King David is now in the Daily News

Can't see images? Click here... Rabbi Yehuda Lave Curiosity and Peace Of Mind  Some people lack peace of mind because of their curiosity. Any piece of news they think they are missing makes them feel restless. Some feel this so strongly that whenever they see two people talking, they feel frustrated until they find out what has been said. Usually, the information gained is irrelevant and inconsequential. Even worse, such curiosity will lead to a person's eavesdropping and hearing information that would be preferable not to hear. Today, when someone starts telling you a "juicy bit of news," excuse yourself politely and forgo the information. Love Yehuda Lave Today is Tuesday and you know the drill. I use my other server tomorrow, if you don't get my email, please let me know. Why on earth are we here? Getting the Greatest Gift of All [2 mins] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6g_TvD1I9Q Video about 25th anniversary of Shuvu http://shuvu25.org The Hidden Vessels of King Solomon's Temple – The Ark Report Sequel By Staff Writer February 3, 2016 , 7:30 am           "Thus all the work that king Solomon wrought in the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated, the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.' (1 Kings 7:51) Long-time Breaking Israel News contributor and Remi Award winning producer, Harry H. Moskoff has just released this new short film showing where the clues to the secret location of the Temple vessels and treasures may actually lie today. This fascinating video also has exclusive interviews with US Presidential candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee as well as other media personalities expressing their powerful views on how archaeological discoveries in Israel are now strengthening Israeli sovereignty, and changing the status quo in the region. It also provides a unique solution to the wave of terrorism that Israel is currently experiencing, and how finding these ancient holy artifacts can, and will, have a hand in determining the future of the State of Israel.content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/64-ARKReport1-BookReview-600WIDE.jpg Moskoff says that the idea is to raise awareness of the significance that these holy Temple vessels hold for all of us today, and now that the location information is actually coming available, he is planning to do a follow-up presentation and lecture in the near future at the City of David – Ancient Jerusalem site. Anyone that is interested in attending can send a message to reserve on Moskoff's Facebook page. Harry Moskoff can be contacted for comments, or regarding his upcoming presentations, excavations, etc. at legal@moskoff-media.com. Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/60440/hidden-vessels-king-solomons-temple-ark-report-sequel-jewish-world/#6QJzfk4gKvCkS88u.99 A journey through Jerusalem's ancient tunnels to the lost Ark of the Jews and the theory that connects them to the modern State of Israel... this is an adventure you don't want to miss. Moskoff believes that Israel must produce something that is genuine and convincing to keep its hold on its holy sites. The PA, France, and New Zealand, with the support of Barrack Obama, are working on a UN resolution to force Israel to withdraw to the 1948 borders by the end of 2016. A move like that would not only leave Israel with undefensable borders, it would leave Israel with literally no ancient holy sites. No Temple Mount, no Cave of the Patriarchs, no Rachel's Tomb, not even the Western Wall. As Alan Baker mentions in the video, archeology presents the truth and all of the findings have backed up what is related in the bible. Harry Moskoff believes that we have a window of opportunity today that we shouldn't miss. He could be right. Published: February 8, 2016 http://tinyurl.com/z5qt6ej [Open in new window] In an unpreceded discovery, Tel Aviv University archeologists recently uncovered an extensive collection of ancient fabrics in the Arava Valley dating back to the era of King David, shedding unparalleled light on the historical fashions of the Holy Land. The excavation – carried out at the ancient copper mines of Timna, and led by TAU's Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef – revealed the 3,000-year-old collection of textiles, which included diverse colors, design and origin, the university announced on Wednesday. The area of the dig, located between the Dead Sea and Eilat, is believed by some researchers to be the site of King Solomon's mines. "The arid condition of the mines has seen the remarkable preservation of 3,000-year-old organic materials, including seeds, leather and fabric, and other extremely rare artifacts that provide a unique window into the culture and practices of this period," the university said. "The textiles also offer insight into the complex society of the early Edomites, the semi-nomadic people believed to have operated the mines at Timna." According to Dr. Orit Shamir, a senior researcher at the Antiquities Authority who led the study of the fabrics, most of the ancient relics are only 5 x 5 centimeters in size and vary in color, weaving technique, and ornamentation. "Some of these fabrics resemble textiles known only from the Roman era," said Shamir. "No textiles have ever been found at excavation sites like Jerusalem, Megiddo and Hazor, so this provides a unique window into an entire aspect of life from which we've never had physical evidence before," added Ben-Yosef. "We found fragments of textiles that originated from bags, clothing, tents, ropes and cords." The wide variety of fabrics, he noted, provides new and important information about the Edomites, who, according to the Bible, warred with the Kingdom of Israel. "We found simply woven, elaborately decorated fabrics worn by the upper echelon of their stratified society," he said. "Luxury- grade fabric adorned the highly skilled, highly respected craftsmen managing the copper furnaces. They were responsible for smelting the copper, which was a very complicated process." The TAU archeologists also recently discovered thousands of seeds from the biblical "Seven Species" at the site – the two grains and five fruits considered to be indigenous to Israel. Some of the seeds were subjected to radiocarbon dating, providing robust confirmation for the age of the site. "This is the first time seeds from this period have been found uncharred and in such large quantities," Ben-Yosef said. "With the advancement of modern science, we now enjoy research options that were unthinkable a few decades ago. We can reconstruct wine typical of King David's era, for example, and understand the cultivation and domestication processes that have been preserved in the DNA of the seeds." Copper, he noted, was considered an invaluable resource in ancient societies, and was used to produce tools and weapons. However, its production required many levels of expertise. "Miners in ancient Timna may have been slaves or prisoners; theirs was a simple task performed under difficult conditions," Ben-Yosef said. "But the act of smelting, of turning stone into metal, required an enormous amount of skill and organization. The smelter had to manage some 30 to 40 variables in order to produce the coveted copper ingots." The archeologist added that the possession of copper was a source of great wealth and power, comparable to oil today. "If a person had the exceptional knowledge to 'create copper,' he was considered well-versed in an extremely sophisticated technology," Ben-Yosef said. "He would have been considered magical or supernatural, and his social status would have reflected this." To support this ancient "silicon valley" of copper production in the middle of the desert, food, water and textiles had to be transported long distances through the unforgiving dry climate and into the valley, he said. The latest discovery of fabrics – many of which were made far from Timna in specialized textile workshops – provides a glimpse into the trade practices and regional economy of that time. "We found linen, which was not produced locally," said TAU masters student Vanessa Workman. "It was most likely from the Jordan Valley or northern Israel. The majority of the fabrics were made of sheep's wool, a cloth that is seldom found in this ancient period." "This tells us how developed and sophisticated both their textile craft and trade networks must have been," she continued. "This discovery strengthens our understanding of the Edomites as an important geopolitical presence. The fabrics are of a very high quality, with complex designs and beautiful dyes." Drone display sets world record for most UAVs airborne simultaneously http://youtu.be/mOBQXuu_5Zw Again the real story is lost. An Arab was attacking the Captain with a knife as they were both shot If there had been no attack, of course there would have been no fire: Father of 2 killed by errant IDF fire as Palestinian attacks him; Indicting Netanyahu – all reaction and no action Is this the best he can do? By Gil Solomon, ARUTZ SHEVA The Israel of today under Netanyahu's leadership is a country where Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria has been effectively brought to a halt but Illegal "Palestinian" construction goes on in Jerusalem, the Negev and elsewhere with the latest loss of sovereignty a highway being built by the Palestinian Authority (PA) from Gush Etzion to the Dead Sea, all financed by the EU. It seems that all it takes for the Israeli Government to back off is for the PA to erect an EU logo at any construction site. With respect to tunnels, residents of northern Israel and those living in the Israel/Gaza region have been saying for ages that they can hear tunnelling going on late at night and into the early hours of the morning but the IDF, under the control of Ya'alon (Defence Minister) takes no visible effective action, but resorts to mild platitudes supposedly to reassure residents that their concerns will be addressed. Netanyahu's latest comment that he would take stronger action than in operation "Protective Edge" if terrorists came out of tunnels and actually killed Jews is, on close examination, not reassuring. The bottom line is that by this weak posture a clear message has been sent to Israel's enemies that under this leadership, Israel will forever be reactive and never proactive in the defence of its citizens. It is worth remembering that operation "Protective Edge" ended in the usual fashion both prematurely and inconclusively and with nothing remotely resembling a military victory. It should also be remembered that even after the previous Gaza conflict in 2014, Israel allowed the resumption of millions of tons of cement to be imported back into Gaza from primarily Ramallah based cement factories. Did some fool in this administration think that this time the material would not go into tunnel construction? One has to ask what is wrong with Jews? Do we have some suicidal gene buried deep in our DNA? Both Netanyahu and Ya'alon could learn something by paying close attention to how el-Sisi of Egypt deals with terrorist tunnels found in the Egyptian/Gaza border region. As far as the current wave of terror is concerned, Netanyahu's call to the international community to put an end to the PA's incitement to terror can only be described as pathetic. The only nation that can and should put an end to Palestinian incitement and terror, in all its forms, is Israel, but under his leadership, Israel may have the means but has lost the will to do so. Netanyahu apparently hasn't woken up to the fact that the international community couldn't care less about murdered Jews. The PA and Hamas need to be crushed and brought to their knees, but unfortunately he keeps reiterating how he is willing to meet that arch chief terrorist Abbas, the leader of the PA, to resume "peace talks" with no preconditions! It is Israel's job to end the murderous terrorism running rampant throughout the streets by dealing with terrorists in the only language they understand and in the process, if that requires imposing martial law in many areas, incarceration and eventual deportation for many so called Arab "citizens," then so be it. It should be remembered that these same Arab "citizens" were granted citizenship as if it were confetti thrown at a passing parade without even so much as a pledge of allegiance in return. It appears that in respect to this folly, the chickens have come home to roost. Netanyahu even continues to refer to the "two state solution" which any thinking person knows is dead and buried. He again recently called for the Knesset to impose "sanctions" on Arab Knesset members, those so called "citizens" who incite terrorism, treason and hatred at every opportunity from within and without the walls of the Knesset. Is that it, "sanctions"? Is that the best he can do? Netanyahu has made no recent attempt to debunk the fictitious so called "Palestinian narrative" and thanks to this inaction, the world now believes the propaganda set forth by the PA well before the disastrous Oslo accords, which was nothing less than an abandonment of sovereignty. It seems that Israel is out maneuvered at every step. The insane magnanimous gesture by Moshe Dayan after the 1967 military victory allowing the Muslim WAQF to maintain administrative control over the Temple Mount has been seriously compounded by Netanyahu. Dayan in one fell swoop turned the victory of 1967 into defeat and now Netanyahu, some five decades later has in effect abandoned the Jewish heritage of this site by strictly maintaining a "status quo", with Israeli police doing the work of the WAQF in making the site "Judenfrei". Israel is incapable of confronting other serious issues such as hostile NGOs (both foreign and domestic) – the proposed law to make funding disclosures from another country mandatory is just a beginning – and a leftist press which undermine the country at every opportunity. Enough with the nonsense that these entities represent some thriving democracy, enough. They are turning this "democracy" into a political basket case. I fear that Netanyahu is a leader who has stopped inspiring confidence and offers no solutions. Should he therefore step down? For those who keep giving him the benefit of the doubt and keep saying that he is doing his best, I say in response that his best is simply not good enough. Israel today can best be described as a ship adrift on the high seas without a rudder that requires a drastic turnaround on virtually every issue confronting the nation. The Nazi's Table A mother leaves Prague in a cattle car; her son returns as a Sabbath-observant, US ambassador. by Robert Sussman Norman Eisen met Barack Obama as law school classmates at Harvard University, where they became friends, remaining in touch even after their school days ended. When Obama eventually won the US Presidency, he appointed Eisen, in 2009, to serve as his Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform. Only a couple of years later, in 2011, the president tapped Eisen to be the US ambassador to Czechoslovakia, a position once famously held by Shirley Temple Black. It was no coincidence that Obama chose Eisen to be ambassador in Prague of all places: "The president thought it would be a remarkable thing for the son of a Czechoslovak Holocaust survivor to return and represent the US… No one from my immediate family had returned since my mother fled Communism in 1949, and the symbolism of [returning there] was just too unique an opportunity to pass up." In 1944, Frieda – along with her parents, siblings, and other family members – was sent to Auschwitz. Although she and two siblings miraculously survived, their parents and other relatives weren't as fortunate. On his first day as ambassador, following all of the formal greetings and arrival ceremonies, Eisen sat alone in the library of his new home reflecting on the events of the day. The head of the ambassador's household, Miroslav Cernik, came into the room and informed the ambassador that there was something Cernik wanted to show him. Cernik led Eisen to a small, ornate table and asked Eisen to look underneath the table. The ambassador, who thought it a rather unusual request, complied nonetheless, and got down on his hands and knees, crawling under the table. Nothing could have prepared Eisen for what he found there: a sticker with the clearly discernable image of an eagle and a swastika, the formal symbol of the Nazi party, emblazoned upon it, thus marking the table as former Nazi property. Cernik explained that he had not wanted Eisen to make the upsetting discovery for himself by chance. Eisen, who had envisioned carrying out the many responsibilities of his office, was unprepared for such a thing and described seeing the sticker as "a punch in the gut", hitting him on an emotional, as well as a physical, level. In an ironic twist, Eisen would later use that very table during his tenure as ambassador as the stand for his Chanukah menorah. The Nazis were not the original owners of that table or that house. The US ambassador's residence in Prague, named Petschek Villa, was originally built by a wealthy Jewish industrialist by the name of Otto Petschek in the late 1920s. Petschek, who made his money from coal mine holdings as well as banking, was one of the wealthiest men in Czechoslovakia, before his untimely death in 1934. With Germany's designs for Czechoslovakia clear and the threat of an invasion on the horizon, Petschek's family fled the country in 1938. The property was subsequently seized by the Germans and commandeered for use as the headquarters of the Wehrmacht (German armed forces) commander of Prague, General Toussaint, his staff, and other Nazi officials and aides during their seven-year occupation of Prague. Occupied afterwards briefly by the Russians and then the Czechoslovak General Staff, the US leased the property in 1945 before eventually buying it from the Czechoslovak government in 1948. On his arrival at the Petschek Villa, Eisen had the home returned to its Jewish roots and made suitable for a Torah-observant Jewish family to live in, kashering the kitchens and affixing mezuzos to the doorposts of the residence where he and his family would be staying. The kitchen staff "went into overdrive mastering the Jewish dietary laws", learning to make traditional Jewish foods like challah and matzah ball soup, and sourcing kosher products, especially a variety of kosher meats, which were unavailable in Prague and had to be ordered from either Berlin or Vienna. Eisen and his family kept Shabbos in their new Czech home each week, sometimes in the company of various dignitaries and dining in a room and at a table that were once in the hands of the Nazis. As Eisen describes it, "It [was] mind-blowing, eating on kosher State Department china where the commander of the Nazi Wehrmacht used to live." The Nazis deported us in cattle cars and my son flew back on Air Force One. Frieda opted not to return to her homeland, even when her son was there serving as the ambassador. She passed away in 2012, during her son's tenure in Prague, but not without a "tremendous sense of triumph" at the fact that her son had returned to the country of her birth as the representative of the most powerful nation on earth. Frieda was fond of telling people, "The Nazis deported us in cattle cars and my son flew back on Air Force One," a reference to a trip that Eisen made to Prague with Obama in 2010 for an international treaty signing ceremony. Joe Lieberman testified regarding Eisen's appointment in the US Senate: "It is indeed a profound historical justice…that the ambassador's residence in Prague, which was originally built by a Jewish family that was forced to flee Prague by the Nazis, [which], in turn, the Nazis took over…as their headquarters, now 70 years later, is occupied by Norman and his family. And I might, on a point of personal privilege, add that they observe the Sabbath there every Friday night and Saturday. So if you need any evidence that there is a God, I offer that to you." Eisen ended up serving in Prague for almost four years, one of the longest tenures of any recent US ambassador there. Reprinted from Jewish Life magazine, IRAN USING MONEY FROM NUKE DEAL TO FUND TERRORISTS Destroying homes of terrorists is meant to serve as a deterrent, but Iran is mitigating the punishment by offering large sums of money to the families of Palestinians who kill and maim Israelis. Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Fateh Ali announced that Tehran will give $7,000 to families of "martyrs of the intifada in occupied Jerusalem" and a further "$30,000 to every family whose home the 'occupation' has demolished for the participation of one of its sons," according to local news outlets, Times of Israel reported. The ambassador made the statement at a press conference for Hamas officials, the Times said, adding that the terror incentives were directed at all Palestinians, not only Hamas members. Israeli forces on Tuesday night destroyed the homes of two Palestinian terrorists responsible for deadly attacks against Israelis. The home demolitions are meant to serve as a deterrent. Since the beginning of the current wave of Palestinian terror that began on September 13, the eve of the Jewish New Year, a total of 31 victims have been killed and over 357 wounded – 26 of them seriously. "This is further proof of Iran's deep involvement in support for anti-Israeli terrorism," read a Foreign Ministry statement. "After the [nuclear] agreement with world powers, Iran has allowed itself to continue as a major player in international terrorism." Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on Wednesday accused Iran of building a global terror network with "sleeper cells" that are stockpiling arms, intelligence and operatives in order to strike on command, including in Europe and the U.S. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been warning the West for years about the dangers of the Iran nuclear deal, an issue on which politicians in Jerusalem were united across the political spectrum. Trump: Israel Is Victim In Conflict With Palestine, If Attacked '100% I'd Come to Their Defense'  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated that he sees Israel as the victim in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and he would "100%" come to its defense if it was attacked in an interview broadcast on Monday's "Hannity" on the Fox News Channel. Trump was asked about his comments that he would be "neutral" in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and whether he sees "that Israel is the victim in this?" Trump said that he does and that he's "a great friend of Israel." He added that making a deal between Israel and Palestine would be "the ultimate deal" if it was possible, and "I have been told by people, very high level people, it's impossible, because the hatred, especially on the one side, I won't even say which side –" After host Sean Hannity cut in with, "On the Palestinian side." Trump continued, "is so intense. It's so incredible, and from the time they're 2 years old they're told to hate, to hate, to hate. It's got to be taken away." Trump concluded that if Israel was attacked, "100% I'd come to their defense. 100%. Now, you know that under the Iran deal… but under the Iran deal, if Israel ends up attacks Iran because they're — they see they're doing the nuclear, or if it's the other way around, we have to fight with Iran. By the way, that's not happening, folks. I don't care. Deals are meant to be broken in some cases, all right?" Rabbi Yehuda Lave LIKE TWEET FORWARD You received this email because you signed up on our website or made purchase from us. Unsubscribe

Why G-d made Dogs

Can't see images? Click here... Rabbi Yehuda Lave  Good 'n Sad  Make a list of good deeds you can do and force yourself to do them when you feel sad. This may be very difficult. But realize that exactly because it is difficult, it is more meritorious to do "good." Thinking, "How good it is that I can do good even when I feel bad," will help you feel better. Especially, devote time to doing acts of kindness for those who could use your assistance. The more you think about others, the less time you will have for self-pity. Love Yehuda Lave BLACK PATRIOT DOWN Fred Cherry defied Communist torture and leftist stereotypes. February 22, 2016 Lloyd Billingsley Fred Cherry, the African American U.S. Air Force pilot who spent seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, has passed away at 87. With all due respect to Joe Louis, Fred Cherry was the real Brown Bomber. Born in Suffolk, Virginia, Fred Cherry experienced racial prejudice and segregation first hand but did not let it hold him back from achievement. He graduated from Virginia Union University in 1951 and joined the U.S. Air Force. A skilled pilot, Cherry would soon be flying combat missions over Stalinist North Korea. In 1965 Cherry was flying an F-105 fighter-bomber over North Vietnam when he took anti-aircraft fire and his plane exploded. He bailed out, suffered major injuries, and fell captive to the enemy. The North Vietnamese thought they had a real find and threw Cherry in a cell with Porter Halyburton, a white pilot from North Carolina. The Vietnamese Communists hoped to stoke racial friction that would break down Cherry and make him a propaganda tool. The captors' plan backfired. Halyburton duly attended to Cherry's wounds and watched over his black countryman around the clock. Cherry credited the white southerner with saving his life, and Halyburton thought Cherry had done the same for him. The two became lifelong friends but in captivity both faced a hard road. The Vietnamese Communists slapped Cherry into solitary confinement for 702 days and the pilot endured punishment and torture for 93 straight days. Before his release in 1973, Cherry racked up 2,671 days in captivity. The story of Cherry and Halyburton emerged in Leading With Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton (2014) by American pilot Lee Ellis. He had been shot down in November 1967 on a mission to destroy the guns that protected the Quang Khe ferry that supplied the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In the Hoa Lao prison, which POWs dubbed the Hanoi Hilton, Ellis learned firsthand about North Vietnam and its systematic torture of American POWs. As the author notes, the North Vietnamese tortured more than 95 percent of American POWs including eight tortured to death. But the torture wasn't all physical. The captors piped in propaganda and, Ellis explains, "the afternoon broadcasts were especially disheartening because they featured Americans spouting words that could have been written for them in Moscow and Hanoi." New Left icon Tom Hayden "was a regular speaker," later joined by his wife "film star Jane Fonda." For this pair, the American POWs were war criminals and their reports of torture were lies. Ellis charitably calls Fonda an "anti-war activist," but she and Hayden were not against war in general. They only opposed American participation in a war against the North Vietnamese regime they served as propagandists. Hayden was their voice in the cells of the Hanoi Hilton and Fonda even partied it up with a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft squad. Lee Ellis, Porter Halyburton and Fred Cherry managed to survive, and Cherry received the Air Force Cross for extraordinary heroism as a prisoner of war. His long stretch in captivity left him with a number of family problems but the African American flyer attended the National War College and Defense Intelligence School before retiring in 1981 as a staff officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency. James S. Hirsh wrote about Cherry and Halyburton in the 2004 Two Souls Indivisible. Cherry's story also showed up in the public television documentary Return with Honor about U.S. fighter pilots who became prisoners of war. Col. Fred Cherry passed away in a Washington hospital on February 16, in the midst of Black History Month. Even so, the President of the United States did not rush to the podium to honor the departed hero. That should come as no surprise. Fred Cherry defied the Vietnamese Communists but he also explodes a common stereotype. The American left prefers to portray blacks as angry, alienated, and perpetually in need of help from the government. Fred Cherry had endured more than his share of racial discrimination and hardship. But as Porter Halyburton told the Washington Post, "he was such an ardent patriot. He loved this country." May he rest in peace An old geezer became very bored in retirement and decided to open a medical clinic. He put up a sign outside that read: "Dr. Geezer's Clinic. Get your treatment for $500; if not cured, get back $1,000." Doctor "Young," who was positive that this old geezer didn't know beans about medicine, thought this would be a great opportunity to get $1,000. So he went to Dr. Geezer's clinic. Dr. Young: "Dr. Geezer, I have lost all taste in my mouth. Can you please help me?" Dr. Geezer: "Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22and put 3 drops in Dr. Young's mouth." Dr. Young: "Aaagh! - this is Gasoline!" Dr. Geezer: "Congratulations! You've got your taste back. That will be $500." Dr. Young gets annoyed and goes back after a couple of days figuring to recover his money. Dr. Young: "I have lost my memory, I cannot remember anything." Dr. Geezer: "Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in the patient's mouth." Dr. Young: "Oh, no you don't - that is Gasoline!" Dr. Geezer: "Congratulations! You've got your memory back. That will be $500." Dr. Young (after having lost $1,000) leaves angrily and returns after several more days. Dr. Young: "My eyesight has become weak: I can hardly see anything!" Dr. Geezer: "Well, I don't have any medicine for that so,here's your $1,000 back" and hands him a $10 bill. Dr. Young: "But this is only $10!" Dr. Geezer: "Congratulations! You got your vision back. That will be $500." Moral of story - Just because you're "Young" doesn't mean that you can outsmart an "old Geezer"! Remember: Don't make old people angry. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to annoy us. The digital jigsaw to piece together 15,000 Dead Sea Scroll fragments Thousands of tiny scroll fragments are being scanned using the latest techniques so scientists in Israel can piece them together and reveal texts that, until now, have remained a mystery. Read the full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3459989/The-important-jigsaw-history-15-000-Dead-Sea-Scroll-fragments-digitally-scanned-pieced-together.html 24 February 2016 Get ready for Li-Fi: Ultrafast new technology shown off at tech show At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, French start-up Oledcomm demonstrated the capabilities of Li-Fi, using just an office lamp to start playing a smartphone video. Read the full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3460711/Forget-Wi-Fi-ready-Li-Fi-Ultrafast-new-technology-100-times-faster-current-systems-using-LIGHTS.html 24 February 2016 Why Say Kaddish for a Dad Who Abandoned Me? What's the point, if all I feel is spite? By Tzvi Freeman Dear Ask-the-Rabbi Rabbi, My father ran away when I was two years old. Disappeared. No child support, nothing. Now I'm twenty-four. Last year I tracked him down. Don't ask me why. I felt I had to, without knowing what I would say or do when we met. Just to discover he had died two years ago. Now I'm torn. On the one hand, I figure I have to say kaddish on his yahrtzeit—in two months. On the other hand, what connection do I have to him? I mean, he abandoned me and Mom for all those years. And he never tried to make a connection with me or support me in any way, so why should I say kaddish for him? Maybe this is not the real sort of situation that kaddish is meant for. Doesn't saying kaddish imply at least some kind of emotional attachment or respect? —Yitz Gadal (pseudonym) Response: Hi Yitz! Yes, it's the pits. It's the kind of pain that's so deep, you don't want to acknowledge how much it hurts. Because you don't want to have to visit that place inside. There's something about us that wants—really badly wants—to put our parents on a pedestal. There's something about us that really badly wants to put our parents on a pedestal.But then you find Dad and realize that he doesn't belong on a pedestal, because he never had a pedestal to begin with. Do you have to say kaddish for him? Let's say Dad was sexually abusive or a relentless child-beater. For such a parent, you probably would have no obligation to sit in mourning for him. Mourning is a way of honoring a parent, and someone so blatantly wicked has foregone that honor.1 Saying kaddish may be another matter, as we will see. But I don't think that's the case here. It sounds more like someone who was just irresponsible. You've still got a valid grudge—he never cared to contact you, or make up for all those years of abandonment. And that's important to face up to. When we don't acknowledge the faults of our parents, we end up shifting the blame from them onto ourselves. It's when that pedestal falls that you free yourself from the burden of guilt so you can get on with life. So I suggest you first try to acknowledge that grudge, visit the place of that hurt, and then, when you're ready, get on with healing it. And a kaddish on his yahrtzeit could well be the right place to start with that healing.2 The Prototypical Orphan's Kaddish I'll explain why. This may seem strange, but although it may seem like you are one in a million, you're not. In fact, the classic Talmudic story of kaddish said by a child is a case of one who never knew a father—and whose father was not worth knowing. There are many versions, but it basically goes like this:3 Rabbi Akiva sees a man running through a cemetery. The guy is naked, black with soot, and burdened with a load of wood. Rabbi Akiva yells, "Stop! What on earth are you doing?" And, being Rabbi Akiva, he continues, "And what can I do to help?" Turns out, the guy was dead. In his past life, he had been a tax collector with an important government position who squeezed the life out of the poor to give to the rich. He also committed adultery—on Yom Kippur, no less. As a punishment, he now must collect wood each day to build a pyre upon which he is barbecued each evening, only to have to run through the exercise again the next morning. (Today, this is called being an employee.) Rabbi Akiva asks whether this dead man has any clues how he could be granted a pardon. "Yes," the man answers. "I heard my supervisors saying that if I had a son, and that son would stand among the congregation and say kaddish and the congregation would answer, 'Amen! Yehei shmeih rabba mevorach!'4—then I would be off the hook for his sake." "No problem!" exclaims Rabbi Akiva. "Let me take care of it." "Big problem," the man replies. "I didn't leave a son behind." "Yes, that's a problem," I heard them say that if I had a son who would say kaddish more me, I would be off the hook.Rabbi Akiva says. "On the other hand," the man continues, "I think my wife was pregnant when I died. But I don't know whether she gave birth, and whether it was a boy or a girl. And if she did, the boy certainly wouldn't have learned any Torah, because the people weren't exactly my friends." "You've got me as a friend," answers Rabbi Akiva. "Just give me your info. Your name, your wife's name and the name of your town." "Name is Arnuniya. Wife's name, Shishchaya. Town, Ludkiya." Rabbi Akiva is immediately on his way to Ludkiya. Once there, he's asking the townspeople about Arnuniya. The response is worse than he imagined. "May his bones grind in hell," they mutter, spitting on the ground and grinding the spit deep in. "How about his wife, Shishchaya?" he asks. Not a good question. "May her name and her memory be eradicated!" they answer, spitting again. So he asks about her child. Good news and bad news. Shishchaya had a boy. But she had never even bothered to circumcise him. Rabbi Akiva gets hold of this child, circumcises him and sits him down to learn. The kid just sits there blinking. His skull is so thick, nothing can enter. Rabbi Akiva is a man of love and compassion for every one of G‑d's creatures—even tax collectors and their children. What does he do? He fasts for forty days. After forty days, he hears a voice from heaven: "Akiva, you're fasting for who?" "Master of the Universe!" Rabbi Akiva shouts out. "Just trust me on this one. Open up the kid's heart so I can work with him." As this is Rabbi Akiva talking, G‑d complies. Next thing you know, the kid is reading Torah like a pro, saying the Shema Yisrael, the Silent Prayer and even Grace After Meals. As soon as he's ready, Rabbi Akiva stands him before the congregation. The boy says "Barchu" and they answer him. Finally, he says kaddish and they answer him, "Amen! Yehei shmeih rabba mevorach!" The end of the story: The father is released from the barbecue business with a ticket to heaven. We know that because he returned to Rabbi Akiva in a dream to thank him. The Soul's Interface Now, I'm not judging the father who abandoned you. I don't know the whole story. What I do know is that there are two souls here that need fixing as a result of his parenting, or lack of it: Yours and his. When you fix your parent's past, you fix your own future.And kaddish is a powerful tool—along with others we'll get to later—to do just that. It's a two-way street that runs through the avenues of the heart and mind, right into the soul: When you fix your parent's past, you fix your own future. That requires some explanation. Which Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (Tzfat, 16th century), known as the Arizal, provides:5 The first thing you have to know is that we are not like automobiles coming off a factory line. Whatever happens at the Honda plant in Indiana today doesn't affect my Accord that came off its lines two years ago. But with the people we came from, we are forever connected. A father can walk out on his kids, but he can't divorce them. He can't even truly and completely separate himself from them. And neither can the kids divorce their father. A father is forever a father and a child forever a child, for better and for worse. At the end of the day, the memory of a child is indelibly engraved in the mind of the parent, and the imprint of the parent pervades every cell of the child. Geographically they may be light-years apart, but like entangled subatomic particles, what happens in one immediately affects the other. An essential part of you emerges out of your parents and remains forever connected to them. The reason for that, the Arizal explains, is because it's not just chromosomes that you receive from your parents. An essential part of you has not only emerged from out of your parents, but remains forever connected to them. It's not your soul and it's not your body. It's something in a certain way even more important than either of those. Who are you? In essence, the Arizal taught, you are a divine soul, sent here on a mission. The principal target of your mission is a body of sinews and blood driven by the instincts of self-preservation and gratification. Your soul must enter that body so that it can bring it to realize that it too is divine—and to get it to behave that way. But how can a divine soul, the ultimate spiritual being, relate to an earthly physical body? The answer is that it's provided a kind of interface, in the form of a thinking human personality. Think of the interface between you and the device that's in your hands or on your desktop as you are reading this. You and that hardware reside in two very different worlds. That's why companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft spend billions of dollars designing an elegant interface—a visual and audible means of presenting what's going on inside that plastic, metal and silicon box—that is meaningful, intuitive and speaks to you, while efficiently driving its hardware within. As a human being, you have a similar interface, and it's not just your physical brain. Your divine soul operates through the medium of a human mind and heart that is capable of seeing beyond instinct and immediate gratification, a being that can hear what the divine soul is trying to say and be inspired by it. Yet at the same time it's a human mind and heart, very much a part of this world. It acts as the go-between, reining in the beast while teaching it to conform to the vision of the Divine soul. Fixing Upstream Here's the hitch: While the body is a product of Mom and Dad's DNA, and the soul is a forever Divine piece of business handpicked by the Creator to fulfill its particular mission on the planet, this intelligent interface that is at the guts of your personality, this is something, the Arizal teaches, that emerges from the inner mental and spiritual state of your father and mother at the time of conception. Whoa, you're saying, that might not be a good deal, because my parents' mental and spiritual state at the time they were making me might not have been so healthy. No matter how great the divine soul that breathes within you, it's still needs that interface.Or worse. Yes, that is the problem. No matter how great the divine soul that breathes within you, if it doesn't have a clear pathway to the human animal in which it is invested, it's going to be riding a bucking bronco without saddle or reins. That was the problem of the little child of the tax collector in Rabbi Akiva's story. His body was healthy. His Divine soul was perfect, as every Divine soul must be, and all its programming was there in place. It's just that because of who his parents were, how they behaved and where their heads were at, the interface between that soul and the body was a disaster. Torah could not enter, and prayer could not come out. But there's a fix. Because the personalities of child and parents remain networked. Which means that the direction you take in life affects your father's state. And vice-versa: Once the things are fixed upstream, the water runs downstream crystal clear. Kaddish is one way of accomplishing that. People assume that kaddish is a prayer for the dead, or some way of honoring them. Read the words, and you'll see it has nothing to do with that. When you say kaddish for a parent, you are leading the community in declaring the greatness of their Creator. By doing so, you're picking yourself up to a whole new level. The same with learning Torah, giving charity, or any other mitzvah you now do. You're not doing it for him—you're doing it to illuminate your own inner self, you're doing it to lift up your entire world. And by doing so, you're affecting your father, fixing the problem at its source. That's what Rabbi Akiva was out to do with this boy. He had to extricate him from the pit of thick, gooey mud in which he had been born. He had to be circumcised, taught Torah, and become a leader in prayer. In the place of all the darkness his father had brought into the world, he had to bring tremendous light. He had to become a different person, the opposite of who his father had been—and through that, automatically, his father's soul was able to find respite. Because the two are really one. Just as the son was messed up by his father's life, so the son was able to fix up his father by changing that life his father had given him. Do It Now Everything in this world, the Arizal taught, is a two-way street. Everything in this world is a two-way street. And that's something to celebrate.Fortunately, you don't have to wait until a parent is gone to know what you've got—and to do something about it. Yitz, your father may be gone, but your mother is still with you. When you provide her with the most valuable things a child can give to a parent—respect, honor, love and dignity—your own persona rises higher along with hers. There are those who feel their parents don't deserve that respect—and, in some cases, they may be right. Some people have abusive parents. Some need to stay far away from home. Some even have to avoid all communication.6 Yet despite all that, we're never passive victims of this universe. The same One who deals the cards is the same One who gives us the opportunities to win. We may not be able to change the people around us directly, but we can do our best to fix ourselves, our attitude and how we treat others. When we do that, all those connected to us move up a notch, in this world and in the next. And it all bounces back to the place from which it came. There's a lot to celebrate. The whole universe is in your hands. Footnotes 1. Concerning mourning for a wicked person, see glosses of Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) to Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 340:5; Siftei Kohen 340:8; Chochmat Adam 156:3. Furthermore, the Torah does not demand that a person place unbearable strain on his or her psychological wellbeing for the sake of honoring a parent. For a full discussion of such cases see Rabbi Mark Dratch's article in Hakirah12 (2011): 105–119. 2.Since the news was heard over a year later, there is no seven-day mourning period, or thirty days, or year of mourning. One simply sits on the ground for a short time. Keriah (ripping of upper garments) is also performed, but this should be done with the assistance of a rabbi or someone experienced in the specifics of this obligation. Nevertheless, it is certainly worthwhile to make up for the lost year of mourning by such things as leading the congregation in prayer, reading the haftarah, and certainly by giving charity and taking on more mitzvahs on behalf of the deceased. 3.Ohr Zarua II, end of chapter 50; Responsa of Rivash 115; Menorat Hamaor (Abohav), Ner Aleph 2:1, quoting Kallah Rabbati 11 and Tanchuma Noach; Seder Eliyahu Zuta, end of chapter 17; Zohar Chadash. 4.Translation: "May His great name be blessed forever and ever!" That's the standard response to kaddish. The main point of kaddish is that you lead the congregation in saying that. 5.Likkutei Torah (Arizal), Parshat Va'eira. 6.When asked, "What is the proper response when in-law interference causes marital problems?" the halachic authority Rabbi Moshe Shapiro responded with the following: "When such interventions erode peace and harmony in the home, couples should deny their parents entry. If that doesn't work, they should send the parents away in a manner that makes it clear that their parents' intervention has generated this alienation. This is the husband's responsibility. It is obvious that the rule of honoring one's father and mother does not apply here; one is not obligated to put his life aside for his parents' honor. But it is advisable to first consult with an impartial Torah scholar." [Sefer Binat Hamidot: Pirkei Hadrachah (Jerusalem: Binat Halev, 5767), p. 86, free translation.] By Tzvi Freeman KAHANE ON THE PARSHA BANNED BY YESHIVA UNIVERSITY. At the YU Book Sale, books with 10,000 different viewpoints are sold, including Kosher Jesus and books from the extreme Leftist .The book that IS banned from sale is Kahane on the Parsha. Students are not allowed to buy this book and decide from themselves if the Parsha as written by Rabbi Meir Kahane and Rabbi Binyamin Kahane is what they believe in or even something to think about. YU doesNotallow freedom of thought when it comes to Kahane. Please protest, here are addresses: info@TheSeforimSale.com brander@yu.edu(the students claim Rabbi Brander is at fault) Marilyn, at212-9605227ormwechsle@yu.edu Now, let us learn Parshat Ki Tisa as written by Rabbi Meir Kahane HY"D and submitted to the Jewish Press just hours before hisassassination Kahane on the Parsha Rabbi Meir Kahane- Parshat Ki Tisa THE TORAH SOLUTION: EXPULSION!!! For many years I have pointed out the clear halachic status of a non-Jew in the Land of Israel, which is in total contradiction to Western democracy, which postulates complete equality of all peoples regardless of ethnic, national, or religious background. I have pointed out that he has, at best, the status of a ger toshav, assuming that status is still applicable nowadays when yovel is not in force. I have also pointed out that a non-Jew who wishes to live in the Land of Israel MUST ACCEPT upon himself the obligations of misim and shibud (tribute and servitude) under which he cannot ever hold sway over any Jew in Israel and cannot hold any position of authority (see Hilchot Melachim6:11). In a word, I have pointed out the clear halacha of a non-Jew with absolutely no NATIONAL (as opposed to personal) rights in the Land of Israel that was given to the Jew as a Holy Land in which he must live alone and in isolation, creating his own unique and holy Torah state. Today, after deep contemplation and study of the situation, I believe all this applies to every non-Jew--except for the Arabs who call themselves "Palestinians." They, unlike any other people, have the halachic status of the ancient Canaanites. Let us consider my point. We clearly find in halacha a difference in status between ordinary non-Jews and non-Jews from the seven Canaanite nations--a difference that is expressed only in part by the fact that refusal to surrender on the part of ordinary nations leads to the killing of all their male adults (not their women and children), whereas similar refusal by the Canaanites leads to TOTAL extermination. Why this halachic distinction? Because there is a FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE between non-Jews who have origin in the Land of Israel (but wish to live there now) and those who stem from it--i.e., those who were there before the Jews arrived or came during the absence of Jewish sovereignty in the land. To understand the nature of this difference, consider the words of the great Biblical commentator, the Abarbanel, on the following verses, "Behold, I drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Be vigilant lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you come, lest it be a snare in your midst" (Exodus 34:11-12). The Abarbanel writes: "Since the Almighty drives out His enemies, it is unseemly that we should make a covenant with them because this would be a desecration of His honor. [Furthermore], a treaty with them will not succeed since there is no doubt that they will ALWAYS seek evil for Israel considering that the Israelites took their land from them. And this is the meaning of the words 'the land to which you come'--i.e., since you, Israel, went into that land and took it from its inhabitants, and since they feel oppressed and robbed of it, how will they preserve a treaty of friendship? Rather it will be the opposite; they will be 'a snare in your midst'--i.e., when war breaks out they will join your enemies and fight you." What a stupendously true and incisive comment by the great Abarbanel and how much it understands the reality of human nature. And how different from that of the sad Moderdox of our time, who not only prattle about equal rights for the inhabitants of the land under the Jews who took the land from them but who ignore--because they lack the courage to face up to it--the reality of human feelings and the unwillingness to accept crumbs rather than the sovereignty that was. The Abarbanel lays down the clear fundamental reality that non-Jews who were in the Land of Israel before the Jews arrived will never accept their defeat. They will always dream of revanche and the day when they will take the land back. They will never see themselves as equals in a land that was once theirs and now belongs to the Jews who "graciously" consent to give them "rights." And herein is the fundamental difference in feeling between nations who were in the Land of Israel first, before the Jews arrived to take it for themselves, and other non-Jews who have no sovereign claim to the land but wish to live there now. And, indeed, this postulate--which equates ALL peoples who were in the land before the Jews with the Canaanites--is also advanced by the holy Ohr HaChaim in his commentary to Numbers 33:52, which instructs the Jewish people to "drive out all the inhabitants of the land." He writes: "It's true that the [Torah says] concerning the seven nations, 'You shall utterly destroy them,' but this verse refers to nations OTHER THAN the seven nations found there. And that is why the Torah specifically states 'ALL the inhabitants of the land'--i.e., even those who are not of the seven nations." And so we see: The seven nations do not have their special status alone, but rather all people who were in the Land of Israel before the Jews arrived, and who see the Jews as robbers who stole the land from them, have the same kind of attitude and approach of hate and revenge--and thus, the same legal status. The Jewish Press, 1990 Editor's note: This Dvar Torah derives from the very last article Rabbi Meir Kahane wrote for The Jewish Press. The article was published in two installments. Rabbi Kahane submitted the second half to The Jewish Press onNovember 5th, just hours before his assassination This Is Why God Made Dogs Rabbi Yehuda Lave LIKE TWEET FORWARD You received this email because you signed up on our website or made purchase from us. Unsubscribe