2018: Avraham Fried / R’ Baruch Chait - Kol HaOlam Kulo (video)






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Jan 22, 2018

Picture of the Day



Knesset guards were placed near MK Oren Chazzan to ensure that he would not try to take a selfie with VP Mike Pence during his egress form the Knesset chamber


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Proposed Law: sanctions on non-Israeli gett refusers

Minister of Religious Services David Azoulai has promoted a law with MKs Avraham Michaeli (Shas) and Aliza Lavi (Yesh Atid) that would allow the State of Israel to deal with women from abroad, non-citizens of Israel, who have the status of being agunot.

Currently the law only allows Israel's rabbinical courts to deal with cases in which at least the husband or the wife, if not both, are citizens of the State of Israel.

If this law passes, it will allow  Israeli dayanim to impose sanctions on such a husband refusing to grant a gett to his wife, should they come to Israel at some point.

It seems this was actually initiated by the Conference of European Rabbis, as they encouraged Azoulai to implement such a solution.
source: Kipa

The world is getting to be a much smaller place. As Joe Louis once said, on the eve of his championship fight, you can run but you can't hide! These guys leave their wives, sometimes even running to Israel to hide out, or maybe just continuing on with his regular life and maybe he goes to Israel for a vacation or the holidays. He is out enjoying himself while his wife is suffering tied down, anchored to him, unable to move on. Israel will now be able to lend a hand in putting an end to this travesty.


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chessed at the supermarket on Friday afternoon

There is a story going around from Ramat Hasharon. it is on the Hidabroot website but was also discussed on the radio.

The story is that on Friday afternoon there was a power outage in the area. in the Yochananof supermarket the owner decided to let the customers go home with their goods, despite not having paid for them, as the computer system was down. The owner decided he could not leave his customers without food for Shabbos and going to other supermarkets in the area would also not be an option as they too did not have electricity or there just would not be enough time to go somewhere with electricity and fill another shopping cart at that point int he day and get home for Shabbos.

So he let them all go and said to come back on Sunday and pay. The honor system regarding what they took, though everyone wrote down their names and phone numbers.

Kahn News on Twitter took a poll to see if people think most went back and paid or if most did not. 44% of respondents thought more than 80% will go back to pay. As of this morning the owners said that between 50-60% have already paid, and they expect the number to reach 100%.

Personally I think most people, if not everyone, will go pay. Decent people will generally not betray a kindness that was done to them and will want to make it good with the owner.

I do wonder how people will know how much to pay - some items are sold by weight, such as meat and chicken and vegetables. Other items are on sale or have club member discounts, and sometimes you just don't remember the exact price of some of the items in your cart.

I do have faith in people that almost everyone. if not everyone, will pay, and will probably pay more just to be sure, because of the uncertainty with items sold by weight. I do think the owner, taking such a big risk, did a tremendous chessed for his customers and will hopefully be showered with blessings, and perhaps more importantly will see his faith in his customers justified when they all pay their bills.







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Israelis: What do you think of countries that are against settlements? (video)







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Nikki Haley VOA Interview on UNRWA and the Palestinians (video)







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One on One with Alan Dershowitz- Jan. 18, 2018 (video)







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Yonatan Razel Live: Ashira (video)







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Jan 21, 2018

Ministry of Transportation to minimize bus drivers handling of money


Galei Tzahal News today reported that the Ministry of Transportation will be making significant changes into how the buses work with passengers paying fares while the driver is driving - that will no longer be the case.

Beginning in March they will be lessening over time the ability to pay with cash for your ride on the bus itself.

It will happen in stages with the first stage being the not allowing one to pay for and load a rav kav while on the bus - meaning you will only be able to pay, on the bus, for a single ride and will have to have your rav kav loaded in advance if you wish to use it.

The second stage will be that the drivers will not take money even for individual rides and you will only be able to use your rav kav that has been loaded with money or passes prior to getting on the bus.

I can see some difficulties with this, but all big changes to systems start off with difficulties.

Personally, I load my rav kav and my kids rav kavs using the rav kav app on my phone. However, many people do not have smartphones, and even among those that do, many phones do not have NFC capabilities.

I also have a little card reader that I sometimes use to load up the cards, but again, not everyone does and many people do not have Internet.

They are going to have to find a way to make it easy for people to load their rav kavs even if they do not have Internet. The Haredi community uses public transportation at much higher percentages than the average Israeli, and Internet and smartphone limitations will make this transition very difficult in these communities.

However, it is necessary. The situation on buses is very dangerous with drivers driving at full, or nearly full, speeds, and maybe even overfull speeds, while taking money and making change and printing receipts and keeping track of who paid and who did not yet pay. That is very dangerous. Especially in light of the new driving regulations recently announced by which a policeman can give a significant ticket for even the slightest distraction while driving - touching a phone, using WAZE, drinking coffee, etc, the bus drivers involvement with passengers paying while driving creates a very dangerous situation and if they find a way to minimize the drivers involvement in these matters while driving, it can only improve safety.




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bank branches closing across Israel

Logging into my bank account online recently has the following message popping up warning me of  upcoming changes in the bank..


The warning says that as of March 14, 2018, my branch (Hapoalim in RBS) will be converted to a branch  holding no cash and no clerk services. From that date and on, all relevant services will be provided via the self-service machines. Other direct channels to the bank, such as via Internet, telephone, and app, will continue to function and be available. When necessary, bank branch 692 (the central Bet Shemesh branch located in downtown Bet Shemesh) will be available for all clerical services.

This is a trend happening in all the bank chains all over Israel. They are closing and/or merging branches in order to consolidate and save money.

Personally, I hate going into the bank and avoid it as much as possible. I use the machines to deposit checks,  as I get a lot of these through my business, and I use the online services. The only time I go into the bank is if I am sent a notice that I need to come in and pick up a problematic check that I deposited, or if they tell me I need to come in to sign something. Once every few years I also need to renew my credit cards.

The biggest problem I see with this is that half the times the various self-service machines are not functioning properly. Currently, they can be fixed or rebooted relatively quickly (not including Saturday nights and Sundays when the branch is closed), as I or someone else can go into the bank and let them know, but with no actual bank behind it with real people talking to customers, I can see it taking longer to get the machines fixed. Maybe they will keep a small branch open with some services still provided by clerks, such as mortgage services and the like, and that will keep bank people nearby.

Additionally, with everyone needing personal service in the entire city going to one branch, that place will be packed and will be impossible to use.

Another point is that closing a branch in lieu of online services in a largely Haredi neighborhood seems like a bad idea. While many/most people do have Internet and app access, many do not and they need the in-bank services for a lot of what they do.

I get why they are doing this but I don't like it, even though I don't like going into the bank anyway.

UPDATE: to clarify, the bank branch is not closing but they are putting an end to cash services. There will be no tellers for deposits and withdrawals. Other clerks and the various services they provide will still be functioning as they have until now


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In a democracy people get the leaders they deserve

the news last night had a story about left-wing protesters getting more aggressive in their protests outside the private areas (home, shul, etc) of Attorney General Avihai Mandelblit. It seems they made a bit of a ruckus and Mandelblit had to be removed by his security detail. The story includes the point that because of this he was unable to say kaddish for his mother after kiddush levana, as he had to be removed quickly.

French philosopher Joseph De Maistre said "In a democracy people get the leaders they deserve".

Just two weeks ago Left-wing politicians refused to offset votes in the Knesset for Right-wing MKs that had to be absent due to deaths in their families. Angry politicians on the Right called their actions inhumane.

protests are legitimate. Why they think vulgar protests by the private areas of Mandelblit will get him to do what they want him to (regarding his influence over the investigations into PM Benjamin Netanyahu), is beyond me. It is clear though that these left-wing protesters really did get the leaders they deserve.



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laundry detergent hechshers

If you ever wondered why they bother putting hechshers on things like laundry detergent....

they must know that kids can do really stupid things, like the current Tide Challenge phase that has kids biting into, and ingesting the contents of, Tide laundry pods...

Kids out there - don't do this!




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Palestinians: If Israelis converted to Islam, would the conflict end? (video)







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Israeli Frenemies- Jan. 18, 2018 (video)








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test drive with Yair Sherki: reviewing his show on the Haredim of Brooklyn





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Melech Zilbershlag visits Haredi trades: The Shadchanit (video)







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Hakol Haba From Jerusalem - S2E1 (video)








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Jan 18, 2018

Quote of the Day

I will not be going back to Ben-Gurion for Pence. I shot with the sheriff, so I don’t need to shoot with the deputy. My picture with Trump was not a gimmick. If I go get a selfie with Pence, it would make my Trump picture a gimmick. When you succeed in getting the top guy, you don’t go back for the No. 2.

  -- MK Oren hazzan (Likud) about the upcoming visit of US Vice President Mike Pence


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Cycle Man

A Guest Post, cross-posted, by Seraya Ziv of Mask For Winter

The computer store is my last stop in the mall. Two guys work here, one in a yarmulke and one not. When I enter they’re poring over a magazine, heads together, and murmuring. I’d be worried about their reading material except they don’t startle, or even note that I’m right in front of them, tapping my nail on the glass display. When I ask for printer ink one smacks his lips, dog ears a page, and reluctantly pulls himself away. I glance at the cover: there, glossy and fungible, a four color spread of motherboards, chargers, routers, and drives. I sit down and wait.

A bear of a man fills the doorway and enters. Tattoos slither from the slab of one shoulder down a fat arm and drop anchor at his wrist. A black motorcycle helmet hangs from his hand. I’m calculating how deep the pepper spray is buried in my purse when Cycleman pauses, touches his fingers to the door’s mezuzah, and kisses them. The clerks go wild, “Yossi! You’re back!”  My ink is thrown aside. The three shake hands, elbows, and engage in a kind of arm wrestle that to men in Israel must translate as, “Has it been that long? I’m very glad to see you. How are the kids?” Cycleman, in the softest of baritones replies, “Thank G-d.”

I plunk down my credit card. The salesman bags my ink and rings me up, all the time drilling Yossi with questions rat-tat-tat-tat, when from the mall a woman wails, “Mommy, no!” Yossi bounds out, the two sales guys follow.  A tiny Filipina caregiver is struggling to keep an old woman from tipping out of her wheel chair. The woman’s head is white straw and bare scalp; her tongue is lolling to a side. Her eyes are opening and closing in waves, like she’s drowning.

In the same quiet voice, Yossi says something to the clerks, who pull out their phones. With three fingers of his imprinted arm Yossi palpates the side of the old woman’s neck, turns his watch hand palm up, and counts.  On his inner arm now exposed, in monochrome the color of dusk, a tattoo of the galaxy spins toward his pulse.

A team from Magen David Adom arrives in a flash. One of the EMTs slaps Cycleman on the shoulder, “Yossi. You’re back.”


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10 Amazing Things You Didn’t Know About Israel-India Relationship (video)







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New Holocaust Project 'I Believe' - Let The Chain Continue, Unbroken! (video)







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Nas Daily : Found Out I''M Jewish! (video)







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