Everybody wants spirituality. To be a good person means to walk in G-d's ways. How does that translate to reality? The only guidebook to spirituality that has stood the test of time is the Hebrew Bible. The Bible says that the Jews will be a light onto the nations. But if you are not a born Jew, you have to convert, which is not so easy!! If you do convert, it is a lot of work to be a Jew (three times a day prayer, keeping kosher, observing the Sabbath).
This blog will show you how to be Jewish without the work!!
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Breaking news: Israel Business Association: Covid-19 Lockdown Spells Death Sentence and On behalf of the Rabbis who long for the return to the holy Temple by Rabbi Israel Ariel, and Shalom Pollock trip to Mount of Olives on Sept 23 between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and Oprah Winfrey-RACIST? By Jeff Dunetz and Hold That Lion - All 3 Howard Brothers-the Three Stooges and Temple Mount is closed on Rosh Hashana because its Saturday and a trip to Jaffa Flea Market, Shuk Hapishpishim
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. Now also a Blogger on the Times of Israel. Look for my column
Love Yehuda Lave
Sept 23, Wednesday Departure: 8:30 am from the Inbal hotel Return: before 5:00 pm Cost 200 shekels.
Our first stop will be the very best overview of Jerusalem and the Har Habayit from the Mount of Olives With the sun to our backs this is a sight to behold.
We will next take the short walk to the ancient tombs of the last prophets, Zechariah, Malachi, and Haggai. They are buried in a vast catacomb chiseled near the top of the mountain. Bring flashlights or your app.
We are invited to visit with Zippora Piltz who lives with her family on the slopes of Mt of Olives as guardians of the holy area.She and her family are pioneers guarding and expanding the Jewish presence in this threatened area of Jewish heritage.
We then visit the renewed Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood and meet with determined pioneers there who are returning Jewish life to a famous Jewish neighborhood that was conquered by Jordan in 1948. Arabs have since occupied the Jewish homes. Very special, brave Jews are returning and reclaiming our history. We will meet some of the history-making pioneers.
We will pay our respects at the nearby memorial of the seventy-nine Jews treacherously massacred in the last convoy that attempted to reach Hadassah hospital on Mt Scopus in April 1948.
Just down the road from the massacre, we will see the soon to be completed construction of a new Jewish community of 150 families being built on land that belonged to the infamous Haj Amin Husseini, an ally of Hitler and leader Arabs pogroms in Eretz Yisroel
We will have lunch alongside the beautiful lake overlooking the Shamir park in Maale Adumim. You may enjoy a picnic lunch or have a quick bite in "Cafit '' the kosher dairy care on the site.
We shall drive to the area "E- 1" . This is the land that has long been zoned for the expansion of Maale Adumim. However, despite an impressive cornerstone laying ceremony, it has not been built due to political pressure. We shall drive to the top and understand the geography, topography, and politics of the area.
We will complete our day with a visit to "Tel El Ful" or the historic Givat Shaul where King Saul is believed to have his palace just north of Yerushalayim in the Shafat neighborhood.(Just across the road from Pisgat Ze'ev) King Hussein of Jordan was in the midst of building his palace on that same site that commands an unparalleled 360-degree view of Yerushalayim and beyond.The miracle of the Six Days War spoiled his plans. We will enjoy the view that he thought would be only his and thank Hashem for His miracles.
From this unparalleled vantage point, we will be able to better understand the connection between history, geography, demography, and politics for the future of Yerushalayim.
Breaking news: Israel Business Association: Covid-19 Lockdown Spells Death Sentence
The head of Israel's small business federation said Thursday that if the government imposes a national lockdown to stop the rocketing second wave of coronavirus infections, it would be a death sentence to businesses.
The small business owners and independent operators threatened to keep their businesses open unless the government first comes up with a compensation package to prevent more businesses from going bankrupt.
"We are approaching anarchy. In the first wave we could barely hold our heads above water, in the second wave we drowned," said Roee Cohen, president of the Israel Federation of Small Business Organizations.
"Another closure is a death sentence for businesses," Cohen said, adding that the government has "long lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the public."
Government officials have warned that a national lockdown is needed in order to control the second wave of infections, which last week drove the country into the top spot with the world's highest per capita infection rate.
Cohen's organization says a general closure of the economy during the High Holy Day season, which starts September 18, would deliver a fatal blow to some 220,000 self-employed people who are still recovering from the closure restrictions of the first wave of infections last spring.
The Three Musketeers at the Kotel
Jaffa Flea Market, Shuk Hapishpishim
Jaffa is the ancient port city from which Tel Aviv has blossomed – a harmonious blend of the past and present. Visiting the Jaffa Flea Market, Shuk Hapishpishim, is a must when in Israel. As you weave your way through the winding streets, you'll find an abundance of knickknacks and treasures. Vendors display their eclectic offerings of Judaica, Persian rugs and tiles, antiques, jewelry, and old coins. Embrace your inner-Israeli as you practice your bargaining skills, then carry your keepsakes to the nearest cafe to reward yourself with some local delicacies. The flea market itself is open Sunday through Thursday (10 am – 6 pm) and Friday (10 am – 2 pm). But the area is bustling 24/7 with some of the best bars and restaurants in the city.
Shop
Pieces
The Jaffa Flea Market is bursting with unique treasures, but Pieces takes things to a whole other level. Design lovers will be particularly intrigued by the aesthetic delights on offer – from ornate rugs, intricate jewelry, and pottery to pillows embroidered with the works of Modigliani and Hokusai.
Beit Eshel 7
Love Me Two Times
Possibly the best second-hand shop in all of Tel Aviv, Love Me Two Times is the place to go if you love luxury for a bargain. This chic establishment has carefully-curated racks of haute-couture clothing, shoes, and accessories just waiting for you to fall in love with.
Pinkhas Ben Ya'ir St 8
Nirit Levav Packer Gallery
Don't miss a visit to this exquisite gallery when in Jaffa! Nirit Levav Packer is a versatile eco-artist, who uses recycled materials to create inspiring masterpieces. Packer brings new life to materials that would otherwise be discarded, transforming bicycle chains and motorcycle gears into delicate works of art – centered around the themes of femininity and maternity.
The Temple Mount was closed to Jewish visitors on Thursday, which marks the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul and Hijri, the Islamic New Year, according to Temple Mount News. Jews will also be banned from visiting the Temple Mount on the eve and first day of Rosh Hashana
(the Jewish New Year and Day of Judgement), the first day of the holiday of Sukkot and on the holiday of Shmini Atzeret due to their occurrence on Friday and Shabbat. Jewish visitors are banned from visiting the site on Friday and Saturday throughout the entire year.
Many Jews are expected to visit the Temple
Mount complex on Wednesday to mark the eve of the first day of Elul.
Elul is seen as a time to prepare for Rosh Hashana, the Day of Judgment, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Temple Mount activists have asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Public Security Minister Amir Ohana to allow Jewish entry to the site on Saturdays at least. Jews were allowed to enter the site on Saturdays up until 20 years ago.
Hold That Lion - All 3 Howard Brothers-the Three Stooges
All three Howard brothers on screen for the only time!
In 1932, Jerome Howard (soon to be universally known as "Curly") joined The Three Stooges comedy team. He was replacing his older brother, Shemp, as the third Stooge, joining his older brother Moe and frizzly haired Larry Fine.
In 1934, the team signed with Columbia Pictures and began churning out the series of comedy slapstick shorts that brought hilarity to the world. Within a year, Curly had established himself as the comedy star of the act. His "woo-woo"s and "n'yuk nyuk"s, as well as his incredible gift for physical, inventive, surreal comedy, made Curly Howard everyone's favorite Stooge.
From 1934 to 1944, Curly Howard and the other Stooges made 80-odd of the funniest shorts in the history of movie comedy, but by 1945 something was obviously wrong with the brilliant Curly.
Although he was always a bad study, he was having a harder time than usual learning and remember his lines, his once graceful and quick movements now seemed slower and more lethargic, and his voice had lost its high-pitched vitality, now sounding deeper and more like a strained croak.
In early 1945, Moe Howard made an appointment for his kid brother at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. The test results proved shocking: Curly was suffering from high blood pressure, hypertension, a retinal hemorrhage, and obesity.
Then came the failed marriage. Curly loved the good life—drinking, hanging out at clubs, seeing and dating as many beautiful women as possible. Moe, attempting to help his beloved brother settle down, tried to fix Curly up with a glamorous beauty named Marion Buxbaum. Always a sucker for a pretty face, Curly married Marion after only two weeks. Curly was soon to discover that Marion was not a very nice person and was only after his money. The marriage proved a disaster, and the unhappy couple divorced after only three months together. In the terrible divorce proceedings, Marion said of Curly: "He used filthy, vile language, kept two vicious dogs, he shouted at waiters in cafes, struck and kicked me, put out cigars in the sink." These specious accusations were disputed by all who knew Curly as a jovial, good-natured, good-hearted fellow. Curly, always a free spender, had spent a fortune buying gifts for Marion, and the divorce really shook him up. He had his first stroke soon thereafter, in early 1946.
The aftermath following that stroke was that Curly's great vigor and boyish vitality, his comedy trademarks, sank lower and lower. Instead of enabling Curly to rest after his stroke, as Moe requested, studio head Harry Cohn kept Curly churning out new Three Stooges shorts. Sadly, these final Curly shorts show him looking very old and worn, his previously starring roles greatly reduced, and, indeed, they put a bit of a black mark on his body of otherwise amazing comedy performances. Curly's appearance grew worse until finally, while filming his 97th Three Stooges short, "Half Wit's Holiday," on May 6, 1946, the straw finally broke the camel's back. Curly was supposed to participate in the film's final, climactic pie fight, but Moe spotted Curly sitting in his chair on the set. "Come on, Babe," he said. ("Babe" was Curly's nickname among his close friends.) Moe found Curly slumped over in his chair with tears running down his face; Curly had suffered another stroke. He was taken to recover to the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital, his career as a Stooge now effectively over. He was replaced in the act by older brother Shemp.
Curly finally got a happy break in 1947, when he met an attractive brunette named Valerie Newman. The two fell in love and married on July 31, 1947. Valerie was to bear Curly a daughter, Janie, the following year. She truly loved Curly and stuck by his side, through his constant downhill ride over the next few years, feeding and even bathing him as his health continued its slow deterioration in the late 1940s.
After his second stroke, Curly was confined to a wheelchair, but soon recovered enough to move around. During the days of Curly's slightly improved health, he made a cameo appearance in a Three Stooges short (with his replacement, Shemp) called "Hold That Lion!" Moe, knowing Curly was frail, made sure the set was cleared of all but the absolutely necessary actors and technicians, in order to take any pressure off his brother. Curly, a brilliant comedian to the end, acquits himself quite well in his brief appearance, coming across as very funny, even doing his trademark "woo-woo-woo" sound effects. This brief cameo was to be the only recorded instance of the three Howard brothers—Moe, Curly, and Shemp—appearing together on film
During a recent episode of Oprah's online show, The Oprah Conversation, she brought on several guests to discuss "racism," "white privilege," and "whiteness." One of her guests was Emmanuel Acho, a former NFL linebacker who has made millions playing a sport. Acho started a YouTube series called Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man where he talks about race relations. In the first two minutes of one show on Interracial Relationships, Acho seems to take the position that his audience is racist or at least "uncomfortable" with interracial couples. Having been part of one myself for more than 25 years with zero flak, that was all I needed to see to know that the series is filled with bullcrap.
In a moment that is a clear self-awareness fail, the Billionaire who was an influencer before influencers were a thing, said that America has a "caste system" based on race and that white people are at the top.
"There are white people who are not as powerful as the system of white people—the caste system that's been put in place—but they still, no matter where they are on the rung, or the ladder of success, they still have their whiteness."
I might still have my whiteness, but Oprah still has that $2.6 billion–she is much higher up on the totem pole than any of us normal people no matter what their skin color may be.
Acho agreed. "As a black person, white people—the proverbial phrase of white people–they run America, CEOs, Fortune 500 companies, execs, ownership. They run America. Not an individual white person, but collective white people," he said.
He also said that he tells his white friends, "Y'all live in a white cul-de-sac, in a white neighborhood, in a white city, in a white state. If you were not careful, your children will live their whole life white, and at [the ages of] 26, 27, they'll end up being a part of the problem, because you just let them and allowed them to live a completely white, sheltered, and culture-less life."
OH THAT'S WHY…I live a completely white, sheltered, and culture-less life. Especially on the Jewish holidays.
But, wait–white people have no culture?
When did that happen? The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture disagrees. They've deemed hard work, objectivity, and the nuclear family part of "white culture."
And seriously, is this a thing in America–in the suburbs? Really? I guess it's possible. I live in an extremely diverse, moderate sized-city, so my own experience is very different.
Acho also said, "I firmly believe that if the white person is your problem, only the white person can be your solution."
Now that is a take right there. So…white people are the problem and you need a white savior to fix the problem for you? That's not what Acho means, but clearly it can be taken that way. What he means is that white people need to deal with their own tendency toward bigotry. Take, for example, Winfrey spoke to a Jewish man named Seth, a self-described Liberal who grew up in Manhattan in the 1970s, who became "woke" and realized that he was actually racist–as a matter of fact, he says that it wasn't possible for him to not be racist.
"You've become 'woke' during this period, and realized in that awakening that you are racist, right?" Oprah asked. "I just want to know how that happened."
"I realized that I couldn't be not racist," continued Seth. "I realized that I either was a racist or an anti-racist, and I wasn't — I'm not — an anti-racist."
No Seth, speaking as a Jew to another Jew, you aren't racist, as we say in the mamaloshen (Yiddish) you are a meshuggeneh (crazy person)
It is quite something to watch a millionaire and a billionaire–both of whom happen to be black–do the "blame whitey" thing.
On Tuesday, Oprah promoted the book Caste for her Book Club. It's about racism and the "unspoken caste system that has shaped America." She says that it's full of "a-ha! moments." Sure, Oprah. Sure–more like UH-Uh moments.
Can we all just stop with the racism now? Like…all of us?
Oh, right, I forgot that the leftliterally redefined racism so that it's ok to be overtly bigoted against white people since they are in "positions of power" which proves that there is "systemic racism" in America.
It's one thing for random leftists on Twitter to say that America is systemically racist and is designed to keep African Americans under the power of white elites, it's quite another to have the New York Times win a Pulitzer Prize for a work of fiction disguised as history that even the author says isn't about history but about narrative.
If I did that, I'd be labeled "fake news" and have my little corner of the internet taken away. But she's a New York Times journalist, so it's fine. I'll keep my tiny corner of the internet and my integrity, thanks. Oh, and I'm not a flaming, overt racist so I can look myself in the mirror with a clean conscience, so…there's that.
Frankly, I'm more with Charles Barkley than with Oprah, Acho, and Hannah-Jones on this one.
Rabbi Israel Ariel, head of the Temple Institute and Yeshivat HaMikdash (the Temple Yeshiva), in an open letter to the 136 rabbis who, two days before Tisha b'Av, signed and published a letter calling upon Jews NOT to ascend the Temple Mount, penned this reply:
"In honor of our teachers and rabbis, the great rabbis of the Torah, who signed a 'notice and warning' to all who ascend the Temple Mount.
Peace and blessings to everyone!
We all read on Shabbat the opening words of the haftarah Nachamu: "Console, console My people,' says your G-d." The prophet Isaiah calls out and says: "Lift up your voice with the tidings of Jerusalem!" Yet, there are those today who pretend to be deaf and refuse to hear the gospel of redemption. Therefore, we speak these tidings to the people loudly and 'by force:' "Do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: Behold your G-d!" (Isaiah 40:9) Let us, therefore, express our words fearlessly, even if there are those who would prefer to close their ears.
We read carefully the statement endorsed by one hundred and thirty six rabbis on the eve of Tisha B'Av, in which they (re-)"proclaimed", a "ban" on ascending the Temple Mount. We can not help but express our pain at the fact that there are rabbis in Israel who call on the people of Israel not to go up to the Temple Mount, when there is, in fact, an explicit Torah commandment that states: "But only to the place which HaShem your G-d shall choose from all your tribes, to set His Name there; you shall inquire after His dwelling and come there!" (Deut. 12:5) When such things things are published so close to the 9th of Av, the day of the destruction of G-d's house, they are twice as painful, for, as the sages said (Yerushalmi Yoma 1:1), "Every generation in which the Holy Temple is not rebuilt - is like the generation in which it was destroyed!"
Therefore, I add below a number of comments and reflections concerning the statement published by the Honorable Rabbis.
A - Ten commandments are fulfilled by Jews on the Temple Mount. Yet, the honorable rabbis are protesting against Jews who keep these commandments declared by Torah to be kept on the Temple Mount in every generation.
The following is a list of the ten commandments performed by any Jew in our generation who ascends the Temple Mount:
1: The commandment to "possess and settle" the land. (Deut. 17:14) 2: "you shall inquire after His dwelling and come there." (Deut. 12:5) 3: "neither shall you make a covenant with them, nor be gracious to them." (Deut. 7:2) 4: "They shall not dwell in your land." (Ex. 23:33) 5: Preservation of the Temple. 6: The commandment to sanctify G-d's name, versus the desecration of G-d's name that takes place on the Temple Mount on a daily basis. 7: "and destroy their name from that place." (Deut. 12:3) 8: The positive commandm,ent of Mora Mikdash - giving honor to G-d in the place of the Holy Temple. 9: Prayer in the Holy Temple - 'Worship G-d His Temple'. 10: The commandments of prostration (hishtachavia) on the Temple Mount.
B More than two hundred Torah commandments are contingent on the Holy Temple:
Jews who ascend the Temple Mount in purity, (in accordance with halacha - Jewish law), do so with a clear purpose, to renew the Divine service to its rightful place as in the days of the First and Second Holy Temples, and thus be able observe the more than two hundred commandments that are performed in the Holy Temple. Thus, according to Maimonides (Sefer HaMitzvot, Mitzvah 20; Beit HaBechira A, A): "It is a commandment to make a house for G-d, enabling offerings to be performed in it, as it is said: 'And they shall build for Me a sanctuary.'" (Ex. 25:8) In light of this we recall the words of Moshe to the tribe of Reuven, and we also address this same question to rabbis of our generation: "Why do you discourage the children of Israel from crossing over to the land which HaShem has given them" (Numbers 32:7) - to the place which HaShem will choose? This is where the people of Israel are longing to return to today - to the Divine service performed to the courtyards of the Holy Temple by the kohanim (Temple priests).
C "Nothing can be hidden from the eyes of the public:" The right to express an opinion concerning halacha is reserved only for those who can bring evidence for his opinion from the Torah. It is a wonder that in the statement published and signed by one hundred and thirty six rabbis, not a single source was mentioned, neither from the written Torah nor from the oral Torah, nor can a single source be cited! What's more, it would certainly befit the contemporary rabbis to call upon the public to observe the Torah commandments in the Holy Temple, and yet, you have delivered a 'message' that calls upon cancelling (G-d forbid) the more than two hundred commandments that are observed in the Holy Temple, while presenting absolutely no evidence to support your claim!
Therefore, will all proper respect due to the esteemed signatories to the proclamation, we reply with words that every wise student in Israel already knows: that concerning a situation such as this the Torah states: "And if the entire community of Israel errs because a matter was hidden from the eyes of the congregation..." (Lev. 4:13)That is, when something is hidden from the sages of the Sanhedrin, and they make a mistaken ruling then you must bring an offering of atonement. (See Maimonides Book of Mitzvot, Shegagot 13:1.) It is no wonder, then, that in the absence of the Sanhedrin, halachah has be 'hidden' from the greats of our generation.
We have no doubt, that had the signatories sat in council with the rabbis who ascend the Temple Mount, they surely they would not have arrived at so mistaken a conclusion. Therefore, with all proper humility and with respect for your honor, it must be said emphatically: We are behooven to give honor to the Place of the Holy Temple. In the words of our sages of blessed memory, "When there is a difference of opinion between a rabbi and his student, it is the voice of the rabbi that must be heeded!" SO why do we reject your words? Our sages said: "You and your father owe me honor," (Yebamot 5) and we will not nullify the word of G-d for your honor!
D - Proficiency in matters of sacred things: Our sages said: "Anyone who is not proficient in the matters of Gittin and Kiddushin (the laws of divorce and marriage) should not be involved in these halachic issues." (Kiddushin 6,a) and so it can also be stated concerning matters of the Holy Temple and its sanctity. We have had the honor to know personally many of the 136 rabbis whose signatures are attached to the proclamation and to discuss issues of Jewish law with them, as well as the rabbis who signed similar such statements as early as Elul, 5727, (August 1967, following the conclusion of the Six Day War. They were all wise and knowledgeable in various disciplines of the Torah. However, several of them have confessed to us wholeheartedly that they were not proficient in this area of sacred matters, nor were they proficient in Maimonides' books of Avodah and Korbanot. Today they are not among the living, and to preserve their honor, we will not mention their names.
We are also personally familiar with many of the signatories in the present proclamation, and not all of them are proficient in the laws concerning the Holy Temple and the Divine service. It is not clear to us, then, from where these G-d fearing sages claim the authority to nullify the commandments of G-d in the Torah without having exhaustively studied and clarified these commandments. Nor is it clear to us why a wise student of Torah would think he should be obeyed when he is not versed in the halachah he is discussing.
"Nothing has changed": The rabbinical "declaration' states, among other things, that "nothing has changed". After all, liberating the Temple Mount, the place of the Holy Temple, after two thousand years of exile, has changed "nothing"! True, the prohibition to ascend the Temple Mount in impurity exists, but the commandment to build the Holy Temple and enter into its courtyards in purity is never null and void. These are the words of Maimonides in the Basic Laws of the Torah 9:1: "It is a clear and explicit thing in Torah that a commandment is forever, and that will never change!"
We are therefore puzzled by the rabbis in Israel who have published this proclamation. Instead of calling on the public to build the Holy Temple, these particular rabbis are calling upon the people of Israel to stay away from the Holy Temple, and are trying to prevent the people from keeping the more than two hundred commandments that are observed in the Holy Temple. You have no greater Torah "change" than this! True are the words of the prophet Haggai (1:8): "Ascend the mountain, bring wood, and build the house - and I will accept it, and I will be honored, said HaShem." This is how the second Temple was built and this is how the third Temple will be built, soon, in our days, amen!
Great rabbis and kind brothers! We are all called upon to return to the Holy Temple. We will continue to proudly wave the flag of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple that was hoisted by the late Rabbi Kook, of blessed memory. "The G-d of heaven - He will make us succeed, and we, His servants, will get up and build, but you have no share, charity, or remembrance in Jerusalem." (Nechemiah 2:20)
With blessings and prayer! May the Holy Temple be built, soon in our day! Rabbi Israel Ariel On behalf of rabbis in Israel who long for the Holy Temple!"
(Translated from Hebrew)
Photo: Rabbi Yisrael Ariel See Less
See you tomorrow
We need Moshiach now
Love Yehuda Lave
Yehuda Lave, Spirtiual Advisor and Counselor
Jerusalem, Jerusalem Israel
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