The Askenazi failure

Every time there are elections in Israel, and the results are not satisfactory for some, it starts the search for the guilty part of the society. (Although I wish a lot, I prefer not to talk about the elections right now) Instead of focusing on the real problems and political failures, some (don't expect me to share any of their links) preferred instead to accuse the Mizrahi Jews because...they did not vote with the very confused and unstructured and unreliable leftist parties.
Lacking any inspiration and arguments, some returned to the infamous Askenazi Revolution (HaMahapechah HaAskenazit) of Katznelson. A book which I tried to read and found it libellous and extremely bad written and lacking not only argumentation - how can you have arguments for racist statements against your own people - but also the style of a good writing. The only explanation that such a literary failure was considered a success was probably the political ambiance of the 1960s when many Askenazim, not few of them of German origin, were sharing the same impressions and assumptions and Katznelson just wrote something that the public expected to read.
Ben Gurion himself, who forbade the book later, said in 1966: "We do not want Israelis to become Arabs. We are in duty bound to fight against the spirit of the Levant which corrupts individuals and societies, and preserve the authentic Jewish values as thez crystallized in the diaspora".
In April 22 1949, the journalist Aryeh Gelblum, an immigrant from Poland, wrote in Ha'aretz on the occasion of the arriving of Mizrahi immigrants: 'This is the immigration of a race we have not yet known in the country. We are dealing with people whose primitivism is at a peak, whose level of knowledge is one of virtually absolute ignorance and, worse, who have little talent for understanding anything intellectual. Generally, they are only slighty better than the general level of the Arabs, Negroes and the Berbers in the same region. In any case, they are at an even lower level that we knoa with regard to the former Arabs of Israel. These Jews also lack roots in Judaism, as they are totally insubordinated to savage and primitive instincts. As with Africans, you will find among them gambling, drunkenness and prostitution...chronic laziness, and hatred for work; there is anothing safe about this asocial element. (Even) the kibbutzim will not hear of their absorbtion'.
Being so versed into the racist German theories, result of the assimilation encouraged by the Haskala, made people like Gelblum more 'advanced'? The lack of roots in Judaism is the situation of someone who forgets about the long history of Jewish life in the Middle East, probably less assimilated then their brothers in the industrial Europe.
Years passed and at least officially, such standpoints are not the mainstream, except during and after the election time. Some people from the old generation, may still believe that their racism against Askenazim has any logical, cultural or historical, and even religious base.
A long conversation is such a discussion does have any sense does not make any logic. Just pointing out once in a while how wrong such conversations are is a must. The more we say about it and against it, the better for our sanity.

Book Review: Growth through Tehillim, by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

I am reading regularly at least a couple of kapiteln of Tehillim for a long time already. Either on the road or at home, while taking a break from other writing or while the food is in the oven, sometimes even when I am in the train back home, I am taking my small book of Artscroll and have my private spiritual moments. This happens for almost 3 years now, and if by laziness or superficiality it happens to miss this meeting, I feel poor and often my spirit is low. Every day of Tehillim helps me to grow and get the strength that I need so much sometimes to go through the day.

Rabbi Zelig Pliskin beautiful book Growth through Tehillim is important though not only because outlines our need of spirituality and explain how to use it. For me, it brings into light an aspect of spirituality often forgotten: our goal to be better people. 

And I will explain what it is all about. For a long time, I was worried that I used to pray without kavanah, just reading words forming sentences, without a real spiritual concentration on the prayer. I need to keep praying till I was finally able to achieve a higher spiritual level from time to time. It works the same in the case of Tehillim. I am reading and focusing on the words but the realization of the spiritual message might came later in the day or even in life. 

Trying to be a better person and achieving that high level of spirituality and wisdom when you are able to consider everything is going on into your life as a blessing and you have the capacity to learn from everyone takes more time. Personally, I had to cope with a huge challenge of having around me people with toxic attitudes, very often self sufficient and over critical against everyone except themselves. Whatever efforts you strive to make for being a good person, when those around you are focused on the negative parts and refuse to be wise, it is hard to resist the temptation to follow your example.

Growth through Tehillim brought me back to some well practised habits in the last years when I made tremendous efforts to say 'good bye' to my negative attitude against my fellow humans and cultivate kindness and understanding for every human being. Every chapter of the book develops around a verse of Tehillim, with samples of Torah learning ending up with life stories that have the strength to inspire even more, because always we are curious to hear and read what other people from our times will do in similar situations with us. 

It is written in a simple yet inspiring way, and gives a lot of food for thought and reasons to decide that from tomorrow on, will try at least to be a much better person, with a positive attitude, thankful to Hashem for everything that we receive in our life and careful to count and be grateful for our gifts.

The Joys of Yiddish

On a bus in Tel Aviv, a mother was talking animatedly, in Yiddish, to her little boy - who kept answering her in Hebrew. And eatch time the mother said, "No, not talk Yiddish!". An impatient Israeli, overhearing this, exclaimed, "Lady, why do you insist the boy talk in Yiddish instead of Hebrew?"

Replied the mother, "I don't want him to forget he's a Jew".

Leo Rosten, The Joys of Yiddish