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!!
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Abbas Openly Calls on Palestinians to Murder Israelis By Maurice Hirsch and Unique Sites of Israel: Biblical Beth Hakerem (Kibbutz Ramat Rachel) By Nosson Shulman and parenting Jokes and IRS Soon to Demand Facial Recognition For Access to certain Tax Records and Statue of liberty is not the tallest statue in the world it is the 50th tallest and Wednesday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Is Coming to the KnessetBy David Israel
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.
Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) speaks
After Israel killed three terrorists who had already carried out a number of terror attacks and were planning another imminent attack, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called on Palestinians to "dish out to them twice as much as we've received."
When calling to "dish out to them twice as much as we've received," Abbas is literally calling for the murder of at least 6 Israelis! Openly calling for the murder of Israelis in response to Israel neutralizing three terrorists, is something Abbas reserves for his Arabic speaking audience.
In a speech broadcast during a memorial event for the three terrorists, Abbas rewrote history, whitewashing the terrorists and their actions, claiming that the call for revenge was justified because "We are the ones who were attacked. We didn't attack anyone":
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas via phone: "This is an act of premeditated murder that the oppressive Zionist occupier committed against our sons, our young people, and our people. These events will not pass by in silence under any circumstances, and we won't let them repeat themselves, because these are crimes that we can't be silent about under any circumstances. We've been very patient. We've been patient for 73 years (i.e., since Israel's establishment.) We won't continue to wait patiently any longer. We must dish out to them twice as much as we've received, because we are the ones who were attacked. We didn't attack anyone, and we don't call on people to carry out acts of murder and the like. They (i.e., Israelis) are the ones who do that."
The three neutralized terrorists, Adham Mabrouka Al-Shishani, Muhammad Al-Dakhil, and Ashraf Mubaslat, were all members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the internationally designated terror wing of Fatah, headed by Abbas.
Official Fatah Spokesman Hussein Hamayel reiterated that the killing of the terrorists would "not pass in silence" and called to carry out popular resistance – a term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror:
"I tell you, for us in the Fatah Movement this issue will not pass in silence, and I am exhorting and we are exhorting today [Feb. 8, 2022] on behalf of the entire Palestinian people on the need to carry out popular resistance against this occupation, because we are left with no other options but to defend ourselves from this crime…"
[Official PA TV, Feb. 8, 2022]
Extolling the terrorists, Hamayel added that the terrorist "heroes" will "be a curse" for Israel:
"These young people who ascended to Heaven today will be a curse for this occupation… These three heroes are lofty in their graves, their pastures, their homes. Their souls are lofty. They will accompany us in liberating the land and the Muslims from this occupation…"
[Official PA TV, Feb. 8, 2022]
Turning the terrorists into innocent victims, and turning Israel into the aggressor, simply for neutralizing terrorists, Hamayel added a warning for the US administration:
"The American administration or the American Secretary of State spokesperson shouldn't come to us and say: 'We hope for restraint.' Why this crime, this racism, and this filth, when you compare the victim to the criminal, to the gang leader, to the executioner?"
[Official PA TV, Feb. 8, 2022]
When Abbas and Hamayel whitewash the terrorists and call for revenge and terror, they seem to conveniently forget that the terrorists had already carried out a number of terror attacks and that it was Fatah, who, just a day earlier, had encouraged violence against Israelis, or as they refer to them "the settler herds":
" A call for open confrontation with the settler herds
The Fatah Movement's Nablus branch and the [PA-controlled] Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall invite you to stand against the settler herds' attempts and calls to invade the towns and central junctions
On Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. At the points of friction with the Zionist enemy and its settler herds, in all areas
This land is ours; we will defend it with our blood"
[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement – Nablus Branch, Feb. 7, 2022]
Trying to argue that Israeli soldiers are legitimate targets for Palestinian terrorists and that the fact that the three terrorists fired at Israeli soldiers didn't warrant their neutralization, Palestinian Democratic Union representative in the PLO faction coordination committee Ali Shaku added:
"I think that [the terrorists] were not among the guys who are dangerous to the occupation forces, just because maybe they shot a bullet at an Israeli [military] post, but that doesn't necessitate killing them in this way, in this way that is of course denounced by all levels of our people."
[Official PA TV, Feb. 8, 2022]
Adham Mabrouka Al-Shishani, Muhammad Al-Dakhil, and Ashraf Mubaslat – Palestinian terrorists and members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (Fatah's military wing) who were shot and killed by Israeli security forces in Nablus on Feb. 8, 2022. When killed the terrorists were armed with two M-16 semi-automatic assault rifles and intelligence indicated that they were planning an imminent terror attack. The terrorists had already committed six shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers in previous weeks, among them:Jan. 25, 2022 – shooting on an Israeli military post near Nablus.Jan. 27, 2022 – shooting on a military post between the Israeli towns of Elon Moreh and Itamar east of Nablus.Jan. 29, 2022 – shooting on an Israeli military vehicle as it drove next to the PA village of Tell southwest of Nablus.Feb. 2, 2022 – shooting on a military post at an entrance to Nablus.PMW was unable to determine the details of the remaining two attacks, which reportedly targeted Israeli towns.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds the dog tags of kidnapped Israeli soldiers during her previous visit to the Knesset, April 1, 2007.
On Wednesday, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, will visit the Knesset at the head of a delegation of Members of Congress. We received her itinerary from the government press office:
9:00 AM – Official welcome ceremony in the Knesset Courtyard.
9:15 – Chagall Hall, Speaker Pelosi will sign the Knesset Guest Book, with press statements by Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy (in Hebrew) and Ms. Pelosi (in English).
9:30 – Jerusalem Hall, a meeting of the two speakers, attended by MKs Congress Members.
During the Knesset plenary session, Speaker Levy will formally welcome Speaker Pelosi, who will be seated in the VIP gallery).
Back in 2007, Speaker Pelosi visited the Knesset for the first time, but caused a brouhaha about 100 miles to the north, when she met with Bashar al-Assad and told him then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked her to deliver a message that he was prepared to talk peace. Olmert's office followed up with a major denial. The Bush White House, which was trying to isolate Assad in 2007, was also upset with Pelosi's visit to Damascus that earned the Syrian dictator much-needed prestige.
In January 2021, a week after the attack on Capitol Hill, Pelosi read a few lines from the poem "I Don't Have Another Country" by the late Israeli songwriter Ehud Manor: "I won't keep silent because my country has changed her face / I won't let her get away with it / I'll remind her and sing it in her ears until she'll open her eyes / I won't keep silent because my country has changed her face."
Wherever you go, someone is always complaining that someone else has taken over the culture they used to dominate…
IRS Soon to Demand Facial Recognition For Access to certain Tax Records
By Eric Lendrum (American Greatness) The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is set to implement facial recognition technology that taxpayers must comply with in order to access certain tax records.
According to The Daily Caller, the new technology forces users to sign onto the official IRS website using a third-party firm called ID.me, which requires a facial recognition scan. Subsequently, users must provide a form of government-issued identification along with a photograph alongside a selfie so that they can confirm their identity.
The IRS's partnership with ID.me was first announced back in November, with IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig stating that "identity verification is critical to protect taxpayers and their information."
"The IRS has been working hard to make improvements in this area," Rettig continued, "and this new verification process is designed to make IRS online applications as secure as possible for people."
An IRS spokesperson later clarified that facial scans would be needed to access tax records, payment plans, and the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, but would not be necessary in order to file taxes.
"The IRS emphasizes taxpayers can pay or file their taxes without submitting a selfie or other information to a third-party identity verification company," the spokesperson said in a statement. "Tax payments can be made from a bank account, by credit card or by other means without the use of facial recognition technology or registering for an account."
Nevertheless, the onset of such invasive technology has raised alarms with some privacy advocates, including Caitlin George, the campaign director for Fight for the Future.
"This announcement signals one of the largest expansions of facial recognition technology in the U.S. and there is no question that it will harm peoples' privacy and ability to successfully complete their taxes," said George. "This will essentially create a new, massive database for law enforcement to use to track people without their knowledge."
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S FUNNY PARENTING LINES OF THE WEEK
"Parenthood is a journey except it's just traveling from room to room putting away the same toys all day long."
"Parenting is mostly just informing kids how many more minutes they have of something."
"I asked my mom if I was adopted. She said, 'Not yet, but we placed an ad.'"
"My favorite part of parenting is after I drop my kids off at school. I'm kidding. It's after they go to bed."
"Having children is like living in a frat house — nobody sleeps, everything's broken, and there's a lot of throwing up."
"Save your voice calling for your kids. Just open a bag of chips and they'll materialize out of nowhere."
"Hell hath no fury like a toddler who's sandwich has been cut into squares when they wanted triangles."
"According to my kid, the perfect amount of time to stay at the park is five more minutes."
"A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it."
What am I doing right now, you want to know? I'm currently helping my son search for his chocolate that I ate last night.
Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing."
Before having a kid the most important thing to ask yourself is: Am I ready to watch the exact same cartoon on repeat for the next 4 years?"
"Having one child makes you a parent. Having two kids makes you a referee."
"Can't find your kids? Don't worry; sit on the toilet. They'll find you."
"Just because I'm a mom doesn't mean I'm not spontaneous anymore. Will I get out of these pajama pants today? Maybe... maybe NOT. You just don't know."
"Then suddenly you're a mom declaring ownership over swept dirt on the kitchen floor yelling DON'T YOU DARE WALK THROUGH MY DIRT PILE!"
"Hi, my daughter will be late to school because she can zip her jacket by herself."
science fiction legend Isaac Asimov related this story about his Jewish mother in "It's Been a Good Life."
"My mother, who came from Russia, decided to go to night school and learn how to write English. One of the teachers finally asked her, 'Pardon me, Mrs. Asimov, are you by any chance a relation of the brilliant Isaac Asimov?'"
"My mother, who was four feet, ten inches tall, drew herself up to her full height and said, proudly, 'Yes. He is my dear son.'"
"'Aha,' said the teacher, 'no wonder you're such a good writer.'"
"'I beg your pardon,' said my mother, freezingly. 'No wonder he's such a good writer.'"
Unique Sites of Israel: Biblical Beth Hakerem (Kibbutz Ramat Rachel)
Today, we call it Ramat Rachel, but many archaeologists have concluded that this was the site of Biblical Beth-HaKerem
Gather the sons of Benjamin from the midst of Jerusalem, and in Tekoa sound the shofar, and over Beth-hakerem raise a standard, for evil is visible from the north and a great calamity (Jeremiah 6:1)."
"Malkijah the son of Rechab, the prince of the district of Beth Hakkerem, repaired the Dung Gate; he built it and erected its doors, its locks, and its bolts (Nehemiah 3:14)"
The exquisite archeological remains found at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. Archeologists have located ruins here from almost all of the different biblical eras when the city was called "Beth-HaKerem." Photo credit: Shutterstock
Today we are visiting a wonderful treasure, right in the heart of Jerusalem. Although surrounded by Jerusalem neighborhoods on all sides, it is not officially part of the Holy City's municipality but rather is its own independent Kibbutz. Now called Ramat Rachel, many archaeologists have concluded that this was the site of Biblical Beth-HaKerem (in Biblical times this site was a major administrative center). In addition to the beautiful archeology, the Kibbutz also has unique outdoor artwork, enchanting olive orchards, and one of the best panoramic views of Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Arguably the most impressive lookout point in the Jerusalem area, one can see a majority of the city (including the Temple Mount and other old city buildings). The sculpture with the tree growing out of the rock was designed by the world-famous Israeli artist Ran Morin. It is dedicated to Yair Engel, an IDF flotilla soldier from the Kibbutz who was killed in a diving accident. Photo Credit: DYKT Mohigan – Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0 Generic
Archeologists say that the first to build here was the righteous King Hezekiah, who built a small fortress and administrative center (circa 560 BCE) at the summit of this hill for strategic reasons. Why this particular location? Firstly, it was equidistant from both Bethlehem and Jerusalem's Old City (3-4 km's from each) overlooking both. It also stood above the main ancient highway (today's highway 60) which went through Judah and Samaria. During excavations 164 pottery handles were discovered, having impressions stamped with the words "L'Melech (meaning "To the King"). In the days of Hezekiah, taxes were collected in these jars all over Israel in the form of olive oil, grain, produce, and wine.
One of the "L'melech" jar handles discovered during excavations. In the days of King Hezekiah these jar handles were connected to jugs which held the taxes paid by residents of the region, including Jerusalem.
In the next phase of the hill (Circa 6th-5th century) the palace expanded into what world famous archeologist Gabi Barkai called "The finest structure ever unearthed from the First Temple period." It was luxurious, its architectural features well ahead of its time. Eleven (11) Proto-Ionic capitals (out of 16 all together in Israel, including the City of David, Hatzor, Megiddo, and Samaria) were found here. Because these Ionic capital designs are reminiscent of the Judean Monarchy, the modern Israeli Government chose it as the design on the 5-shekel coin today.
11 Proto-Ionic capitalslike this were found at Ramat Rachel Photo Credit: deror_avi – Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 UnportedThe "tails" side of today's 5 Shekel coin is a design of the Proto-Ionic column
The palace was surrounded by both an outer and inner casement wall (two parallel walls with some space in between them which can be filled with small stones in between to strengthen the wall from battering rams).
The inner walls which surrounded the biblical palace. The section in between, sandwiched between the blue and red (casement) walls were used as chambers. The path going through the wall was added by the Romans (circa 3rd Century CE). Photo Credit: Bukvoed- CC-BY-4.0
Once entering the walls, one entered a large ceremonial courtyard (still well preserved) paved with whitish crushed limestone. The courtyard led to all of the rooms of the palace.
Blueprints of how the palace looked.
The palace had a luxurious and super advanced garden (some of the trees were imported from as far away as Persia and Lebanon). The elaborate pool and water reservoir system can still be seen today.
Artist reconstruction of the King's garden. Photo Credit: Bukvoed- CC-BY-4.0
The palace rooms were built with high quality masonry. The shaped stones were built with such an exacting cut, that no mortar was needed to bind them together.
Remains of the residential section of the palace. A visitor to this site is treated to the fine masonry which has continued to hold even today! Photo Credit: Bukvoed- CC-BY-4.0
Elaborate window balustrades were also found here. Based on these findings and the period when the palace was built, the archeologist who excavated the site (Yohanan Aharoni) posited that it was built by the wicked King Jehoiakim. Jeremiah criticized the wicked King Jehoiakim by saying "Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper chambers without justice, who makes his fellowman work without wages and his hire he does not give him. Who says, "I will build myself a wide house with spacious upper chambers, and he cuts out windows for himself, and it is ceiled with cedar and painted with vermilion (Jeremiah 22:13-14)". According to Aharoni, this criticism is referring to this palace.
One of many elaborate window balustrades found here perhaps alluded to in Jeremiah. Photo Credit: MFA of Israel
During the mid to late 5th century, the Babylonians began to take over Israel. As they approached Jerusalem, Jeremiah told the people of Beth-HaKerem (today Ramat Rachel) to raise the standard (either a flag or banner) for "evil (the Babylonians) is visible from the North and a great calamity" (see Jeremiah 6:1). According to Jewish sources, the purpose of this standard was to gather the troops and fight for their lives, and raising the banner of war from a place where it could be seen in all Jerusalem would make sense. Ultimately the Babylonians took over Israel and destroyed Beth-HaKerem and the first Temple of Jerusalem in 422 BCE (some historians say 586 BCE). The Babylonians were only in control for a few decades until the Persians took over and allowed the Jews to return and rebuild Judea and Jerusalem. Archeology shows that the Persians expanded the palace and made Beth-HaKerem an imperial administrative center (see Nehemiah 3:14 which confirms that this city continued to be the seat of an administrative district and that its residents rebuilt the Dung Gate of Jerusalem).
Artist's Rendition of the Persian Palace. Photo Credit: MFA of Israel
Soon after, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire and the Hellenist Greeks continued to use Ramat Rachel as an administrative center. In the middle of the 2nd century BCE, the Jewish Maccabees took over Israel, and at this site built many Mikvaot (ritual baths) for the masses of Jewish pilgrims who were commanded to come three times a year (Passover, Sukkot and Shavout). To ascend to the Temple, a Jew had to be ritually pure. As this was on the main road to Jerusalem from anyone coming from the South, this would be a convienient location to have them (at least 10 have been found here so far, though more likely existed).
During the later Second Temple period (when the Romans first took control of the land) this site continued to be a Jewish city. A columbarium (dove cove) was unearthed here. Doves were in high demand at this time for consumption, the excellent fertilizer they produced, and for sacrifices in the Holy Temple in nearby Jerusalem.
2nd Temple period Columbarium for the raising of Doves at Tel Maresha (notice the niches where the doves lived). A similar (though smaller) one was found at Ramat Rachel from the same time period. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
During the Great Jewish Revolt, Ramat Rachel was destroyed, and the Hill was abandoned until the 3rd Century CE when the Romans built a ritzy town here. The remains of a Roman Villa and a bathhouse with mosaic floors were found here.
Remains of the Roman villa which may have belonged to a high ranking official. Photo Credit: Bukvoed- CC-BY-4.0
In Byzantine times, the city grew to an estimated population of 5000 people and hosted a large monastery.
In the early Islamic period (circa 7th and early 8th century) the city began to dwindle in importance, until was all but abandoned. It would remain so for more than a millennium, until 1926 when a group of Jewish pioneers came to this deserted land and formed a Kibbutz. The next year, Menachem Ussishkin (one of the most prominent early Zionists) visited here and saw the Tomb of Rachel in the distance (for more on that tomb, click here), calling it Ramat Rachel (which literally translated means the Heights of Rachel). In the summer of 1929, the Arabs infamously rioted against the Jewish population nationwide, killing scores of Jews (67 in Hebron alone). All of the Ramat Rachel homes were burned to the ground, and a Jewish resident was killed. They returned the next year and rebuilt their homes.
Residents of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel pose for a picture in 1944.
Kibbutz Ramat Rachel was the scene of some of the fiercest and most important battles in the 1948 War of Independence when the town switched hands 6 times in a 4 day period (May 21-24). Control here was important because this hill was standing in the way between the Egyptians advancing from the South and the Jordanians coming from the East. The Jordanians met with their Egyptian allies at this spot and rather than fighting together as a cohesive unit, they bickered over who would ultimately control this hill. This infighting would cost them dearly in a matter of days. The women and children were evacuated from the Kibbutz and on May 21, this site was poorly defended by the Jews (about 100 lightly armed locals, 40 Irgun fighters and a few Hagana fighters) while the Arabs had the newest and best weapons and advanced artillery. The fighters asked to be evacuated but Prime Minister David Ben Gurion refused, saying that this hill was all that stood in the way of Jerusalem. After heavy fighting, the Egyptians won and raised their flags in victory (this was the furthest north the Egyptians would ever get). The next night, the Jewish fighters returned and after more heavy fighting, they miraculously recaptured the hill. The next morning, the Egyptians returned and re-captured the hill, though in battles that night, the Jews recaptured the hill. The next morning, Egypt captured the hill for the last time. That night, the Palmach (the elite Hagana strike force unit) entered and recaptured the town, although by now, most of the kibbutz had been destroyed. As a result, the Egyptians gave up on Jerusalem and the Kibbutz members rebuilt their homes. All together, 20 Jews died defending this strategic location while the Arabs are believed to have lost more than 100 fighters. Although the Kibbutz was now firmly in Israel's hands, the next hill over was taken over by Jordan who built a massive base on this hill called Mar Elias and would often shoot at civilians at Ramat Rachel. In 1956, a major archeological conference was held here and (prior to the many trees here that now exist) the Jordanians had a clear view of the gathering and opened fire, killing 4 civillians and injuring 16 more.
Mar Elias as seen from the Kibbutz. The road in the valley served as the border between Israel and Jordan between 1948-67 (i.e. the infamous "Greenline" is between them). Photo Credit: Bukvoed- CC-BY-4.0
Since this was the border, Israel heavily fortified the hill overlooking Mar Elias. The bunkers and trenches can still be seen by tourists.
In this picture, I am giving a tour of Israel's (1948-1967 border) fortifications.
The Kibbutz grew produce and fruit here but by the 1980s, like many kibbutzim around the country at this time, they struggled financially and were one of the poorest in the country. In the 1990s they sold 20 percent of their land to developers, allowing new Jewish neighborhoods to be built (which today are very expensive). This turned the Kibbutz into perhaps the richest in the country. The Kibbutz now operates a widely successful hotel (where I have personally stayed) a convention hall and is also a popular wedding venue. They also own a sports center and large pool, and can be rented out for events. Organic crops are now grown (many of which are used to make liqueurs) and they even produce high-tech agricultural products, widely used around the world.
The Olive orchard of the Kibbutz is a beautiful sight to behold, especially at sundown. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
As the Kibbutz is now so affluent, in 2002 they developed the beautiful archeological park with their own funds (they were one of the country's first private institutions to do so without subsequently charging an entry fee). The Kibbutz (still collectively owned) is centrally located, waiting for you to visit on your next trip to Israel!
Yes, it the 50th tallest statue in the world. Most of the ones larger the Statue of Liberty are statues showing the Buddha and/or Buddhist mythology.
A graph from Wikipedia showing the heights of famous statues. The 2018 Statue of Unity in India, the Spring Temple Buddha in China, the Statue of Liberty in the USA, The Motherland Calls in Russia, and Christ the Redeemer in Brazil.
The source only counts based on the actual statue, rather than the whole structure. So while the Statue of Liberty monument is technically taller than the Motherland Callsmonument, that is due to the height of the pedestal and the disused fortress that was made into the base. The actual Motherland Calls statue is taller than Lady Liberty alone.
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