Life in Israel

Interesting Posts #106

2009-11-26T18:15:00.003+02:00

1. Yeranen Yaakov points to a video of Rav Batzri exorcising a dybbuk... for some reason it feels "wrong" that these things are done in public.. By "wrong" I don't mean he did something wrong, but it seems like such publicity, allowing the crowds to watch, etc. make it more of a media spectacle and less believable.

2. Yeshiva Guy on tormenting games...

3. Hadassah on the issue of the schools asking for tips for the teachers from the parents.. and Dov Bear on the same topic.

4. Parshablog discusses some moral lessons from Parshat VaYeitzei

5. Geshmak Torah has a nice dvar torah on the parsha about being united...

6. Oh oh. According to Mystical Paths I have to change my ice cream light bulbs back to old fashioned ones...

An historic evening in a haredi girls school

2009-11-26T15:05:00.000+02:00

Last night was historic, as far as I know, unfortunately.

For the first time, that I am aware of, my daughters school had a parents teachers conference and invited the fathers to participate.

I say "unfortunately" because if they were already inviting me to come talk to the teachers, there was no way for me to get out of it! So I went.

Other mothers were surprised I was there, as I was the only father to show up. By the end of the evening another father had showed up.

It was an historic evening for fathers everywhere...

Haredizing the Kotel

2009-11-26T13:25:00.000+02:00

Is the Kotel going through a process of "haredization"? It depends who you ask.

There have been complaints recently by some dati leumi and secular organizations that it is being "haredized". They point to various changes in the Kotel area that indicate new rules are being implemented. The flags at the back of the plaza were removed, signs calling for separation of the sexes were placed around the plaza area, stationing of tzniyus guards around the area, disallowing civil ceremonies ni the plaza above the kotel, along with some other examples.

After sending protests and complaints, some of those have been rescinded. The flags have been returned to the back of the plaza. most of the signs calling for separation of the sexes have been removed from the plaza area.

The various organizations claim that their protests and complaints have helped and they say they plan to continue complaining about various other examples of what they call the haredization of the Kotel until it is all resolved. Rav Rabinovitch has an answer for each of the claims, as he denies there is any such haredization going on.

The flags, Rabinovitch says, were removed due to renovations going on in the area. The renovations have been completed, so the flags were returned to their places. Separation, he says, was never demanded in the plaza area, except during special prayer gatherings (where large crowds were expected) - one sign remains on a partition that had been erected for construction purposes and that will soon be removed.

Basically, it is a figment of their imagination, and is all just a matter of coincidental timing, according to Rav Rabinovitch.

Another example has come to light, this one far more serious. Yediot Acharonot has published today an article (I saw it in the newspaper but not yet online) claiming that haredim at the Kotel are destroying siddurim, specifically Rinat Yisrael, that contain the prayer for the State of Israel. They are ripping the pages that contain the prayer. They showed pictures of some siddurim that were torn on said pages.

I find it hard to believe that haredim would do this - tear a siddur. At least not as a group or as a directed project. Perhaps there are some hotheads who might consider such a prayer to be heretical and maybe they do it on their own, but as a group, as part of a ploy to haredize the kotel - I don't believe it.
Of course such people should be prosecuted, if they are caught, and steps should be taken to prevent it from happening. But to consider that as a directed attempt to change the status of the kotel is too much for me to believe..

Palestinian alarm clock (video)

2009-11-26T11:44:00.000+02:00

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2009-11-26T10:45:00.000+02:00

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Shidduch technology in Lakewood (video)

2009-11-26T07:59:00.000+02:00

In Lakewood they are full of technological advances. Now they have devised a new venue for shidduch dating using technology.

This whole thing makes no sense to me. Aside from the general stupidity of arranging for people to meet like this, except in cases where girls and boys are in different cities and don't know whether to travel or not for a date, I thought in Lakewood, and other communities this is obviously going to be targeting, people are not meant to be using Internet? Do they get this set up in their homes when a date is arranged or do they have to go to a center? If they have to go to some office, then this system will only be usable in a few areas by few people - or will they set up an office in every city in the world with a Jewish community?

The best thing about it is that now people will be able to go out on dates, feeling formal, but without the actual formality. They can wear the top of their suits - jacket shirt and tie, but sit in their shorts, pajamas, or even underwear for comfort!

Interesting Posts #105

2009-11-25T18:23:00.002+02:00

1. Torat Yisrael noticed a strange sign on an Egged bus. Someone else told me about it as well. It seems to be a test program and is actually available on some buses that have long distance routes...

2. Going Home to Yerushalayim suggests the possible discovery of the Sambatyon River...

3. Hubscubs points to a study showing that olim also do much for the country...

4. How to be Israeli has figured out what they are going to do with their Nazi plates. I think it is a good solution...

5. Frum n Flipping describes what goes through the maidels mind while she waits for her date to show up...

6. Modern Uberdox has a good lesson from a cement mixer...

7. The Curious Jew responds to the letter by the lady who just wants to be touched...

a new social group in israel

2009-11-25T15:07:00.000+02:00

Another result of the Eidah hafganot against Intel is now going to be a counter-hafgana being planned against religious coercion.

The best part of it is the name they are using for their group - "Tzioni Yatzrani", which would mean "Creative Zionists" or perhaps "Productive Zionists". I never heard this one before, and I assume it was created for the marketing of this protest..

I like the originality of it...

Telling Foreman to stop boxing

2009-11-25T13:22:00.000+02:00

Yuri Foreman winning the super-welterweight boxing title while being called a rabbinical student has sparked a debate of whether it is permitted to box, considering the inevitable damage done to the body, or not.

From the NY Daily News:

While he hears criticism about his profession from some in Brooklyn's Jewish community, Foreman, 29, said, "People who have never been in the ring, never done what I do, they're sometimes really quick to give their opinions.

"They like to say what's forgiven and what's forbidden...but it's not so simple."

The 29-year-old Foreman, who lives in Carroll Gardens and trains in Gleason's Gym in DUMBO, has a record of 28-0. He's also been a part-time rabbinical student for the past three years, even though it is widely held that a rabbi shouldn't be a professional fighter.

"I don't think it's even a debate among rabbis," said Sid Leiman, a professor of Jewish history at Brooklyn College. "Rabbis would look unkindly on [boxing]; if it's not against Jewish law, it's certainly against the spirit of Jewish law."
[...]
"The wrong way of looking at this is to say, 'He's an observant Jew and he's boxing so it's okay,'" said Rabbi Yaakov Osdoba, 40, a seminary instructor in Crown Heights. "The point is, even though he's observant it doesn't justify [boxing]."

Foreman doesn't buy the criticism, saying portions of Halakhah, Jewish law, provide justification for the sport he not only loves, but one he feels brings him closer to God.

"Look, if you ask, just boxing, any rabbi who doesn't know boxing is going to give you an answer right away," he said.

"But when you're in the ring after five rounds, going on 12, it's very spiritual, and I'm saying my own little prayers throughout the fight, 'Please, God, protect me.'"

Some groups say, and I thought Chabad was one of them, that when people become frum they should not give up their old life and old jobs. Rather, they should continue in their professions. They generally believe in living a frum life in all areas. That is how people like Matisyahu come to be and thrive in Chabad, and that is how young boxers like Foreman and Salita have succeeded as well.

It is strange that some rabbis are now giving statements like this that rabbis, or Jews for that matter, should not be boxers - I do not know if these are rabbis who have influence over these young men or not. In reality nobody should be boxers. Why would anyone want the brain damage that will result from getting your head pounded on repeatedly for a number of years. But once the guy is already in this profession and loves it and sees his life there, I don't see it to be any worse than somebody involved in other high risk jobs. Risk and potential future damage are very subjective and what some consider to be risky others consider to be lame, so it should be very difficult for anyone to tell someone else he can or cannot do something because of the risk involved. Boxing is probably pretty risky according to everybody, but what about other risky ventures like being a window washer by a skyscraper? What about being a dog trainer? a policeman or fireman? a soldier in the army?

I know I am not really saying anything, just wondering out loud... the debate seems strange to me. Especially in light of the fact that in the 30s and 40s, boxing was dominated by Jews. That changed, according to some studies I read, because of the socio-economic improvements in the Jewish community. But with the history of Jews and boxing it seems strange to say that a Jew cannot be a boxer...

Headline of the Day (hotd)

2009-11-25T11:47:00.000+02:00

Mom of 13: I Won't Stop Until I Have Twins

--- Fox News

The Worlds Strictest Parents - Israel Edition (video)

2009-11-25T10:30:00.001+02:00

Watch out for some crass language early on, and there is a scene with the cows you might want to close your eyes for... :-)

The busiest mohel in new York? (video)

2009-11-25T09:23:00.000+02:00

35 Babies and Their Mohel - Click here for more amazing videos

Interesting Posts #104

2009-11-24T18:28:00.002+02:00

1. Between JM and TLV on between life and death - the guy in a coma for 23 years who now says he was conscious the whole time.

2. Aussie Dave has a picture that he holds up in Ahmadinejad's face.

3. Mystical Paths describes the evil town of Gilo..

4. Frum n' Flippin asks if blogging is tzniyus...

5. Benjie went to the Gilad Shalit tent and describes what he experienced. Hopefully the tent will soon be closed down and Gilad Shalit will be home with his family..

6. Circus Tent on the clip of the Tosher Rebbe making a bracha.. Personally I received this clip by email and did not like it. I was ashamed for the rebbe. I don't know him or who he is, but I do not think this clip, even though it is entitled as an amazing clip of him, shows him in a good light. I don't know what is so amazing or inspiring about how he says that bracha. Hafuch - to me it looks like they are shaming the rebbe. Perhaps he is ill and does not have control of all his facilities. Perhaps something else. But I think this clip is bizuy talmidei chachomim. And even if he is in full control of himself, what is so amazing and inspiring about this? Are we all meant to say brachos like this? I think whoever put this clip up accomplished the opposite of what his intentions were...

7. Open Minded Torah on fanatics in Israel...

maps and division details of RBS C/G/3

2009-11-24T15:48:00.000+02:00

For those of you interested...

After hearing all this talk about building in RBS C/G/3 and about dividing or not dividing it up, you might be curious how it is going to work.

Here are the maps of how the sections will be divided up, according to the original plan at least, and how the plots are being divided and put up for building tenders..

Overview map:
This map contains the basic layout of RBS Gimmel.
The legend:
Orange - Bnei Beitchah
Yellow/Blue - Residential housing
Brown - Public buildings
Green - Parks
Gray - Shopping areas

Sections Map/List:
The iryah voted to apportion RBS Gimmel evenly between three groups - Chareidi/Dait Leumi/General.
While the Misrad Hashichun did not approve this division, the information was still presented to the interested kablanim as attached. The map shows the basic division and the list shows exactly which areas and number of units are in each section.

Bet Shemesh newspapers obectivity questioned, in a non-objective source

2009-11-24T11:42:00.002+02:00

Mayor Moshe Abutbol of Bet Shemesh chose to hit back at the 2 main newspapers that have been leading the "attack" against him with articles incessantly lambasting him.

He published statements in Chadash, his newspaper of choice, hitting back. In his statement, he attacks the newspapers (Keren Or and Shopping Bet Shemesh) saying they have shown themselves to have broken the basic laws of journalism and have lost their objectivity. A newspaper is meant to be objective, so he says, in its reporting, and in its parshanut as well, though in parshanut there is more leeway. These newspapers have gone beyond the objective and have clearly showed their political affiliation and report and analyze the news with no objectivity.

It is ironic that he chose to publish this in Chadash. Chadash too is a newspaper with zero objectivity and completely adheres to political affiliation. It happens to be that right now Chadash is in line with the mayor, so they do not attack him. However, in the years before Abutbol was mayor, the Chadash paper attacked Vaknin whenever it felt it was prudent to do so. The Chadash is a clearly affiliated newspaper pulling a very sibjective style of reporting, yet that is the platform used to attack other papers for their lack of objectivity.

I don't know how objective any given newspaper is really meant to be (I did not study journalism and do not know the "rules"). I do know that in pretty much every newspaper in the world you will easily be able to figure out the affiliation of the newspaper after reading just a few articles.

Abutbol's response was poorly placed, considering the content of his response. And I am not so sure how accurate his claims are regarding what the newspapers are meant to be doing.

(That being said, Keren Or has repeatedly attacked the mayor and the haredim in ways that are way beyond reason, but that does not affect how the mayor chose to respond in poor taste)

Red Tooth Fairy Strings

2009-11-24T08:25:00.000+02:00

Funny conversation I noticed during dinner - one of my kids lost a tooth, and we were talking about the tooth fairy. At the same time, my mother who is still here visiting was talking with one of my kids about red strings from Kever Rachel.

It struck me when I noticed that we were probably talking about the same thing...

Quote of the Day (qotd)

2009-11-23T15:56:00.000+02:00

Israel has no intention of building the Beis Hamikdash on Temple Mount..

----- President Shimon Peres to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

Perhaps this is the source of our problems... Israel has no intentions to build the Beis Hamikdash... it is one thing to say it is not practical right now for reasons x, y and z, but the Jewish dream, and at least the long term goal, is to rebuild the Temple. It is another thing to say we have no such intentions at all....

Feeling stupid over Shalit

2009-11-23T14:23:00.000+02:00

Rumors have been swirling about the release of Gilad Shalit being imminent, as a deal is in the final stages of being closed. To this end, Hamas has announced that the current holdup is surrounding an argument over one prisoner - Hamas wants a specific terrorist released and Israel is saying no to that one.

I generally have not commented on the rumors, because they are just rumors. We have heard many times already that a deal is imminent and his release is just days away. It obviously has not happened yet, so I take rumors in the media to be just rumors and not worthy of comment.

This, however, is not just a rumor, but a statement by Hamas. I am not commenting on the rumor of Shalit's coming release, but on the hamas statement of Israel holding up the deal because of one name.

Clearly, Hamas is trying to put pressure on israel by making such an announcement. Most people who hear such a thing will say "One name? one name? that is it? one name, just forget it. throw him in. we are releasing all those others anyway, what is one more?" or something to that effect.

Have you ever argued with a taxi driver over the price of a ride, and he will say to you "you are arguing over 2 shekel?", and then you feel kind of stupid that you are getting all worked up over that small amount.

The truth is, and I often will say something to this affect in similar situations, the other guy is also arguing over just "2 shekels" (or whatever the small amount is), so you should feel no less or more stupid than he should feel, (NOTE: despite my saying this, I am a certified freier and generally will be the one who ends up paying the difference), and you have no reason to not argue for it just like he feels he has the right.

Hamas is doing the same thing. By saying the argument is over one name, they are making us feel stupid, like we are holding up the deal to release Shalit because of one insignificant point in the deal. The truth is, they are holding up the deal just as much, and they should be the ones to forgo that one name, just like they are claiming that we should forgo it.

Hamas knows that we are a democracy, and the government has to keep the people happy. If they can make us feel stupid over this, they will have exerted the appropriate pressure, via the average Israeli citizen, on the Israeli government. And by doing that, they will likely get what they want.

nobody wants to feel stupid.

The haredi tone in Bet Shemesh

2009-11-23T11:07:00.000+02:00

If you are from Bet Shemesh, you might be aware that the haredi newspaper Chadash recently underwent a major change. The newspaper was sold, as Mati Rosenzweig, the previous owner, had a conflict of interests being that he was appointed to the job of Municipal Spokesperson. Shortly after the sale, the editor of the paper was also changed.

In the few weeks since the editor was changed, I have noticed a major change in the tone of the paper. The previous editor always had a column on the first inside page in which he analyzed a lesson based on, usually, something in current culture - a holiday usually or something similar, only vaguely, at most, touching on local politics. In the paper itself, even if the reporting and writing was low quality and biased, at least the tone was reasonable.

Since the change, the quality has not improved (yet), but the tone has changed. Almost every article is spent attacking anybody in the city who does not tow the haredi line. The first page editorial has been, weekly, a scathing article against anybody who is not haredi or doesn't vote haredi, mostly against the Mafdal because of recent events, and many articles within are also spent attacking those who do anything other than the haredi position.

The quality has not improved, and the tone has gotten worse. I don't like it. It is getting even worse than the stupid attacks of the Keren Or newspaper on the haredim. And that is pretty bad.

I hope the turn for the worse is just a case of bad journalism and not an indication of a change for the worse in the general haredi community.

The grass is greener

2009-11-23T07:50:00.000+02:00

I had a number of relatives in town from the US for the recent bar mitzvah.

It is interesting to note that my kids asked them to bring certain American candies that cannot be found in Israel, and the US cousins asked them to bring back certain israeli candies that cannot be found there. (both claimed those are the best candies - al taam va'rei'ach, ayn l'hitvakei'ach!)

Everybody wants what the other one has...

Interesting Posts #103

2009-11-22T18:14:00.002+02:00

1. A Mother in Israel is hosting Haveil Havalim #244...

2. Between JM and TLV discusses the demonstration against Intel. As does Tzedek-Tzedek.

3. Going Home to Yerushalayim brings a proposal by LaMikdash about resolving the Temple Mount issues...

4. Parshablog noticed a correction in the NY Times about the recent scandal in New Jersey, yet the original article remains online uncorrected...

5. A great story about Rabbi Holzberg, hy"d, from India, about how he helped get a get for a woman.

6. Rabbi Fink presents a moral argument against the death penalty. While I know as frum jews we are meant to oppose the death penalty, as who are we to judge someone to death, especially without a sanhedrin and the proper procedures in place. yet I always was in favor of the death penalty, and still remain unconvinced that it is wrong.

7. Modern Uberdox goes "home" and reflects on the changes, and on what has stayed the same.

Tweet of the Day (totd)

2009-11-22T16:04:00.000+02:00

"Haredi pressure stalling church, mosque at Ben-Gurion airport." I have never been, but I don't think there is a shteibel in Dubai....

tweeted by @daniwaxman

How much did your black hat cost?

2009-11-22T15:28:00.000+02:00

Think MJ got his hat at Ferster? I wonder if after the auction we will be seeing lots of black fedoras going up for sale at ridiculous prices....

Naomi Frenkel, bd"h

2009-11-22T13:36:00.000+02:00

I don't normally put up obituaries - the death of a personality is a news item that you can get from reading any newspaper, and there is no need for me to mention it.

This one sounds unusually interesting, as it seems her life was very unusual and I just want to point it out.

Nomy Frenkel passed away yesterday at the age of 91. Frenkel was an author, who wrote novels depicting what Germany was like with the rise of Hitler to power.

What is interesting about Frenkel is the extreme's she brought into her life. She was born to parents who both had religious backgrounds, but themselves had not been religious, and had been socialists.

After making aliyah at a young age, after her mother died, she eventually lived on a kibbutz, Kibbutz Beit Alpha, that was a stronghold of Marxism.

It seems she did not get along well with the kibbutz, but lived there for a long time. Eventually she joined the navy.

At a later stage, in 1982, she changed her spots completely and went to the other extreme, moving to Chevron and then later to Kiryat Arba.

I found this interesting interview from 2004 on Arutz 7, from the B'Sheva newspaper, with Frenkel in which she sheds light on some of her life.

The switch from one extreme to the other is what fascinates me. Most people change their views over the course of a lifetime, but the adjustments are fairly minor. Slight lifestyle changes, and even if the changes are great, it is generally only certain aspects of their life, while much of their worldview will remain the same or similar to what it was. Frenkel did not just adjust her life from being a leftist to right wing, but from extreme left to extreme right. At the same time, from secular to religious. And not just staying in Tel Aviv or moving to a religious area, but moving to Chevron-Kiryat Arba.

t'hei zichra baruch

The result of the hafganot

2009-11-22T11:26:00.000+02:00

The hafganah of the Eida and its followers against Intel (We should name the weekly Eida Hafgana something like "the what they will protest against next week hafgana") stepped up a notch this week, though the details of that do not interest me all that much.

At hafganot, police provoke, protesters provoke, things get hot, people get hit, people get hurt, people get arrested. The Eida is now complaining that the Gaavad got hit in a scuffle and how dare they, but that is part of the risk of taking part in a [semi-] violent hafgana, so no sympathy from me (though the police could have used more tact and avoided the Gaavad).

What does interest me is a new phenomenon that is being reported by the Haredim website, That is, somebody spray painted the sheim hamefurash on the street leading up to the location of the hafgana. Some rabbonim who saw it said protesters should avoid walkign there, and it is a problem to erase it as well, so they covered it up with carton so people would not inadvertently step on it. The Gaavad himself said it is not a big deal, as a heretic who writes a Torah imbues it with no holiness, and this would be the same.

My point is that this is where the hafganot have taken us. They have done nothing but create fresh hostility and hatred against religion, and they have accomplished nothing in the form of increasing any level of shmiras shabbos by anybody, not publicly nor privately. They are now getting the secular to not just oppose the haredim, but to actually defile the name of God publicly, as a response.