'Next Year in Jerusalem' - by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

REBBETZIN'S JEWISH PRESS COLUMN

'Next Year In Jerusalem'

Editor's Note: Rebbetzin Jungreis, a"h, is no longer with us in a physical sense, but her message is eternal and The Jewish Press will continue to present the columns that for more than half a century have inspired countless readers around the world. ************ 'Next Year In Jerusalem'           At our Seders last week we all recited the ancient vow "Next year in Jerusalem." If you are a Jew, Jerusalem is in your blood. It's a city engraved upon your heart. Centuries ago Yehuda HaLevi wrote, "My heart is in the East while I am in the West."            No matter where life has taken us, our hearts have forever remained in the East, in Jerusalem.             When I was a little girl in Hungary I may not have known where Paris or Rome was but I did know the location of Jerusalem. My parents of blessed memory, HaRav HaGoan Avraham HaLevi Jungreis, zt"l, and Rebbetzin Miriam Jungreis, a"h, nurtured us with the milk and honey of Yerushalayim. Nowadays, few still thirst for that sweetness. And yet, with all the distractions of modern life, Yerushalayim tugs at our hearts.           Several years ago I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears the veracity of this connection between the Jew and this Holy City.             I was speaking at Jerusalem's Great Synagogue. There was no spare seat to be had and despite the lateness of the night people kept coming. Many lingered after I finished my speech. Some sought advice and guidance. Others just wanted to talk.            Above all they asked for berachos - for shidduchim, for health, for sustenance. And then a tall, lovely, blond-haired girl stood before me. She was crying. Something prompted me to ask, "Are you Jewish?" Her voice cracking with tears, she whispered, "I'm a convert. I came to Yerushalayim to become part of the Jewish people."           She explained that she came from a country where Jews had been beaten and tortured and maimed and killed during the Holocaust. But her soul whispered the message, "Go, join the people who stood at Sinai; go to Jerusalem!"           I naturally assumed she sought a blessing for a good shidduch. "No, no," she protested, "that's not why I'm here. You just related a story that entered my soul. Please bless me with the ability of not forgetting."            And then she repeated one of the stories I had told in my address.            The story was about a mother who lost her husband and eleven of her children in Auschwitz. She made aliyah but still had no peace. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't work. She couldn't come to terms with her fate.            She sought out a rebbe - perhaps he would offer her some consolation. She spilled out her heart and described each and every one of her children. The rebbe listened and wept with her. And then he said something amazing. "I think I saw someone among the newly arrived children now settled in a kibbutz who fits the description of your Dovidl."            The rebbe told her he would try to trace the lineage of that child.                A few days later the rebbe called. "I may have some good news for you," he said. Heart pounding, she returned to the rebbe's home - and there was her little boy.           "Dovidl, Dovidl," she shouted. "Mama, Mama" he sobbed as he ran into her arms. When the boy caught his breath he asked a painful question. "Whereis my father? Where are Moishele and Rochele?"  As Dovidl enumerated the names of all his brothers and sisters, he and his mother cried uncontrollably. They continued to weep long into the night.             As I told that story, I remarked to the audience that it occurred to me that Dovidl's children and grandchildren have no memory of those who preceded them. Similarly, we come to Israel, rush off the plane, pick up our luggage, and make our way to Jerusalem. And what do we think about?            We're busy asking ourselves and each other, "Where is a good place to eat?" "Any new restaurants around?" "Did you try out that new hotel?" Is it worth it the price?"            But do any of us ask, "Where is the Beis HaMikdash?" Does anyone really miss the Beis HaMikdash? Does anyone search for it? Does anyone even think about it? Does anyone even want to remember?           The girl who stood before me begged with tears, "Please, Rebbetzin, give me a berachah that I should never forget to cry for the Beis HaMikdash. I'm so afraid I will forget and become oblivious to its loss. I do not want to be like Dovidl's children."           I could only look at her. She had taken my breath away. I couldn't recall anyone ever asking me for such a berachah - to be able to remain constantly aware of the Beis HaMikdash and, yes, to weep for it.            For thousands of years we prayed, wept, and hoped for Yerushalayim. To see Yerushalayim again, to behold the rebuilt Beis HaMikdash, has always been the center of all our prayers. At our weddings, in the midst of our joy, we break a glass to remember our Temple that is no more. When painting our homes we would leave a small spot empty to remind us that no home can be complete if the Beis HaMikdash has not been rebuilt.            We have a thousand and one reminders in our prayers, in our traditions, in our observance, that constantly recall to us Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. And yet, now that we have Jerusalem again we have somehow forgotten our dream - our Beis HaMikdash that we prayed for and continue to pray for.            Sadly, our prayers for the Temple have become just words recited by rote. And here comes a young woman new to our faith and she seeks a blessing not for a shidduch, not for parnassah, not for good health, nor for personal happiness - but for the ability to shed tears and yearn to see the Beis HaMikdash rebuilt. Should that not give us all pause? Should that not make us think and consider?           Should we not ask again and again and still again, "Where is the Beis HaMikdash?" I know I miss it so. Even when I'm in Jerusalem my joy is not complete - and it won't be until the shinning crown of the Holy City is with us once again and I see its glory restored.

Words from the Heart / An article by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

REBBETZIN'S JEWISH PRESS COLUMN

Words From The Heart

Editor's Note: Rebbetzin Jungreis, a"h, is no longer with us in a physical sense, but her message is eternal and The Jewish Press will continue to present the columns that for more than half a century have inspired countless readers around the world. ************ Words From The Heart           Every Jew, if approached with the right attitude - i.e., with love and sincerity rather than judgment and condescension - can be touched and inspired. This truth is not magic, but rather based on the Divine revelation at Sinai when for all eternity the voice of G-d penetrated every Jewish neshamah.             Many years ago I was on a flight home from Portland, Oregon. My children were still small, and whenever I accepted an out-of town speaking engagement I made certain to catch a "red-eye" flight so that I could make it back in time to give them breakfast and see them off to school.           I always found those out-of-town talks exhilarating. To see people who were alienated and assimilated become involved and committed has always been to me a most electrifying and awesome experience. That night in Portland was no exception. There were many questions, and I tried to stay as long as I could before dashing off to the airport. By the time I boarded the plane, I felt drained and exhausted. I just wanted to close my eyes and catch some sleep. Luckily, the plane was half empty, so I asked the stewardess for an extra pillow and blanket.           I was on the verge of dozing off when a young man approached. I was really too tired to talk to anyone, but, then again, maybe he was someone who had to be reached.           "Are you from Portland?" he asked.           "No, I'm from New York," I replied, " but I was speaking there."           "Where were you speaking?"           "At a local synagogue."           "I don't get involved in any of that stuff."           "Are you Jewish?"            "I guess I am."           "You only guess?"           "It's an accident of birth. Doesn't affect my life one way or another."           Our conversation was interrupted by a stewardess who was distributing the midnight snacks.            "Jungreis," she said, reading the label. "I have you down for kosher. And what would you like to have?" she asked, turning to him.           "I'll take ham and cheese," was his answer.           "You can't have that," I interrupted.           "What do you mean, I can't have it?  It's my favorite sandwich."           "But you told me you're Jewish."           "So what!"           "So what? You must be kidding. You signed a contract - you sealed a covenant at Mount Sinai that you wouldn't eat that stuff. You were there. All Jewish souls that were ever to be born were there. As a matter of fact, looking at you now, I think I remember you. We all pledged to uphold the covenant."           He looked at me in disbelief. "Lady, you know something? You need help, and I mean serious help!"            And with that he picked himself up, walked back toward his seat, and told the stewardess as he passed her in the aisle, "That woman is off the wall!"           For the remainder of the flight, he didn't look my way.           At JFK we met once again at the baggage carousel and he said to me, "You know, what you said is nuts!"          "Listen," I told him. "My name is Esther Jungreis. Here is my card. I have an organization called Hineni, which means 'Here I am,' ready to serve my people and my G-d. We remind people of that covenant sealed at Sinai. You can check it out. It's all documented in a book called the Torah. The whole story can be found there. You will see. You really were there. If you need help in your search, let me know. I'd be more than happy to show you."          "I bet you would! But I'm running from you as fast as possible!" And with that, he turned his back and went to find his suitcase.           I returned to my home and daily routine. The children were waiting. My husband had just returned from the synagogue, and we caught up on the latest events. The phone rang. I had classes to prepare, the house had to be put in order, and I completely forgot that chance encounter in the sky.           Several years later, I was teaching my class at Hineni when in walked a man wearing a black rabbinic hat and coat.          "Rebbetzin," he said, "do you recognize me?"          "You look familiar" (my stock answer for anyone I don't really recognize and don't want to offend).          "We go back a long way," he said. "How about Portland, Oregon - the 'red eye'?"           It all came back to me. "You can't be that guy!"          "I am," he said, smiling. "I never forgot your words. As much as I wanted to dismiss them as pure insanity, they bothered me. It took me a while to work it out, but eventually I did check out the Torah, and you were right. I was there. I signed a contract, I sealed a covenant, and now I've come to you because I'd like you to find me a girl who was also there."          Today, my friend from the "red eye" is the proud father and grandfather of children who live by our Torah and mitzvos.          What is the secret behind this transformation? How does it all happen?          The answer is simple. It can be found in the eternal promise of G-d: "Zos brisi" - "This is My covenant with them," said Hashem, "My spirit that is upon you, and My words that I have placed upon your lips, shall not depart from your lips, nor from the lips of your children or your children's children from this moment and forevermore."          Thousands of years have passed since that promise was made. During that time, we have traversed the four corners of the world. We have experienced every form of oppression, torture, and slaughter. Many of us saw sons and daughters disappear through assimilation. Many of us forgot our past. But the covenant of G-d was more powerful than any material forces. Not only are we here, it can take just a second for the promise of G-d to transform us - and overnight our neshamahs soar to the loftiest heights.          So never remain silent. Reach out to your brothers and sisters, kindle the spark in their souls, and bring them home to our Heavenly Father.

Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel

Today is the Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel. Lots of sad songs on the radio; lots of videos and written testaments of survivors, who slowly perish from this world due to their old age. A sad day. Whenever I hear those testaments, I cannot help but thinking of the chilling verses from the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28, verses that sadly came true not only during World War II, but also during our almost 2000 year long bitter, bitter exile: "The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an EAGLE swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young... "

More chilling verses from this chapter here:

"If you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands... you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away... day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you... You will build a house, but you will not live in it... Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand... A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad... The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors... You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the Lord will drive you... You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity... The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young... You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number... The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other... Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see."

All these curses came about in the place and time where many Jews tried with all their might to discard their Judaism, their Jewish identity, the Torah, their covenant with G-d. It started in Germany in the beginning of the 20th century, a place and time where the Haskalah movement was at its peak strength (Haskalah - Jewish "enlightenment" movement calling on Jews to discard the Torah, to become more German than the Germans, to stop believing in G-d). Sadly, all the threats that G-d threatened us with if we leave Him, happened then and there. 

Gladly, there are verses prophesying our redemption and consolation - the fulfillment of which we thankfully see these days (Ezekiel 36: 8-11 and many, many more). If anyone needs more proof to the existence of G-d and to the truth of the Torah, I guess every day in the unique, strange, incredible, improbable history of the Nation of Israel can provide ample proof for that.

In their memory.

Passover in Samaria

Passover lasted for a week. A week of not eating leavened bread and instead eating Matzah (unleavened bread), a week of occupying ourselves with the story of the Exodus from Egypt even more so than on regular days, a week of celebrating our first redemption as a nation and being grateful for our current redemption, a process that is going on and developing in front of our very eyes, in our day and age - the return of the Jews from all corners of the world to their ancient, G-d promised homeland.
On the week of Pesach (Passover) I make it a point not to work. My boss knows it, and she knows it is a matter of principle with me - I take my free days during Pesach and Succot, and except for thanking HaShem (G-d) for the job that he gives me, which I love and which allows me to pay my rent and buy food, I try not to think about work at all. The weather is perfect, the sky is blue, the flowers are in full bloom and it is perfect time to travel around our beautiful land, the land of Israel.

So last week I went on a special tour with a group of Zionist Jews from different parts of the world to visit special people who live in outposts in our ancient heartland of Samaria.
We met with Yael Shevach, a young woman, mother of 6 children, whose husband was murdered by a Muslim terrorist a few weeks ago. She lives in the Havat Gil'ad outpost, trying to raise her children on her own. She met us at the local synagogue and spoke with us. We expected to meet a broken woman, with signs of crying on her face. But instead, we met a strong, beautiful woman, radiating so much light, and full of faith and optimism. She told us what it is like to live in Havat Gilad, an unauthorized outpost on Jewish lands in Samaria (the lands were bought from the Arab owners by a Jewish man named Moshe Zar): for many years they had no proper electricity system, and no proper water system. They had to coordinate with the entire community who is going to use the washing machine when, so that all the other families would not use any electricity or water at that time, etc. Her husband used to do all the Jewish functions in the outpost: he was the Rabbi, the Mohel (the man who does circumcision for 8-day-old male infants), Sofer Stam (a special scribe who writes Torah scrolls, Mezuzahs, etc.). Now that he is gone, it takes a few people to replace him.
She told us of his devotion to people: On the eve of Rosh HaShanah, a big family holiday, a family called him and asked him to come to their house in another settlement to do a Brith (circumcision). If he went, he had to stay there for the whole holiday, because we do not drive cars on holidays. He agreed. His wife, Yael, and the children spent the holiday with Yael's parents in Kfar Saba. He went alone, without them, and spent the entire holiday with strangers, not with his family, only to fulfill the important Mitzvah of circumcision and to help others. When they asked him if he has a family and where they are, he said he has a big family and they are celebrating with his wife's parents. "Why didn't you bring them along?", they asked him. The answer was that he didn't want to impose on them having to host such a big family. On the day of the murder he went to visit the circumcised baby. On his way back home he was murdered by a terrorist. Such was the man - putting the good of others and G-d's commandments before himself and his needs. And Yael, his wife, is just the same. I took her contact details. If any of you are planning to visit Samaria, visiting Yael and other women like her is an option you may want to consider. To read more about the Havat Gilad outpost: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havat_Gilad

We later visited another outpost, Aish Kodesh. Both these outposts, Havat Gilad and Aish Kodesh are sadly named after Jewish men who were murdered by hate-filled terrorists. The people in Aish Kodesh also hold on to the land against all odds, and without government authorization. Our government is secular in big part (this is the main reason why I do not vote for Netanyahu), and the fact that these settlers occupy the land, making it flourish and bloom, and clinging to G-d's word and Mitzvot (commandments) is just awe-inspiring. If I didn't love Jerusalem so much, which makes it hard for me to live anywhere else, I would have loved to live in one of these outposts, just to help the effort and give my share in making the divine prophecies come true.
Surprisingly enough, many Arabs are actually FOR these settlements and the right of the Jews over the land, including and especially over Judea and Samaria. The leftist Media would never show them or let their words be published, but they live here and they are our friends.

After visiting the outposts and traveling in Samaria, we visited Shiloh, a modern community named after the ancient town of Shiloh. There we saw the local synagogue, built and designed to look a lot like the Tabernacle that used to be there: the ark in which the Torah scrolls are placed looks like the Ark with the Ten Commandments in the Tabernacle; the Bimah (a podium for reading the Torah) looks like the Golden Altar; there are even 12 drawers, to remind us of the 12 trays with loaves of the Showbread; the entrance to the women's section looks like the ramp on which the Kohanim (Jewish priests, descendants of Aharon) walked up to the Altar. The whole building looks like a Tabernacle from the outside, but also from the inside. There are a few other things there that were designed like the original tabernacle. I know I have to go back there to see it in more detail. Those of you who read Hebrew can read more about it here: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/בית_הכנסת_זיכרון_משכן_שילה

Pesach is over, and I am back to work, which is a delight for me. But I am already thinking about the next trip. When I go, I'll try to write about it here.

Shavua tov (have a nice week!)
Revital

VaYikra 5778

As many of you know, I live in Jerusalem, on the same street as the official residence of the Prime Minister of Israel. Basically, this makes me PM Netanyahu's neighbor. I hear his convoy leaving the residence every morning when he goes to work, and then I hear it again in the evening when he is back. I often think what an ungrateful job it is to be a leader of a country, and especially a leader of a country such as Israel, when the eyes of the whole world are focused on you, and the finger of blame is waved at you more often than it should. I think of all the hatred he is faced with, both from within and from without, when people from the liberal Left use every scheme they can in order to topple him down, with no success so far: "But the more they afflicted him, the more he prevailed and spread out". They go after his family, his children, his wife, they try to bring him down with one investigation after the next (and so far he has not been found guilty in any of them, but they keep trying), they make noisy demonstrations just outside of his residence, trying to scare him and make him feel threatened. I often think to myself: why would Bibi (as we call him here, short for Binyamin) even want to be in that position? Why not let go and let someone else become the target of this insane mud slinging? 

One of the greatest rabbis of our time once said about Bibi, that he would be the one to "hand over the key" to the Messiah, and that he should prevail against the wars waged against him. I didn't vote for him in the last elections, for different reasons, but the more the media and other "beautiful souls" afflict him and try to ruin him, the more sympathy I have for him. I think he is a good prime minister. Not perfect, not necessarily a righteous person, but a good Prime minister. He knows how to navigate the troubled water of the Middle East politics and the sensitive political position of Israel in the world quite successfully, and what is most astonishing, he does this under constant, brutal fire from his relentless opponents at home. 

This Shabbat we will read in all the synagogues around the world the weekly Portion called VaYikra (Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26). This is the very first Portion of the Book of Leviticus, in which there are many technical laws related to the worship of the Kohanim (Jewish priests, descendants of Aharon until this day) and the sacrifices. Our rabbis throughout the ages taught us many important moral, ethical and spiritual lessons from every word and even every letter in this Book, but I will not repeat what they said here. Maybe some other time, in the future. But one verse caught my eyes as I read the Portion today: "When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the LORD his God...". It doesn't say "If a leader sins", but rather: "When a leader sins", implying that when man is placed in a position of leadership, he would almost certainly sin in some way or the other. Bibi is not an exception. I am sure that here and there he might have done some mistakes, but - come on - to take him down because he received a gift of cigars from someone? Or because he bought too much ice cream to entertain his important heads of states guests? I cannot accept that. 

I don't know why, but it seems that no matter what happens, G-d is behind Bibi, helping him, giving him a gentle back-wind and helping him to get out of any trouble. It is almost unbelievable. But, as it was written somewhere else in the Bible, "for it is not as man sees: for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart", G-d knows the intricate maze of world politics and the important role that Israel should play in it, and from all the people available today in the Jewish People, and in Israel specifically, He chose Bibi to be the leader in this period, to lead us forward. He has supported Bibi in this journey for so many years now, against fierce opponents and very hostile media, and helped him stay in power despite so many troubles and enemies. I'm sure my neighbor just two blocks away has a special role to play in the contemporary history of Israel. Even if he is not the righteous person we would have wanted him to be, he is at the moment the chosen, chosen by the people, and chosen by G-d. We shall wait and see how the story, of which he a main protagonist, develops. 

In the meantime, Shabbat Shalom! 

Zachor - Remember!

This week, in addition to the regular Torah Portion (Tetzaveh), we will also read in synagogues three verses from the Book of Deuteronomy, verses known as the ZACHOR portion (zachor = "remember!"). First, let's read the verses 

"Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!" (Deuteronomy 25:17-19). 

We are asked by the G-d to remember the evil that Amalek did to us. Isn't it strange? Aren't we supposed to be loving, forgiving people? Why dwell on the bad that other people did to us? 

The reason is simple, if you look around at the Post-Modern culture, in which the border between good and bad does not exist, you can understand why it is so important to remember that there is evil in the world. Many post-modern people say that there is no good and bad in the world, that there is no absolute truth, that everybody is good and everybody has their own narratives. An Arab terrorist killed an innocent civilian? "Oh, he is not a bad person, he is just frustrated and the real blame is on the victim". I think of all the frustrations that the Jewish nation endured during its long years in exile. A Jewish man never went after a German, Polish, Russian or Ukrainian innocent civilian and murdered them because he didn't like what their government did. Frustration is not an excuse for anything. But for those post-modernists, it is - there is no real evil in the world, everybody is good, you just have to listen to their "narrative", the terrorist for them is a good person, you just have to listen to his side of the story. 

The Torah asks us to remember that THERE IS evil in the world. And, actually, history helps us remember that - just think of what happened 70 years ago in Europe. There are bad people in the world, people who put their own needs (money, honor, living space, whatever it is) above the needs of others, even if it means killing the others to get what they want. If we forget that, if we forget that there is absolute truth in the world, if we forget that there is good and bad, and instead, adopt the post-modern view that everything is relative, we might confuse right and wrong, good and bad, and make bad choices ourselves. We might even support bad people, bad causes, thinking that they are actually good and right (see the BDS movement and its like, for example).

One interesting thing that I heard this week about this portion, from a famous Israeli news personality, is that Amalek, the symbol of pure evil, came to Israel only after Israel started losing faith in G-d. When Israel's faith became weak, when they were complaining in the desert instead of remembering the miracles that G-d had done with them a short time before that. If you remember, Israel complained to Moses and to G-d in the desert that they do not have water (read Exodus 17: 1-8). They were trying G-d, to see if He can help them or not. Right after this episode of weak faith -  Amalek came to fight them! "Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim."

By the way, the name of the place, Rephidim, sounds in Hebrew like "weak of hands" (repheh yadayim). When the "hands" of Israel became weak, when their faith in G-d became weak, then came Amalek, an evil enemy, to attack them for no reason! They were not walking through Amalek's land, they were not asking them for water or for food or for anything else. They were just walking in the desert, but Amalek came and attacked them - right after they lost faith in G-d. To win against Amalek, Moses had to lift his hands up (to G-d) - as long as his hands were lifted up, Israel prevailed, but when his hands were weak and dropped down, Amalek prevailed. So the lesson for each of us is: we must stay with strong faith in G-d, we must be grateful to Him for all the miracles He has done in our lives and not to become ungrateful people. Otherwise, some kind of trouble would attack us, some kind of Amalek would attack us. Cynicism, lack of faith in G-d and in the goodness and order of the world, sadness, hopelessness - all of these invite Amalek to attack us in our lives. 

The holiday of Purim will take place this coming week. Why do we read this portion now, right before the Holiday of Purim? In Purim we read in the synagogues the Story of Esther. In the story of Esther we see the embodiment of pure evil: Haman. He was the "Hitler" of ancient times and wanted to annihilate the Jewish nation. Haman is of the seed of the Amalekite nation. When we read the story of Esther in the synagogue, every time the name Haman is read, all the congregation makes noise with ratchets, to erase the name of Haman, to obliterate Amalek, to delete pure evil and the worldview characterized by lack of faith and joy from the world. We do not have to wait for Purim to do that. We must fight this inner fight within our souls every day of our lives.

Shabbat Shalom!

Terumah (Exodus 25:1 - 29:19)

OK, I'm going back to writing this blog again. I will try to do this weekly, but can't promise :-)
Just a reminder, this blog follows the weekly Torah portions and discusses them. In the Jewish world, we divide the Torah (5 books of Moses) to 52-54 portions, and each portion is read during Shabbat in the synagogue. The cycle started a few months ago with the first portion, Genesis, but we will join the cycle now, in the portion called Terumah (Exodus 25:1 - 27:19). Join me for the ride!

This week's Torah Portion talks about the Mishkan (The Tabernacle/Sanctuary) that G-d asked Moses and the Children of Israel to build in the desert: "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart makes him willing, you shall take My offering". Later, G-d tells Moses: "For the framework of the Tabernacle, construct frames of Acacia wood". But they are in the desert, where can they take Acacia wood from?

Rashi, a famous Jewish commentator, says that these Acacia woods tell us a story of faith. When the Children of Israel went down in exile to Egypt, their father, Jacob, told them that one day they will merit to leave Egypt and even build a Tabernacle. He asked them, for this purpose, to plant trees, and when time comes, to take the wood from these trees with them when they leave Egypt. And this is what they did. Very deep in the dark exile, they were planting, irrigating, taking care of these trees, a symbol of hope, believing that one day these trees would serve them for a higher purpose when they leave Egypt.

This story is not written explicitly in the written Torah. It appears in the Midrash (part of the Oral Torah). It teaches us how important faith is, how important hopeful expectation is. It teaches us we should never believe the current reality and think that this is it, that things cannot be different. We must look at the current reality and KNOW that things CAN AND WILL BE different. It takes a lot of strength, a lot of faith, a lot of optimism and clinging to G-d, but it pays. We must plant, irrigate and take care of the seeds of our hopes and dreams in order for them to one day become a reality. If we do not sow, if we do not plant, if we do not give these plants water, we will not reap.

Each of us can think of areas in our lives in which we can and should implement this lesson - plant your Acacia trees, because one day, when you are set free from your current exile, they will serve as woods to build your Sanctuary, your meeting place with G-d.

Shabbat Shalom,
Revital

Metzora (lev. 14:1 - 15:33)

Shabbat Haggadol (the "big" Shabbat)

Yesterday I had the privilege to join an amazing operation that is held every Thursday morning in Jerusalem. It is an operation for packing and providing generous, full baskets of food to victims of terror and their families. There were many dozens of empty baskets on the floor, waiting to be filled, and a handful of volunteers worked hard to put bags of vegetables, fruit, meat, bread, juice and other groceries in every basket in order to enable those families to enjoy rich Shabbat meals. What is nice about this charity organization, Ohr Meir & Bracha, is that the manager does not take any salary to herself from it. She does this for free. What's even nicer is the possibility for all the donors to see with their own eyes how their money turns into food baskets and then being delivered to the victims homes. Many of these donors come to help with the packing, which makes it doubly meaningful for them. You can hear there a blend of languages, including American English, as some of these volunteers are new immigrants from America. Next Thursday this operation is going to be much larger than usual, since it would be just before the holiday of Passover, to enable those families to have proper Passover meals. Here are a few pictures I took there:



This coming shabbat is the shabbat before the holiday of Passover, and it is called "Shabbat Haggadol", "the Big Shabbat". This is a very special shabbat, and all around the world, but especially in Jerusalem, there are special, festive sermons given on this occasion in synagogues. Why is this shabbat called shabbat Haggadol? There are a few reasons for it, but the main one is the fact that on this Shabbat a miracle happened to the People of Israel in the year of the Exodus from Egypt: they took lambs and sacrificed them as the Passover sacrifice (Exodus 12: 3,6). What makes this a miracle? This is so if we realize that lambs were considered to be gods in Egypt. Just as in India cows are considered holy animals that should not be harmed and are believed to be gods by the pagans, so in Egypt lambs and cows used to be gods. The Israelites were poor slaves in Egypt. It was inconceivable that such miserable, defenseless slaves would take the sacred animal, the god of their oppressors, hold it for four days in their homes, kill and sacrifice it, and then should emerge unscathed from it. But this is exactly what happened. It was on this Shabbat, many many years ago. Shabbat Haggadol is a symbol of faith, and this is a lesson to learn again and again in every situation in our lives.Today we don't sacrifice a lamb, but we have a piece of meat on the Seder table as a reminder of that lamb.

The Torah Portion this week is that of Metzora (Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33). In it is detailed the (humiliating) purifying process of a person who was inflicted with the spiritual and physical disease of Tzara'at, a disease that used to inflict a person who spoke slander against others in the community. After sitting outside the camp for seven days in isolation, the person comes back into the camp, sits for another seven days outside his tent exposed to all, and shaves his head. There are more details, but the bottom line is that it all makes him conspicuous, ashamed and isolated for a couple of weeks, so that he would feel on his own flesh (literally) that which he wanted to cause to others with his slander. The sin of the evil tongue is so prevalent in our day and age, that such a purifying process wouldn't help. The majority of us would have to sit outside of the camp and then outside of our 'tents', hence the effect of isolation and shame would lose effect.

Passover is just around the corner, and it is already felt here. School children are already off from school for their 2 week Passover break, and many parents take days off to be with them (in some work places the organization gives days off to all the employees. In other organizations, people may choose whether to use their yearly paid-leave days now or at some other point during the year. The supermarkets are having big sales of Matzah bread, and soon they will be made Kosher for Passover, with large sections of non-Passover products covered with plastic bags to avoid the selling and buying of Chametz (leavened bread and similar products) during the holiday. Many products have the stamp of "Kosher for Passover" on their packages. The radio commercials try to allure us to buy all sorts of things with Passover sales and invite us to participate in tempting leisure activities during the holiday. People keep asking each other: "So, where will you do the Seder this year?" (Seder is the festive Passover meal in which we retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt). Most people do it with their families, but in recent years Hotel Seders have also become popular.
The most important aspect of Passover is to preserve the national and religious memory of the events that took place so long ago, but have affected the entire world - the Exodus and the receiving of the Torah. So many nations ever since wanted to see themselves as the Israelites leaving Egypt. The American pioneers wanted to name America as the new "Cana'an" and wanted to have the parting of the Red Sea (so called erroneously - the true name is the Reed Sea but at some point one 'e' fell...) as their national symbol. Like them, many still like to use images and concepts from our Exodus story to model their own struggle for freedom, however defined. So in a way, we don't only keep this memory alive for our own sake, but for the entire world. I want to wish all of us a meaningful Passover, and a successful exodus from our own personal "Egypt"s.

Shabbat shalom and Happy Passover,
Revital

Torah Portion: Tazria (Leviticus 12:1 - 13:59) 5776

Torah Portion: Tazria - The Power of Speech

Spring is here, and it is high time to take long walks in nature. I have just came back from a hike in the mountains of Jerusalem's Ein Karem neighborhood, an old village nestled at the outskirts of the city, overlooking the Jerusalem Hills. We were not the only ones there - many people, Israelis and foreign tourists, were walking the streets of this picturesque neighborhood and enjoying a day in nature. After a winter blessed with lots of rain, there is a lot of green everywhere and this is the time to go out and see it. In a couple of month, when the sun becomes strong, it will all turn into yellow-brown (which has its own charm, but green is nicer). There were so many flowers everywhere! I picked a few branches of rosemary and lavender for the Bsamim (fragrant spices) blessing in the Havdalah ceremony at the end of Shabbat and promised myself that I will do it again soon. 

​

​This Shabbat is special - it is both a Shabbat and a Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the new month of Nissan), and since it's Nissan, everybody is starting to get ready for Passover: cleaning the houses more meticulously than usual, getting rid of unneeded clothes and items in the house, finishing all the pasta and other foods that are Chametz and therefore are not Kosher for eating (or even keeping at home) during Passover. Every Rosh Chodesh that falls on Shabbat, there is a very festive prayer at Jerusalem's Great Synagogue, with a choir of men who sing the service and an excellent, soulful cantor. This cantor once brought me to tears with his honest prayers. I will go there tonight.

The Torah Portion of this week is that of Tazria (Leviticus 12:1 - 13:59). It talks about laws of purity for women after birth (laws that don't apply today because the Temple is not in place), and about the laws of Tzara'at, a mysterious skin disease (that can also affect house walls and clothes), and that is diagnosed not by a doctor, but by a Kohen, a Jewish priest from the descendants of Aaron (Moses' brother). The fact that it is diagnosed by a Kohen shows us that it has a spiritual origin, not a medical one. The connection between mind and body is stressed here with this form of mysterious disease. It is translated as Leprosy in English, but it is not the Leprosy we know from recent centuries, it is another form of disease that we don't know today. The cure for this disease is for the affected person to sit in isolation outside the camp, not to come in contact with people for seven days, and after a week the disease is cured. 

The portion doesn't explicitly specify what causes this disease, but elsewhere in the Torah it is mentioned in relation to Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, when she spoke not-nicely about Moses and his wife, and was punished for it with this disease and in order to be cured from it was asked to sit outside the camp in isolation (Book of Numbers, chapter 12). From this, our sages infer that the cause for this disease is bad use of language, or simply: evil tongue. The evil tongue includes a few categories of immoral use of speech, but they all come down to saying bad things about other people behind their backs: disgracing others, putting them down, mentioning their flaws, exposing things that violate their privacy (and privacy is sacred!), telling lies about them and also telling bad things that are true. Some think that if we say bad things about someone, but those bad things are true, then it's OK for us to tell these things. But this kind of gossip is forbidden and can cause a lot of harm to three parties: to the speaker, to the one spoken about and to the listener. It diminishes the level of love in society and the social glue that keeps people together and causes disdain towards the person spoken about and a feeling of superiority for the speaker and the listener. There won't be love there the next time they see this person. This is the reason why the cure for the Tzara'at disease is to sit in isolation outside the camp: it's like saying - if you want to weaken the social glue between people in your community, if you want to make someone else be treated with disdain, you should taste your own medicine (literally) and be isolated (and ashamed) yourself. It is no big honor to sit outside the camp alone for a week because of this spiritual-physical disease. 

Only in specific cases is one allowed (and even encouraged) to say bad things that are true about another person (for example: if you know that Dana is going to marry or get into business with Danny, who is a dishonest person, you must warn her, but make sure your motives are to help her, not to get back with Danny). 

Words can heal and words can kill. Speech is what distinguishes between us humans and other animals, and it is such a lofty gift we humans got, that we just must use it responsibly and with discretion. With speech we can change someone's world, or even change the world (and there have been quite a few examples for this in human history). A tender word for someone in distress can sometimes save their lives, and a bitter word said to someone or about someone behind their back can ruin their lives. I volunteered once at a hotline for people in distress, and it just taught me how much weight each of our words carry and how we can affect other people's lives with just our words, even if they are physically very far away from us. 

Words have power, and every word we say leaves an impression in this world. We can truly heal the world with positive speech (and also positive inner speech, directed towards ourselves!). And it costs us nothing. It is a free gift we got, and we can give good words to others and lift them up without any cost to us at all. 

I want to give two examples to people who use the power of speech - one positively, the other not quite so. One is the Israeli Arab Christian Pastor, Gabriel Naddaf, who works a lot for peace in Israel. He preaches for unity in society and encourages all Arabs in Israel to enlist into the IDF. He speaks for Israel and advocates for it in different places in the world and affects many young Arabs in this country and abroad. He was chosen to lit a torch this year in the prestigious opening ceremony of the celebrations of our Independence Day - this honor is given to people who have achieved something big in their lives. He brings people from different ethnicities and religions together (like him there are many other Arabs who do so, not just Christian Arabs but also Muslim Arabs). If you look at his Facebook page, you will see that his cover picture says: "I stand with Israel. And you?" (I hope you answer to this: "me too!"). 

On the other hand there is Mr. Bernie Sanders, who, while being liked a lot everywhere, used speech in a very irresponsible way this week, throwing false accusations at Israel, without considering the impact of his erroneous words. I won't repeat his words here so as not to give them more power. He later corrected himself somewhat. Israel has suffered a lot from bad use of speech against it (as Jews have throughout history), and since he is a Jew, I would expect him to be more sensitive, and check the facts before speaking, even if saying some things might make him more liked and win him some political points at home. Words have power.

So this Shabbat (and this month, and just generally), let us find ways to use our speech in a constructive way towards ourselves and towards others and truthfully make this world a better place.

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov! 

Revital

(To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please reply to this email with the word "unsubscribe". Thank you!) 

Torah Portion: Shmot (Exodus 1:1 - 6:1)

So glad to be here now and write in this blog again.
It is raining today, and it is WONDERFUL!! So happy to see the streets clean and shining, and the grayness of winter when the sky is covered with clouds. It's also a real delight when the sun manages to break through the blanket of clouds and light up everything. It happened twice today and it was so gladdening!

On Monday I gave a lecture about a country far away in which I lived and studied for a long time. I do it for fun from time to time, but often I feel emptied after it, wondering in my heart what value it has except for giving some good time and some non-essential education to the listeners. It's not like talking about Torah or G-d, which are eternal values for which it is worth living. For some reason, this time I felt less emptied after the talk. I try to figure out why, but I'm not sure. Perhaps I came more full to begin with.
On the way there I looked at the sky and saw the gorgeous colors of sunset upon the Jerusalem hills. I felt so blessed to be able to behold this. It was beautiful. When I waited for the green light to turn on so that I could cross the street, I saw a tiny group of birds flying together in an amazing harmony and coordination. They seemed black against the setting sun, but when they were right above my head I saw that their color was bright green. It was such a surprise, and it brought joy to my heart. It was a matter of two or three seconds before they were gone and out of my sight. The little joys of life.

Before I talk about this week's Torah portion, I want to say something that I heard about last week's portion. Yaacov blesses Yosef's children. He blesses Ephraim the younger before Menashe the first born. The great sage Rashi says that this blessing has indeed materialize later on in history: from Ephraim came Joshua the son of Nun who was the successor of Moses, and he managed to stop the sun in its tracks, while from Menashe came Gideon, who was great, but not as great as Joshua. In fact, the ten lost tribes, the Kingdom of Israel that separated from the Kingdom of Judaea and was then lost in the Assyrian exile, is often called Ephraim throughout the Bible. It is prophesied that in the End of Days, Ephraim will join Judaea again and the nation of Israel will become one. I wait for them to return. Who are they today, I wonder. I guess they are scattered all over the nations, and are slowly returning to us by feeling attraction to Judaism and then converting, not knowing that the roots of their souls are from Israel originally. I love reading the sages commentaries, because they bring to my attention things that I wouldn't be able to notice alone, and often these are real pearls and diamonds of wisdom.

This week's Torah Portion is that of Shmot ("These are the names of..."), which is the first portion in the book of Exodus. I feel a heavy feeling in my stomach whenever I think of all the troubles and tribulations we are going to go through in the next few weeks - the slavery, the cruelty of Pharaoh and his servants, the obstacles in the way to freedom, etc. But some good things are also awaiting us: the receiving of the Torah in the Sinai Desert, the manna and the different miracles.
Pharaoh enslaves the Children of Israel and asks Shifra and Puah the midwives to kill every newborn son. They fear G-d more than they fear Pharaoh, and they save the baby boys. When confronted about it by Pharaoh, they manage to go by unhurt. G-d was with them. I think we often find ourselves in such situations, just on a much smaller scales, in our daily lives: we have to decide whether to fear G-d or whether to fear the people around us, their opinions and expectations of us, etc. Whenever we choose G-d over people, G-d chooses us back, supports us and lets us know He is with us. I come in contact with many leftist, liberal, secular people, for whom religious people seem stupid, primitive or even cruel. But they are wrong and I know it, therefore I am not afraid to face them and stand for the truth. The world has lost its values, and if we continue this way, we will fall into anarchy, so it's important to stand for what is right.
Later we hear of Moses for the first time. He is a newly born child and his mother can hide him no longer. She puts him in an ark in the Nile, and the daughter of Pharaoh sees him and takes him in. Moses' sister suggests to her that she will bring her an Israelite woman to nurse him, and Moses is taken to his mother for nursing, but when he is weaned, he is sent to the palace.
He grows up, he sees the suffering of his people, and when he sees an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man, he kills the Egyptian. I always feel bad when I read this. Moses starts his "career" and adult life when he kills a man. With our modern day sensibilities, this is unbearable. But if I try to compare it to what happens in France, and how when they see a terrorist trying to kill someone they kill him without thinking twice about it, it makes it more understandable.
Moses runs away when he realizes this has become known. He runs away to Midyan and marries Zipporah, the daughter of the Midianite priest. He is a shepherd of their flock. There in Horev one day he sees a supra-natural sight: a bush burning with fire, but not consumed by it. G-d appears to him from the bush stating: "I come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of tha land unto a good land and large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite" (Exodus 3:8). Here the famous equation for Israel is stated again: Land = Redemption, Redemption = Land. G-d sees our suffering, and wants to redeem us. How? By taking us to our land, no matter that it is now populated by the Canaanite nations. The land is not promised to them, but to us.
G-d then tells Moses that He wants him to go to Pharaoh and talk to him and to the Children of Israel. Moses is humble and meek. He is afraid that the people won't believe him. He asks G-d what is His name. G-d says: "Ehyeh asher Ehyeh", or: I am that I am (in the original Hebrew the future tense is used). G-d also says that His ETERNAL name is THE G-D OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB. G-d then gives Moses two signs - his stick becomes a snake and his hand becomes leprous. If these two signs won't be enough for the Israelites to believe Moses, he can also take water from the Nile, pour them on the ground and turn them into blood.
Moses is still not sure. "Oh, Lord, I am not a man of words, neither heretofore, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and of slow tongue" (ibid 4:10). G-d reassures Moses that He will help him, but it's not enough for Moses. G-d is angry with him. He then promises Moses the help of his brother Aharon.
Moses leaves Midyan with his wife and sons. He is commanded by G-d to tell Pharaoh: "Thus said the Lord: Israel is My son, My firstborn" (ibid 22). I think that the fact that we are G-d's first-born children causes much hatred against us throughout the world. People sense it in some subconscious way and resent us, because they are afraid that it means that G-d doesn't love them. But it's not true. G-d loves those who love Him, those who fear Him, those who walk in His ways, no matter which nation they come from. And there are those of the nations who don't suffice with just being loved by G-d. They want to be His first born, and they convert to Judaism. Here is a link to one such story of a Muslim Arab man from the PA who was jailed for murder in an Israeli prison and was exposed to Torah there, and then decided to convert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXCXQb_RQew (in Hebrew, couldn't find it with English subtitles).
Moses does the signs and wonders in front of the Israelites, and they believe him. Moses goes to Pharaoh and tells him the famous words: Let my people go! But Pharaoh doesn't, as G-d had told Moses.
Pharaoh makes things harder for the Israelites as a consequence, and the following verses sound like descriptions of Nazi behavior in the third Reich. He doesn't give them straw to make bricks, yet demands the same amount of bricks as before, and those who don't succeed in achieving this goal are beaten severely. The Egyptians, like the Nazis, appointed Jewish "Kapo"s to force their brethren to work and fulfill the required quotas. The Israelites complain to Moses and Aharon, and Moses complains to G-d. But G-d reassures him.
I feel like we're starting to sink when I read this - to sink into a dark time in our history, until the redemption that came with the actual Exodus finally took place. After this great darkness came a great light - the receiving of Torah and 40 years later the return to our land. And in modern time - after the dark abyss of the Holocaust, the great light of the establishment of the State of Israel came (a huge miracle that we tend to take for granted now) and the miraculous Ingathering of the Exiles, that were prophesied by all the prophets long long ago. Whenever I'm faced with secular arguments against the Torah, I just remind myself that all of us, me and the people around me, are part of a living wonder - the fact that we live here in Israel, after almost 2000 years of violent exile, and more than that - the fact that we are even alive, that we are still a nation. It's nothing but a HUGE, incredible miracle. What other nation survived as a nation without a country or a common language for even 200 years, not to mention 2000 years? and then returned to its land, revived its almost dead language, and all this is accordance with the Biblical prophecies? None. Only Israel, the first born of G-d. Not thanks to us. Thanks to Him.


It's pouring outside. The minimum temperature tonight is going to be 4 degrees (celsius) while the maximum temperature tomorrow daytime is going to be 4 degrees too. So who knows, we might even have snow. So now, a few minutes before I join friends of mine for dinner tonight, it's time to give you the recipe for the wonderful rich winter soup I cooked last week for Shabbat, and which turned out great.

Rich, nutritious Soup for a Winter Shabbat:
In a big pot, put the following ingredients: 2 zucchini (cut to cubes or pieces), a few cloves of garlic, two onions (cut to long pieces), many shallot onions (I love them! but they are not necessary if you don't have them), lots of big, thick mushrooms (cut to pieces),  one big sweet-potato (cut to pieces), two or three small-medium size potatoes (cut to cubes), 2 carrots (cut to pieces), 3-4 spoons of brown rice, cubes of fresh beef (try to purchase organic if you have organic beef in your area). Cook everything with water (no need to fry anything, no need to add oil). Add salt, hot paprika, cumin and turmeric to suit your taste.
Serve boiling hot with a side dish of home made Tehini dip. I like to eat soup and throw a spoonful or two of Tehini into my bowl just before I eat it. It makes it thicker and richer, and the tastes blend nicely.
Possible additions for future trials: natural corn seeds, chicken instead of beef, tofu cubes to those who like it, celery and/or other green leaves, etc. I've tried this soup for the first time, so haven't tried all these additions yet. If you try it, let me know how it turned out. Taste it first without the Tehini. Then try to add a small amount of Tehini while serving, just to see if you like this combination.

To make home made Tehini dip:
Buy Sesame paste from a nature store or a supermarket. Fill a regular size soup bowl with sesame paste until it fills one third of the volume of the bowl. Add water to cover the paste in about one centimeter at first, add a little bit of salt, juice from half a lemon or more, then mix it all together. At first it's hard to mix it, but soon it becomes smoother and whiter. Add more water if you need to. Taste and add more lemon or salt if you need. You can make it thick or thin, but better not make it too liquid. Tehini is full of calcium and iron and I eat it almost daily with almost everything - especially potato based dishes and soups. I love the lemony taste of the Tehini and the texture of it.

I have an idea for a totally new soup for this coming Shabbat. If it turns out good, I'll share it here next week.

Shabbat Shalom!
Revital

The Annual Jerusalem International Parade 2015

The Annual Jerusalem International Parade: every year in October

What other city in the world has an international parade, with people from all over the world coming to celebrate it, to show love and support for it? Is there a New York Parade with New York loving people coming yearly from all over the world, singing its praise? Or a Berlin Parade? Perhaps a London Parade? No. The Jerusalem International Parade is the only parade in the world to which Israel loving people from all over the world come to show their love and support to this nation.

Watching this parade makes one feel as if it is a scene taken from Isaiah’s End-Time Vision: 

“And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples shall go and say: 'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2-3).
Other prophetic verses come to mind too: "Many peoples and mighty nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favour of the Lord. Thus said the Lord of hosts: in those days it shall come to pass that ten men out of all the languages of the nations shall even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that G-d is with you" (Zecharia 8:22-23).  "And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles" (Zecharia 14:16). 

It happens every year during the Jewish holiday of Succot (tabernacles). The streets of Jerusalem fill-up with tens of thousands of people of all colors, nations and tongues, gathered in the city for the Annual Jerusalem Parade. This year we had around 50,000 people who came from all four corners of the world especially for this parade. Grouped according to their nationality, they paraded the streets of Jerusalem under their countries’ flags, wearing shirts with printed slogans such as “thy people shall be my people, and thy G-d my G-d" (Ruth 1:16), singing songs of love of Jerusalem and of Israel, and voicing their emotional support vocally and enthusiastically.

It was a colorful procession. Flags of great many countries were flown up high coloring the streets of Jerusalem with myriad colors and patterns. They came from countries as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China, South Korea, South Africa, Kongo, South Africa, the Philippines, Brazil, Norway, Finland, Britain, Switzerland, Holland, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, Canada, the USA and many many more, including a group from EGYPT! Their flags were waved up high and were then given gladly as souvenirs to the Israeli crowds that were standing on the sidelines, cheering with gratitude. Local children collecting dozens of mini flags were seen everywhere excited at the festive international atmosphere and at the handful of exotic colorful souvenirs they were receiving. To the onlooker it seemed as though this extremely varied crowd is united by one emotion: infallible love strengthened by unshakable faith.

Not only tourists from abroad participated in the Parade. Groups of Israelis from different parts of the country, from different walks of life, participated too and enjoyed a day of good sports and high spirit, a day of visiting their capital city and showing their love and support for it and for its residents. Many of them were reserve soldiers of different IDF units; others were from big companies (such as Israel’s Electricity Company), different banks, the Israeli motorcyclists club, police units.

One of the groups that caught my attention most the first time I watched this parade, as I was standing on the roadside, cheering the paraders along with the crowds, was a group of a few dozen young soldiers dressed in the IDF olive colored uniform, belonging to the Nativ Course of the Jewish Agency and the IDF education corps. This course enables those soldiers who are not Jewish by Halachic (Jewish) Law, to study and learn topics related to Jewish law, to convert to Judaism in the framework of their military service and become Israeli Jews. It was moving to see those young men and women parading proudly in the IDF uniforms and stating their loyalty to this people and to this land.

The Parade itself has a few different courses: a family oriented one and longer ones. The paraders who choose the longer course enjoy a walking tour of the city enlisting a varied assortment of sites laden with historical meaning. Among them throughout the years were the following famous sites:

·        The Ammunition Hill on the northern part of town, a site of an important battle during the 1967 Six Day War, serving today as a memorial site.

·        Mt. Scopus, where one of the campuses of the Hebrew University is located, as well as the Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital.  This area was under Jordanian rule until the 1967 war (after Jordan captured it on 1948).

·        The Tzurim Valley National Park at the foothills of Mt. Olives, where a lot of archaeological findings have been found dating as back as the First Temple period.

·        The Valley of Hinnom, where it is said that in ancient times people sacrificed their children to the pagan god Molech.

·        The Sultan’s pool, a dry water reservoir constructed in the 16^th century by an Ottoman sultan. It serves today as an arena for musical performances, among other things.

·        Mishkenot Sh’ananim, the first Jewish neighborhood built outside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem in the 19^th century. It is a charming neighborhood overlooking the old city.

·        Talabiyeh, one of the most prestigious residential neighborhoods in town hosting the formal presidential and the formal prime minister’s residence.

·        Rehavia, a neighborhood designed by the Jewish German architect Richard Kauffman in the spirit of the garden city movement.

·        The Valley of the Cross, where the Monastery of the Cross is situated. According to Christian tradition, in that monastery grew the tree from which the Romans made the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

·        And finally, the Sacher Park, a green lung in the midst of Jerusalem, overlooking the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. In this park a big happening for all the paraders takes place, with different games and attractions for kids and adults alike. It is a chance for everyone to rest, have a picnic in nature and prepare for the final part of the parade. During that rest time there are different artistic performances to entertain the paraders and the crowd.

After the Sacher Park happening and after enjoying some rest, all participants walked in groups one after the other in a ceremonious parade to the final point of the Jerusalem International Parade. Thousands of locals gathered at the sides of the road, supporting and encouraging the paraders.

As they approach the finish line, the announcer announced ceremoniously each of the many groups that approached the line, which in turn received enthusiastic applause from the crowds gathered at the sides. Hugs given, photographs taken, small flags and other souvenirs given as good will gestures to the locals on the sides, all make the whole parade feel like a very festive and exciting event, a special event, an event that one doesn’t get to experience every day.

Here is a short video showing a glimpse of the parade this year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KcH-L8XKDc

Jews all over the world used to pray for two millennia during exile L’shanah Haba’ah B’Yerushalayim, for next year in Jerusalem. So let all of us lovers of Jerusalem pray for next year in Jerusalem, and may it be on the next Annual Jerusalem International Parade on October 2016.

Torah Portion: Nitzavim (Deut. 29:9 - 30:20)

This week's Torah Portion, which will be read this Shabbat in synagogues around the Jewish world is that of Nitzavim. This is one of the four last Portions before the end of the book of Deuteronomy, which is the last book of the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses). When we finish these five books, in about a month from now, we will go back to reading them from the start, from the book of Genesis. Every year we read the entire five books in synagogue, from the Holiday of Simchat Torah of one year till the same holiday of the following year.
Of course, we also read the Prophets. This is done every Shabbat in synagogues after the Torah Reading. There is just so much to say about the Torah portions that I don't write here about the prophet's portions, but it doesn't mean that we don't read them too. The four last Portions of the year are very short, compared to the other ones, but there is so much to say about them.

In our portion, Moses stresses the fact that the covenant that G-d sealed with us on Mt. Sinai is for ALL generations and not with just the people who stood there physically. All of us, including those of us who were not yet born at the time of Mt. Sinai, are obliged by this covenant: "Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our G-d and also with him who is not here with us today" (Deut. 29: 13-14). The covenant sealed between G-d and the Jewish people (and those of the nations who join them) is for ALL generations and we are all obliged by it.
And if we don't perform our part of the covenant, G-d will not annihilate us altogether and won't break the covenant with us. Instead, He will fulfill the negative side of this covenant, all the threats we read about in last week's portion (and in so many other places throughout the Torah and the Prophets): the exile, the pogroms, the constant fear, the exile from our land, the desolation of our beloved Land. The difference between a covenant and a regular agreement is that agreements can be cancelled and modified, but a covenant with G-d cannot ever change, and whoever says it can change is lying to himself.
When I read the following verses, I think of the condition in which the Land of Israel was until the beginning of the 19th century:
"And the generation to come, your children that shall rise up after you and the foreigner that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick; and the whole land there is brimstone and salt and a burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah... which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath. And all the nations shall say: why has the Lord done thus to this land? what means the heat of this anger? Then men shall say: 'because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the G-d of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt" (Deut. 29:21-24).

I recommend reading Mark Twain's book, The Innocents Abroad, which was translated to many languages. It is often quoted, and sometimes misquoted. Read for yourself, especially the eleven chapters (chapters 46 to 56) dealing with the Holy Land, and make up your mind. This is Mark Twain's account of his visit to the Holy Land in the middle of the 19th century, not too long ago. In so many places around these chapters he repeats his impressions of how ugly, desolate and cursed the land seemed to him.
I'll quote here just some short quotes out of many, where he describes the land as:
"...sitting in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies... It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land, a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds, a silent, mournful expanse... a desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action... There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country".

Chilling, isn't it? Especially when it is read in conjunction with the verses from Deuteronomy above.

But still, G-d in His infinite mercy, has shown us favor and did an unbelievable miracle of bringing us back to our land, as we can all see today (I'm writing to you from Jerusalem, not from any other country), and as is promised, if we repent and return to our G-d: "then the Lord your G-d will bring back your captivity and have compassion upon you and will return and gather you from all the nations where the Lord your G-d has scattered you. If any of you will be dispersed in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there will the Lord your G-d gather you, and from there He will fetch you. And the Lord  your G-d will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it..." (Deut. 30: 3-4). So here I am now, a descendant of my forefathers, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, sitting, as promised, in the Holy Land, in the land of my forefathers, and possessing it, being a sovereign in my land after almost 2000 years of desolation, and with me are Jews from every corner of the world... In Jerusalem you can hear so many languages spoken: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Amharic, Arabic, what not? Most spoken by people who left their rich diaspora countries and came here, to this little oasis in the desert, surrounded by so many enemy countries. This in itself is a miracle. Whenever I see someone who left the USA or Canada or England or Australia or France to come here, to the Middle East, I know it's a miracle. The hand of G-d is evident in it.

But even now, when the beginning of our redemption has started to manifest, the covenant is obliging, we are obliged to fulfill our part in it:
"If you shall hearken to the voice of the Lord your G-d to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn unto the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul". (ibid. 10)
And again, as in so many other places around the Torah and Prophets, the connection between our keeping the commandments and sitting in our land is stressed: "...to love the Lord your G-d, to hearken to His voice and to cleave unto Him, for that is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord SWORE to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give them" (ibid. 20). Or, to put it simply, we will get to sit in our sworn, promised land only IF we obey G-d's commandments. And this brings me to the beginning of what I wrote today: the covenant is eternal, and is done with all future generations of Jews and those of the nations who join the Jewish covenant with G-d in earnest, to forsake all foreign gods and to observe Shabbat and do all the other commandments.
Those who claim that G-d has forsaken us and broken the covenant with us don't open their eyes to see history in a divine light. Don't they see that all the promises, good and bad, have come true? Why would G-d bother to do it if He has already forsaken us?

I have to bring a quote here from the prophet Amos, describing how the cursed, desolate land, will bring forth its trees and fruit for us when we return to it. And this too has chillingly come true in our days (remember Mark Twain's description of the land, then compare it to what Israel looks like today, 150 years later, and only then read the following verses): "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, and I will bring My people Israel back from exile, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, says the Lord your G-d" (Amos 9: 13-15).

They shall no more be plucked up out of their land, which I have given them. I hope our loving neighbors on all sides, and the ayatollahs in Iran, hear and understand this. They will understand that there is no point in trying to drive us out of this land, or out of this world.

How could anyone read these verses and not realize what is going on? What else should happen for people to finally open their eyes?

The process of the final redemption has started with us coming back to our land a century ago. It will take a few more years, maybe dozens, maybe hundreds, I don't know how many, but sure enough, the final redemption has already started and its finalization is just around the corner.
To end with a quote from this Shabbat prophet reading, Isaiah: "And they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and you (Jerusalem) will be called sought after, the city no longer deserted" (Isaiah 62: 12). This is here and now.

Shabbat shalom! (And see you again Sunday morning, with a post about Rosh Hashana).