20 Ways to Increase Your Happiness in the Months of Adar and Nissan on March 1, 2021 By Yehudit Garmaise and 22 Yiddish Expressions About Telling the Truth By Professor Richard Zuckerman and Menachem Posner and What Does the name Kaplan Mean? By Menachem Posner and The Structure of the Soul By Menachem Feldman

View in browser Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com The Three Musketeers at the Kotel The Structure of the Soul By Menachem Feldman The second half of the book of Exodus presents a dramatic shift from the first half of the book. Until this point, G‑d was the active member in the relationship with the Jewish people. G‑d brought the Ten Plagues, liberated the Jews from Egypt, split the sea, spoke the Ten Commandments and dictated Jewish civil law, while the Jews were passive recipients of all that G‑d was doing. Finally, in the second half of the book, the Jewish people were called upon to take the initiative and build a home for G‑d. The sages teach that the commandment to construct a home for G‑d includes the The detailed descriptions of the Temple have a spiritual equivalence directive to construct a figurative home for G‑d within every person. From this perspective, the detailed descriptions of the Temple and its furniture, which comprise almost five portions in the Torah, have a spiritual equivalence within ourselves. The Sanctuary was built of three components. The walls were made of ten-cubit-tall wooden beams, the beams were supported by silver sockets, and the roof was composed of coverings made of wool and animal skins. To build the figurative Temple within ourselves, we need to find the beams, coverings and sockets within our soul and dedicate them to the service of G‑d. The Kabbalists explain that the ten-cubit beams represent the ten faculties, three intellectual and seven emotional, within every human soul. The foundation of the entire structure was the silver sockets into which the beams were inserted. The spiritual equivalent of the sockets, the foundation of the soul's structure, is the capacity to be committed and devoted to someone or something. The curtains that served as the roof of the Tabernacle, covering the entire structure, represent a person's will and capacity for pleasure, referred to by the Kabbalists as the "encompassing powers of the soul." Will and pleasure affect and inspire all of the faculties. The sages teach us that "a person should always study where his heart desires," because the encompassing power of will triggers and awakens the specific power of understanding. Understanding that the Temple is a symbol for the human soul explains the commandment that the Jewish people donate the materials necessary to construct the Sanctuary. In this week's Parshah, the Torah tells us that each individual donated both to the construction of the walls and to the covering of the Sanctuary in the amount they chose, according to their heart's desire: The L‑rd spoke to Moses saying: "Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering."1 Yet there was another form of donation, specifically designated for the silver sockets, where everybody was required to donate an equal amount: This they shall give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel. . . . The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel.2 There were two forms of donations, one with an equal, set amount for each We are all equal in our capacity to devote ourselves to G‑dperson to donate, and another that was open-ended, each person donating according to his heart's desire. There are aspects where all are equal, and other aspects where each person is unique and has a distinctive contribution to make. When it comes to the specific faculties of the soul—intelligence, emotion, wisdom, kindness, willpower—each of us is unique. Thus the contribution to create the structure is individualized. Yet the foundation of the structure, the foundation of the relationship with G‑d, the power of devotion and commitment, is the same for everyone. We all are equal in our capacity to devote ourselves to G‑d, yet the nature of our devotion and relationship is based on our own specific personality and is therefore unique to each individual.3 Footnotes 1. Exodus 25:1–2. 2. Ibid. 30:13–15. 3. Likkutei Sichot, Terumah, vol. 1. By Menachem Feldman Rabbi Menachem Feldman serves as the director of the Lifelong Learning department at the Chabad Lubavitch Center in Greenwich, Connecticut. What Does the name Kaplan Mean? By Menachem Posner Kaplan is a fairly common name among Ashkenazi Jews. And until last week I had no idea what it meant, although I had noticed that it is particularly common among Kohanim, members of the priestly clan, who trace their lineage back to Aaron the High Priest, brother of Moses. Meeting two (apparently unrelated) Kaplans side by side in the synagogue, and noting that both of them were indeed Kohanim, I realized that it was time to do a bit of research. It turns out that the origin of Kaplan lies in the Latin word cappella (literally "cape"), which also gave us the English words chaplain and chapel. Since Kohen literally means "priest," it makes sense for them to receive the rough Latin equivalent for their family name. It thus joins Cohen, Katz, Kagan, Azulai and other names denoting that the bearer is of Kohen lineage. It is important to note that many Kaplans, including most Chabad.org authors with that name, are not Kohanim. How did this come to be? A couple of possibilities: It may be that they were never Kohanim in the first place, perhaps having received that name because they were rabbinic leaders or otherwise viewed as "priestly." They may have inherited the originally Kohen-related last name through the female line, while the priestly status is conferred exclusively through the male side. People often assumed false last names in order to avoid conscription into the Czarist army or to cross borders, and the new last names stuck even after they were no longer needed. Sometimes the name was adopted relatively recently and does not reflect any historical status of the family. A case in point would be Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, whose Turkish born grandparents changed their name from Carmona in order to fit into a mostly Ashkenazic Jewish community in New York. Note that if a Kaplan you know is a Kohen, it is a mitzvah to accord him with respect. This includes not asking him to fetch something or otherwise perform demeaning work for you. On the ritual side, he is honored with leading the Grace After Meals and receives the first Aliyah during Torah reading. Some mitzvahs unique to male Kohanim, even nowadays, include conferring the Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim), staying away from corpses (and cemeteries), and not marrying a convertess, a divorcee or others (read why here). By Menachem Posner Rabbi Menachem Posner serves as staff editor at Chabad.org, the world's largest Jewish informational website. He has been writing, researching, and editing for Chabad.org since 2006, when he received his rabbinic degree from Central Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch. He resides in Chicago, Ill., with his family. 22 Yiddish Expressions About Telling the Truth By Professor Richard Zuckerman and Menachem Posner Truth is a prized quality in Judaism, to the point that Talmud calls it is G‑d's own signature.1 The Hebrew, and by extension Yiddish, word for truth is emes. Comprising the three Hebrew letters א-מ-ת, it is a composite of the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph), the middle letter (mem) and the final letter (tav). Take a look at the three letters of אמת, and you will see that they each have two feet, providing a sturdy basis upon which to stand. Conversely, the word for untruth, sheker, looks like this: שקר, with each letter precariously perched upon a single leg, ready to topple over. In light of the important place that truth has in our tradition, we present you with a collection of Yiddish expressions about telling the truth and avoiding falsehood. The best lie is the truth Der bester lign iz der emes דער בעסטער ליגן איז דער אמת When struggling with whether or not to tell the truth, it is important to remember that coming clean, while initially painful, will be much better in the long run. A liar needs a good memory A ligner muz hobn a gutn zikorn א ליגנער מוז האָבן א גוטן זכּרון A lie which seems innocent can sometimes create a web of untruths and fantasies that becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. Would his word be a bridge, people would be afraid to cross Ven zayn vort volt geven a brik, volt men meyre gehat aribertsugeyn ווען זיין וואָרט וואָלט געווען א בריק וואָלט מען מורא געהאַט אַריבערצוגיין The worth of a person's word is directly tied to how truthful they are. Unfortunately, once a person has lost trust once or twice, their word becomes a shaky bridge which no one trusts. Truth floats like oil over water Der emes shvimt aruf vi beyml afn vaser דער אמת שווימט אַרוף ווי בוימל אַפן וואַסער A person may think that he has buried the truth under a carefully constructed lie, but it is merely a matter of time before the truth will surface. In business, there are no buddies In handlshaft iz nito keyn brudershaft אין האַנדלשאַפט איז ניטאָ קיין ברודערשאַפט The unfortunate reality is that even those who are otherwise decent, kind and honest, sometimes become ruthless and crooked when money is involved. The honest way is the hard way Erlekh iz shverlekh ערלעך איז שווערלעך This little rhyme expresses the fact that it is not always easy to take the moral high road. According to the eye with which you look at someone, is the face he has Mit vos far a eygn m'kukt eynem on, aza ponim hot er מיט וואָס פאַר אַ אויגן מ'קוקט איינעם אָן אַזא פּנים האָט ער Truth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes, it pays to look charitably upon others, even if it means glossing over some of their shortcomings. As a result, the person's behavior will actually reflect the kind eye trained upon them. A fool fools a fool A nar nart a nar אַ נאַר נאַרט אַ נאַר A fool attempts to fool others around him, but wise people generally see through the untruths, leaving only the fools fooled. The thief's hat is on fire Afn ganev brent dos hitl אַפן גנב ברענט דאָס היטל The story behind the expression: A robbery occurred but everyone denied knowledge of the affair. A wise man shouted, "The thief's hat is burning!" and watched to see who would lift their hand to check for flames on their head. This expression has come to denote someone who denies wrongdoing, but whose own words or actions show otherwise. Promising and loving both don't cost any money Tsuzogn un lib hobn kost nit keyn gelt צוזאָגן און ליב האָבן קאָסט ניט קיין געלט A promise is only worth as much as the integrity of the person making the promise. Unfortunately, rash expressions of love may not portend long-term commitment. Truth has all the finest qualities, but it's shy Der emes hot aleh mailes ober er iz a shemvediker דער אמת האָט אַלע מעלות אָבער ער איז א שעמעוודיקער If you were to ascribe human attributes to Truth, you know who he'd be: That painfully shy friend who is wise, kind and caring, but no one takes the time to get to know. The mirror tells the truth Der shpigl zogt ois der emes דער שפּיגל זאָגט אויס דעם אמת We can embellish, airbrush and hide, but there comes a moment when we find ourselves staring truth in the face. G‑d likes the truth Got hot lib dem emes גאָט האָט ליב דעם אמת It's not always easy or popular to tell the truth, but we can take comfort and inspiration from the knowledge that truth is prized by G‑d Himself. Truth does not die but he subsides like a pauper Der emes shtarbt nit, ober er lebt vi an oriman דער אמת שטאַרבט ניט אָבער ער לעבט ווי אַן אָרימאַן The truth is eternal and can never disappear, but that doesn't mean that anyone necessarily pays it attention. One mustn't tell a lie, but neither must one tell the truth Keyn lign tor men nit zogn, nor dem emes darf eykh nit zogn קיין ליגן טאָר מען ניט זאָגן נאָר דעם אמת דאַרף מען אויך ניט זאָגן There are times when making truth known can do more harm than good. Everyone loves the truth, but not everyone tells the truth Yederer hot lib dem emes, ober nit yeder zogt em יעדערער האָט ליב דעם אמת אָבער ניט יעדערער זאָגט עם Reading this list we can all appreciate the importance and virtuousness of truth, yet when it comes to practice, how many of us slip up from time to time…? Where there is truth, there is success Vu emes, dort is hatslokhe וואו אמת, דאָרט איז הצלחה Truth will lead to success. Eat bread and salt, and don't forget the truth Zalts un breyt zolstu esn un dem emes nit fargesn זאַלץ און ברויט זאָלסטו עסען און דעם אמת ניט פאַרגעסן This rhyme was surely inspired by the sages' teaching that the "way of Torah" includes subsisting on the simple staples of bread and salt. The truth is in the prayer book Der emes iz in siddur דער אמת איז אין סידור The simple Jew of yesteryear may not have been learned enough to open a Talmud, or even a Chumash (Five Books of Moses). But he or she instinctively knew that G‑d was available to him or her through heartfelt prayer, and that the truth of all existence is couched in our traditions. The truth is the greatest swindle Der emes iz der grester shvindl דער אמת איז דער גרעסטער שווינדל Often that which is peddled as "truth" turns out to be a pack of lies. Children and fools are sure to tell the truth Kinder un naronim zogn dem emes קינדער און נאַראָנים זאָגן דעם אמת For better or for worse, we are conditioned to repress truth and smooth over differences. At times, it takes a child to say what everyone else is thinking. A half-truth is a complete lie A halber emes iz a gantser lign א האַלבער אמת איז א גאַנצער ליגן Even if not telling a technical lie, when picking and choosing what to say, one can end up misleading and lying. Footnotes 1. Shabbat 55b. By Professor Richard Zuckerman and Menachem Posner Professor Richard (Rakhmil) Zuckerman is a Yiddish linguist and journalist; for many years he taught Yiddish, French, and Russian at Brooklyn College. Rabbi Menachem Posner serves as staff editor at Chabad.org, the world's largest Jewish informational website. He has been writing, researching, and editing for Chabad.org since 2006, when he received his rabbinic degree from Central Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch. He resides in Chicago, Ill., with his family. Art by Rivka Korf Studio, a Miami-based art design studio run by Rivka Korf, a coffee lover and mother. Rivka uses her expertise and creativity to run a team that creates masterful compositions and illustrations for corporate and large nonprofit organizations. 20 Ways to Increase Your Happiness in the Months of Adar and Nisson By Yehudit Garmaise When Adar comes, we increase in joy, Mishenichnas Adar marbim b'simcha, but exactly how? We have laws for the month of Av to help us mourn the destruction of the Temple, but how can we become happier in Adar? On Purim day, we increase our happiness by reading Megillat Esther and learning about G‑d's hidden miracles, giving gifts to the poor and to our friends. We create a celebratory atmosphere with costumes, festive meals, festive drinks, singing and dancing. But what about the rest of the month of Adar? We all need to work to create a joyous atmosphere in our homes and in our lives. But before we can create the right atmospheres, we often have to adjust our attitudes. Joy breaks down all negative decrees, so happiness is crucial not just for Adar but for every month. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that when we create joy in our lives, we arouse G‑d's joy, who sees that we are living properly, which causes Him to open up the channels of even more blessing, which make us even happier! Here are 20 ideas for increasing your joy this Adar! C'mon, get happy! 1. Live, dance and celebrate as if you have everything you need and want. Joy is not only the result of being in a good situation. When we feel we lack something, a sure way not to get the things we want is to focus on the lack and to complain or blame others. We may find it difficult to feel joyful, but by making the effort to live as if our prayers have been answered, we can help ensure that prayers will be answered. Think good, and it will be good! 2. Know your mission. Value yourself, your talents, strengths and skills, just as G‑d does. The Baal Shem Tov taught, "You should realize that everything depends on you: With your every mitzvah, the universe resonates in blissful harmony that heals and nurtures." Imagine your power! 3. Remember G‑d follows us like a shadow. "G‑d is your shadow at your right hand" (Psalms, 121). The Baal Shem Tov explains that just as our shadows follow all of the movements of our bodies, so, too, G‑d responds to us and echoes our emotional state. This means that the way we present ourselves to G‑d elicits similar responses from Him. When G‑d sees that we are living joyfully, He responds with goodness and blessing. 4. Start your day positively and gratefully. Say the "Modeh Ani" morning prayer even before getting out of bed. This will start your day by taking the focus off of yourself and right onto your gratitude to G‑d for waking you up, returning your soul to you and for creating our beautiful world. Ask G‑d to help you feel joyous throughout your day. As you wash and get dressed for the day, remind yourself that G‑d wants you to be joyful. Before you even see anyone else, remind yourself to remain cheerful. 5. Speak cheerfully. Practice speaking respectfully and cheerfully to others, and watch your whole day change for the better! People will reflect back your courtesy and good cheer. Pirkei Avot, Ethics of Our Fathers, tells us to greet everyone with a pleasant face. We should especially exercise our pleasant faces in our own homes! 6. Increase your sense of awareness and appreciation. Feel grateful for what you hear, feel, see, smell and feel. Do you love the comfort of your bed? Do you hear the relaxing sounds of rain falling or the comforting sounds of the trees' leaves rustling as the wind blows? Can you see G‑d's breathtaking, colorful sunrise or sunset? Do you look forward to your first warm cup of tea or coffee? Nurture those moments and feel grateful for life's "small" treasures. Note that it's great to be alive. 7. Enjoy community. Celebrate your friends' and family's birthdays (and know when they are). Get together with friends on Shabbat, for learning or for coffee. Value the spiritual benefits of gathering together. When a group of Jews convenes, it creates a joyful atmosphere, both for the people in the group, and also for G‑d. Make sure to create special joy for Shabbat, holidays, homecomings, birthdays and anniversaries. Collect special decorations, make favorite foods, bake a cake, play holiday-specific music, buy flowers to grace your table. Do whatever it takes to create an environment of joy, peace and contentment. 8. Dress the part. Most people feel better about themselves and about their day when they are wearing clothing, styles and fabrics that makes them feel good (and also aren't ripped, damaged or dirty). Make work or boring errands more fun by dressing up and taking your role as a daughter or son of G‑d seriously. 9. Take care of yourself by properly eating, sleeping and exercising. Eat slowly, sit down and don't eat meals on the run or in the car. Out of convenience, parents will sometimes eat their children's leftovers. Instead, prepare what you actually want to eat for your meals and try to make those meals happen in a nice way, on a plate. Take care of yourself by making healthy, nurturing food (it doesn't need to be difficult to prepare!), by going to sleep early so you'll get enough rest, and by exercising. Set a goal to walk 10,000 steps a day or dance, sign up for a yoga class, take a walk or jog around the block, go for a swim, start weightlifting—just do anything that gets you moving almost every day. 10. Adjust your attitude. When faced with unexpected inconveniences, train yourself to see the hidden benefits. The Shela haKadosh notes that when the letters of arbeh, the destructive plague of locusts, are rearranged, we see the word, harbeh, or "bounty." In everything in life, we can see arbeh, a destructive plague that has come to ruin everything and to sap our energy and resources, or, we can see harbeh, the bounty, the beautiful crop. Retrain your brain to see bounty. 11. Keep a Jewish book handy in your purse, on your phone, on your Kindle. Make it a habit to read an inspiring Jewish book about faith, Jewish history, biographies of great inspiring people, or uplifting quotes or words of Torah. Pull out your book in waiting rooms, at carpool, before bed or at long checkout lines, and anytime you need to sit down and relax for a little bit. When you are stressed or feel you are going "negative," say a positive verse from the prayers or the Torah. Here are some examples: "Serve G‑d with joy," "In lush meadows He lays me down/Beside tranquil waters He leads me," "My G‑d, the soul You placed within me is pure." Find lines you love and write them on Post-its or memorize them. 12. Do something every day just to make you happy. We need to make the time to engage in self-care daily. Do you feel happier when you listen to music, bake, go to a great Torah class every week? Do you feel happier when you eat green vegetables, get your hair or nails done, or take a weekly painting or art class? Make time for creativity by making your own greeting cards, inventing new muffin recipes or painting something beautiful. Every day, do one thing on your happiness list. 13. Breathe, stay cool and remain observational when you feel attacked. If someone is behaving rudely or aggressively, keep unwanted thoughts at bay by taking your inner self and moving her to the role of a cool and impartial observer of that thought. This will help you train yourself to simply notice someone else's aggression without escalating emotions. Then you can access holy, helpful and positive lines or images that you have saved for these stressful moments. Each time you calmly redirect your thinking, you get stronger, more positive, and less negative and anxious. 14. Eschew whiners. Or minimize contact with them. Spend time with positive, upbeat people. When your kids complain, tell them that instead of complaining , we can do something about it with action by redirecting our thoughts and words, or even by staying silent. Show them how you do this. 15. Train yourself to look for positive metaphors in the world. Ask yourself what gift might G‑d might be giving you in each inconvenient or upsetting circumstance. What could He be showing you or teaching you? Rain could be bringing blessing. Winds could be bringing change, comfort, excitement. Use your sense of humor. "G‑d wants the best for me/us." Repeat throughout the day. You can also have handy thoughts that help you feel G‑d is always with you. Maybe you like the feeling that G‑d is giving you a warm blanket and calming you, or standing over you watching your positive reactions. 16. Don't blame or shame but apologize and move on. When things go wrong, never blame or shame yourself or anyone else. Stuff happens. We are all trying our best. Have that ideal as a "family code." When you make a mistake, simply and sincerely apologize, and quickly move on. If someone made a mistake, listen to his or her apology and move on. If the person doesn't apologize, just move on; not everyone is an apologizer. 17. Reinforce positive action of other people in your life. When you see something positive being done, let the person know you noticed, especially children. Watch them shine and do it more often. 18. Doing acts of kindness is the secret of happiness. Think of something you are good at and like to do, and volunteer to do it for someone or for a group. Also, try to carry change or small bills with you, and give charity to whomever asks. You'll get back even more happiness than you give. 19. Share at dinner highlights and stories that happened that day. Jot down notes so you remember a funny thing someone said or something that happened so you can tell your family. And eat together. That's one of the most important gifts you can give your children. 20. Imagine you can. "Open your eyes to see only the good in every person, the positive in every circumstance, and the opportunity in every challenge." — The Rebbe Imagine ... and then try to open your eyes to see only the good! By Yehudit Garmaise See you tomorrow bli neder We need Moshiach now! Love Yehuda Lave Yehuda Lave, Spirtiual Advisor and Counselor Jerusalem, Jerusalem  Israel 972-585043210 YehudaLave@gmail.com You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. Unsubscribe

Today we celebrate Shushan Purim in Jerusalem with a festive meal and gifts to others and Saying YES! to your Weirdness | JP Sears | TEDx and Baron Benjamin de Rothschild dies at 57 after suffering a heart attack and The Maale Akravim Massacre By Saul Jay Singer AND Why The Left Has To Suppress Free Speech By Dennis Prager

View in browser Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com Today we celebrate Shushan Purim in Jerusalem with a festive meal and gifts to others The Three Musketeers at the Kotel Why The Left Has To Suppress Free Speech By Dennis Prager Let us begin with this fact: The left always suppresses speech. Since Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, there has been no example of the left in control and not crushing dissent. That is one of the important differences between liberal and left: Liberalism and liberals believe in free speech. (The present leftist threat to freedom in America – the greatest threat to freedom in American history – is made possible because liberals think they have more to fear from conservatives than from the left. Liberals do not understand that the left regards liberals as their useful idiots.) The left controls universities. There is little or no dissent allowed at universities. The left controls nearly every "news" medium. There is little or no dissent in the mainstream media – not in the "news" sections and not in the opinion sections. The left controls Hollywood. No dissent is allowed in Hollywood. That's why we have "cancel culture" – the silencing and firing of anyone who publicly dissents from the left, and even "publicly" is no longer necessary. The National Association of Realtors has just announced that if you express dissenting views (on race, especially) in private, you may be fined and lose your membership in the organization – which effectively ends your career as a realtor. So, we return to the opening question: Why does the left need to crush all dissent? This is a question made all the more stark because there is no parallel on the right: Conservatives do not shut down dissent or debate. The answer, though the left will not acknowledge it, is the left fears dissent. And it does so for good reason. Leftism is essentially a giant balloon filled with nothing but hot air. Therefore, no matter how big the balloon – the Democratic Party, The New York Times, Yale University – all it takes is a mere pin to burst it. Leftism is venerated by intellectuals. But there is little intellectual substance to leftism. It is a combination of doctrine and emotion. (The proof? Those with intellectual depth do not stifle dissent; they welcome it.) That's why universities are so opposed to conservatives coming to speak on campus. One articulate conservative can undo years of left-wing indoctrination in a one-hour talk or Q & A. I know this from personal experience on campuses. You can, too. Watch the speeches given by any conservatives allowed to speak on a campus – many of these talks are still on YouTube – and you will see large halls filled with students yearning to hear something other than left-wing pablum. Look at their faces, filled with rapt attention to ideas they never heard that are clearly having an impact. Universities are entirely right to fear our coming to speak. We come with the pin that bursts their $50,000-a-year balloon. That's also why it's so hard to get any of them to debate any of us. In 35 years of radio, I have never mistreated or bullied a guest. I was unfailingly polite to an icon of the left, Howard Zinn, the America-hating author of the America-hating "A People's History of the United States." I even invited a UCLA political science professor and violinist, one of seven members of the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra who refused to play when I conducted the orchestra in a Joseph Haydn symphony in the Disney Concert Hall – solely because I'm a conservative. Despite his public letter, in which he accused me of holding "horribly bigoted positions" and wrote, "Please urge your friends to not attend this concert, which helps normalize bigotry in our community," I nevertheless invited him on my national radio show. He agreed to come on. I had him in studio for an entire hour and treated him and his wife (who accompanied him) with great respect, despite my contempt for his false accusations and his advocacy of the cancel culture. Every American should hear that hour. Unfortunately for the emotional and intellectual health of our society, he, Zinn and a few others were anomalies. Of the 100 or so left-wing authors, professors, and columnists invited to appear on my show, almost none has responded in the affirmative. They prefer NPR, where they are never challenged. The opposite, however, is not true: Every conservative intellectual I know says yes to every one of the (very few) left-wing invitations we receive. Of course, we are almost never invited. We regularly invite leftists. Leftists almost never invite us. They claim it's because we are not up to their intellectual level and they have no desire to waste their time. One would think that the opportunity to publicly show how vapid we conservatives really are would be too good to pass up. Leftists do not debate us or appear as guests on our shows and prevent us from speaking whenever possible, because they (correctly) fear conservatives. Race-baiters such as Ibram X. Kendi or Ta-Nehisi Coates or White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo would never debate Larry Elder, for example. Why won't they? Because they would be shown to be the intellectually shallow purveyors of hate they are. Deep down, they know it. Larry Elder is one of many conservative black intellectuals whom left-wing blacks (and whites) refuse to debate. Now you know why the left suppresses free speech: Because it has to. If there is free speech, there is dissent. And if there is dissent, there is no more left. Baron Benjamin de Rothschild dies at 57 after suffering heart attack In April, he and his wife donated NIS 50 million for purchasing medical equipment for 22 hospitals in Israel. Baron Benjamin de Rothschild died on Friday after suffering a heart attack at his home in Switzerland, the Edmond de Rothschild Group reported. He was 57 years-old. He was born on July 30, 1963, to Barons Edmond and Nadine de Rothschild. In 1997, at the age of 34, he took over the family business, and specifically the Edmond de Rothschild Group established by his father in 1953. Ever since then, the late baron expanded the group's philanthropic operations. Considered a world-renowned entrepreneur, de Rothschild was an expert in finance and innovation and always tried to make the most of his abilities and assets. Alongside his daily activities, he made sure to nurture the legacy of the Rothschild family in a continuous effort of utilizing capital for the creation of a better future. The Edmond de Rothschild Group focuses on private banking and managing assets and capital of international clients and institutions. The group has 32 offices around the world and actively manages property estimated at €160 billion, while employing 2,600 people. In Israel, the group owns an investment firm and has made significant donations to higher education institutions and to programs aimed at narrowing educational gaps within the Israeli society. In April, it was reported that the late baron and his wife had donated NIS 50 million for purchasing medical equipment for 22 hospitals across the country in an effort to assist the country in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic. Saying YES! to your Weirdness | JP Sears | TEDx Learn why people tend to reactively treat their weirdness as a dangerous liability. Perspectives will be shared on how weirdness is actually one's greatest asset, serving as a bridge into one's authenticity. How to take action on finding the courage to say YES! to weirdness will be presented so that more meaning and fulfillment can be encountered by reclaiming the asset of weirdness. JP Sears is an emotional healing coach, YouTuber, author, international teacher, speaker at events, world traveler, and curious student of life. His work empowers people to live more meaningful lives. JP is the author of "How To Be Ultra Spiritual," (Sounds True Publishing, released March 7th, 2017). He is very active with his online videos where he encourages healing and growth through his humorous and entertainingly informative videos, including his hit Ultra Spiritual comedy series, which has accumulated over 250 million views. You can learn more about JP and his work at AwakenWithJP.com. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx The Maale Akravim Massacre By Saul Jay Singer Maale Akravim ("Scorpion's Ascent") is a 30-kilometer winding narrow stretch of road about 60 miles south of Beersheba on what is now Route 227, which was then the primary route between Eilat and the Arava and the central Negev. Sadly, it has become principally known for the March 17, 1954 massacre when Arab terrorists ambushed an Israeli passenger bus and murdered 11 passengers. Four passengers miraculously survived, including two who were shot. Although Israel's 1948 War of Independence ostensibly ended with the signing of several armistice agreements between Israel and neighboring Arab states, the Arabs made a mockery of the truce as Arab attacks over the border commenced immediately, most frequently by fedayeen infiltrating from Jordan. Arabs generally infiltrated Israel for criminal, rather than terrorist, purposes, as they sought to harvest crops on "their" lands and to steal equipment and money from the Jews. Even in these early years, however, some Arabs, who had been organized and trained by the Muslim Brotherhood and the former Mufti of Jerusalem, crossed the border to murder Jews and to destroy the Jewish state. The problem escalated significantly in 1954, when Egypt and Syria began to use Palestinian commandos to attack Israeli border settlements, leading to the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of Israeli soldiers and civilians. (The precise count is the subject of ongoing academic dispute.) Although Israel sustained a significant death toll from these attacks, Jordan complained that it had sustained hundreds of casualties from Israeli violations of the 1949 armistice agreements, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission (HJK/IMAC) condemned Israeli military reprisal actions – which were defensive and retaliatory – no fewer than 44 times in the early 1950s. With headquarters in Jerusalem close to the Jordan/Israel Green Line, the HKJ/IMAC was charged with monitoring and supervising the Jordan/Israel truce agreement, including investigating border incidents and taking remedial action to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. <figure> <figcaption>Copy of photograph of Maale Akravim.</figcaption></figure> On the evening of March 16, 1954, an Egged bus carrying 14 passengers departed Eilat, where they had participated in the celebration of the city's fifth birthday, and headed to Tel Aviv. As it was slowly ascending the steep grade of Maale Akravim near a stone monument that had been erected to honor the Jews who fell in 1948 in the battle for the Negev, making it an easy target, it was ambushed by Arab gunmen who shot and killed the driver, Kalman Esroni; the alternate driver (there were almost always two drivers on this trip, which then took about 16 hours), Efraim Furstenberg; and several passengers who attempted to escape the vehicle. Two Arab terrorists boarded the bus, sprayed it with sub-machine gun fire, murdered most the remaining passengers, passed through the bus appropriating the spoils of their attack, and committed cold-blooded atrocities on the corpses. The four survivors were two Israeli soldiers, a woman, and a five-year-old girl, Miri Furstenberg, who survived when one of the soldiers riding the bus was killed while using his body to protect her and her brother, Chaim. (Much later in her life, Miri wrote The Girl from Scorpions Pass, a book about the attack and her miraculous survival.) <figure> <figcaption>Copy of photograph of the Egged bus after the Maale Akravim terrorist attack.</figcaption></figure> After the assassins left the bus, Chaim rose and called to his sister but, when the Arabs heard his voice, they returned and shot him in the head. (He would spend 32 years brain damaged and in a state of paralysis, never regaining consciousness, and he became the 12th fatality of the attack when he died in 1986.) When a passing army patrol happened upon the site, it found a scene of utter slaughter and devastation. The Israeli Cabinet met in emergency session and Ben-Gurion came out of retirement to confer with Sharett and Israeli army chiefs. John Bagot Glubb, British commander of Jordan's Arab Legion, offered two Bedouins to assist Israel in searching for the terrorists and, at dawn on the day after the attack, Israeli trackers, accompanied by UN observers and several bloodhounds, found a black knitted cap behind the Maale Akravim Memorial, but the terrorists' tracks were lost about six miles west of the Jordanian border. The perpetrators of the massacre were never apprehended. Israel's birth in the ashes of the Holocaust was still uppermost in the minds of most Israelis and, although the phrase "never again" had not yet been coined, that idea was central to the Israeli ethos. The Israeli public demanded revenge, and the response from the media may perhaps best be typified by Haboker, the Hebrew language daily founded by the General Zionist in October 1935, which wrote that "the massacre was an act of war which can only be met by an act of war on our part." However, Prime Minister Moshe Sharett, criticized as a "dove" on terrorism issues and already under political attack for his inability to protect Israel against increasing Arab terrorist strikes, faced a monumental dilemma. On one hand, the Israeli public demanded immediate action and Israel's security forces argued that a failure to respond in kind would telegraph weakness, only inviting further attacks. On the other hand, Israel faced an enormous problem with international opinion were Sharett to order a substantive reprisal. Less than six months prior to the Maale Akravim attack, Israel's Unit 101, commanded by Ariel Sharon, had launched a retaliatory attack against the village of Qibya (Kibya), which resulted in 53 casualties (and, it must be mentioned, a significant curbing of Arab attacks from Jordan). Notwithstanding Arab terrorist attacks against the Jewish state and the fact that Israel's act was a reprisal for the Arab murder of its citizens, Israel had earned worldwide condemnation for Qibya – some things never change – and Sharett feared the enmity would be exacerbated by further Israeli raids. Adding to the problem was the fact that the Arab murderers had sought refuge from, and were being protected by, a sympathetic regime in Jordan that, some argued, was too weak to take action to prevent terrorist attacks against Israel from its borders. In fact, Jordan had offered to assist Israel in its investigation – although many Israeli leaders and much of the public believed was a sham – and a war against Jordan at this point was unthinkable. Some pointedly argued what has become a continuing mantra amongst Jewish liberals and other naïve critics: that reciprocal aggression would only lead to a "cycle of violence" and to Jordan and other Arab countries escalating the raids and causing more deaths of Israeli citizens. Thus, notwithstanding a broad public outcry and demand for massive military retaliation against Jordan, Prime Minister Moshe Sharett, concerned about Israel's image in the West, called for restraint and diplomatic measures. As it ultimately turned out – and, in retrospect, this was entirely predictable – Israel's restraint did nothing to prevent further Arab attacks, further murders of Israelis, and further world condemnation of the Jewish victims. The Israeli government believed that the trail to Jordan constituted all the evidence that was necessary to prove that the attack had been launched from Jordan and, relying on intelligence from several informants, its intelligence sources named three Jordanians from the village of Safi as the perpetrators. Two weeks after the failure of Israel's search, Sharett announced that he would bring the matter to the UN. Israeli officials summoned the UN's truce-supervision chief, Major General Vagn Bennike, and demanded that the HJK/IMAC denounce Jordan for the atrocity. Jordan's representative to the Commission, however, argued that the murders were carried out by the Black Hand, a Bedouin gang operating within Israel's borders, and U.S. Navy Commander Elmo Hutchison, the HJK/IMAC Chairman, determined that there was no conclusive proof that Jordan was responsible for the attack. Adding insult to injury and infuriating Israel, Major Bennike expressed doubt that the perpetrators of the massacre were Arab, even going so far as to suggest that the attackers were members of a Jewish terrorist group. In a rousing speech to the Knesset, Sharett condemned the "moral bankruptcy" of the UN Armistice monitors and, in his official statement on the massacre, blamed the HJK/IMAC for shirking its responsibilities. Despite the public's demand for a military response, however, he continued to pursue a solution through diplomatic channels. Not all Israeli leaders were pleased with his approach. Not surprisingly, Menachem Begin condemned the UN's double standard with respect to Israel; argued that no Israeli citizen is safe from attack until Arab guerilla warfare is effectively neutralized; urged Israel to take every necessary step to stop the spilling of Jewish blood; and argued that real peace does not mean a peace treaty but, rather, protecting Jews in their Jewish homeland. In a fighting speech in Tel Aviv attended by a massive audience, he vehemently attacked Sharett's claim that "the government cannot undertake to ensure that no Jews will be killed in Israel." Another vociferous opponent of Sharett's "diplomatic approach" to the massacre was Golda Meir (then "Meirson;" she changed her name to Meir in 1956), Minister of Labor in the Sharett government, who was highly critical of the prime minister's inability to protect Israel. In this rare and historic April 9, 1954 letter to Sharett, Golda writes on her Minister of Labor letterhead: <figure> <figcaption>Golda's letter to Sharett.</figcaption></figure> Right after the horrible action held by the gang of murderers – the "fedayeen" at Maale Akravim and due to the general mood of the public, I am thinking aloud, whether the government, and I mean the whole government, is capable of confronting the current situation generally – and the world-organized plots against us particularly – that is without the power of vision of the man from Sde Boker. And if this isn't the appropriate time to appeal to Ben-Gurion to return to the government… Sharett appears to have shrugged off her correspondence. He apparently forwarded her letter to someone – most likely Ben-Gurion – and written in the lower right corner are the words: "There is a certain amount of hysteria in Golda's repeated appeals. M. Sh." During his service as Israel's first prime minister, Ben-Gurion assisted in creating the Israeli army and often took an activist approach toward Arab terrorism, using military force to thwart Arab violence; as he explained to General Ariel Sharon, "Unless we show the Arabs that there is a high price to pay for murdering Jews, we won't survive." After announcing his intention to leave public life, Ben-Gurion retired to the newly founded Negev Kibbutz Sde Boker in early 1954. However, he never completely abdicated his leadership role and, in 1955, he returned to public life, first as minister of defense and then again as prime minister after his reelection in November 1955. In response to HJK/IMAC inaction and bias on the Maale Akravim Massacre, Israel announced its withdrawal from the commission on March 23, 1954. The UN, of course, condemned Israel's withdrawal, which it characterized as an attempt by Israel to disparage the commission's work and to interfere with the UN's peace efforts. A few days later on March 29, Israel finally retaliated when its military forces raided the Jordanian town of Nahalin, killing nine. After its conspicuous silence on the Maale Akravim attack, HJK/IMAC strongly condemned Israel's attack. Moreover, in response to an anti-Israel resolution introduced by Lebanon, the UN Security Council – after having totally ignored the Maale Akravim attack – condemned Israel and ordered it to pay compensation to the victims and families of its assault on Qibya. After the Maale Akravim Massacre, the Eisenhower administration leaped into action – by warning Israel against taking any reprisal actions against the Arabs. In marked contrast, after Israel's Quiba attack, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Henry Byroade condemned Israel and, amazingly, admonished it to "drop the attitude of conqueror." The UN's double standard and its two-faced response to Arab terrorism marked the beginning of Israel's distrust of the international organization. Moreover, convinced that the UN Observer Corps was the principal source of adverse publicity, which was intentionally designed to mislead international opinion, Israel limited the ability of the UN observers to have unfettered access to all areas within Eretz Yisrael so as to limit the ability of the corps to spread anti-Israel propaganda. Yet again, the UN condemned Israel. Israel was also learning to distrust mass media and to understand that it needed to respond vociferously to its incredibly biased reporting. Abba Eban, then Israel's ambassador to the U.S., wrote a powerful protest letter to Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, taking the paper to task for publishing and disseminating the defamatory misrepresentations by the paper's Jordan correspondent, even going so far as to threaten to sue the paper for libel. In response, not only did the Times not withdraw it libel, it continued to perpetuate it. At the end of the day, the great legacy of the Maale Akravim Massacre is not merely yet another murderous Arab slaughter of innocent Jewish civilians in the long history of such atrocities but, rather, as the event that cemented Israel's understanding that it would have to act in its own interests in the face of unremitting and unapologetic anti-Israel propaganda by the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and the mass media. See you tomorrow bli neder We need Moshiach now! Today we celebrate Shushan Purim in Jerusalem with a festive meal and gifts to others Love Yehuda Lave Yehuda Lave, Spirtiual Advisor and Counselor Jerusalem, Jerusalem  Israel 972-585043210 YehudaLave@gmail.com You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. Unsubscribe