Amid Aleppo violence, fate unknown for one of Judaism's greatest buildings | The Times of Israel

Amid Aleppo violence, fate unknown for one of Judaism's greatest buildings | The Times of Israel

Happy 5773!

For me and my family, 5772 was a full year, with a lot of personal changes, ups and downs, discoveries and understanding of the power of silence when no need is for worries, as long as Hashem is guiding us.

Wasn't always easy, but looking back I cannot be but amazed by the tremendous process I went through. 

And I wish to have the wisdom and force to continue for many years from now.

Shana tova and may all be written in the Book of life!

Be back soon after 5773 is here!

The forgotten refugees

The fate of the Jews from Arab countries is a topic that was not addressed accordingly and sometimes I wondered why. Instead, I've heard very often, including among other Jews, what a better life some Sephardim had in the Arab lands. Being a little bit familiar with stories of refugees and survivors I never realized from where this stereotype originated.

Maybe there were not pogroms and crusades and not too much religious awakening and extremism, but I met many former Yemeni Jews who were forced to change their religion. Sadly enough, many Askenazim used to have fun of their Mizrahi neighbors calling them 'Arabs', but they did not know that they were forced to learn this Arabic. Similarly as many of the Askenazim needed to learn the language of the place - Russian, Frech, German, Hungarian or English etc. - as the only way to be accepted and got professional success. More than all of us, they understand very well what does it mean to deal with the Arab world, their prejudices and stereotypes. 

I wonder why it took so long until the media approached the issue of ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Arab lands. There are so many people for decades talking about the fate of the 'Palestinian refugees' - many leaving the country at the advice of their leaders - but not too many were curious to find out what happened with the Mizrahi Jews. They don't have where to go, their property were stolen and their chances to see the graves where their families rest aren't almost impossible. The rich culture of Mizrahi Jews were took upon in Israel, where many found their home after being forced to leave. 

We are used to think about the strong Zionism of the Jews from Europe and America, but we hardly remember the brave Mizrahi and Sephardim who suffered a lot for being Jews. Many left their houses with their kids in their hand and nothing in their pockets, their properties being held illegally by their Arab hosts. 

After the fall of communism, in many Eastern European countries, a symbolic restitution was sometimes possible. Our brethren from the Arab lands can't have their houses back. Some were even stolen their memories and their religion. 

Better late than never, the world should know more about their fate, and hope that more and more testimonies will be collected and published. Until it is not too late.

Elul 5772

Elul comes after the dark month of Av and still keeps the shades of the suffering and distress.

A short overview of the events that took place in the month of Elul shows how before the change many dramatic changes could take place.

And only if I try to think about some of the events of the last days, according to the media news, I cannot stop thinking about the difficult beginning that stays before us:

The anti-semitic attack on the college campus in the US. As usual, it is still difficult to see American as a hotbed of hate, but the zahav medina for Jews was only in my imagination. A couple of seconds ago I've read that the Orthodox Rabbi of Berlin was charged for defending circumcisions.

A recent anti-semitic attack in Berlin, a place where the Jews discussed a lot lately about what the meaning of a circumcision ban.

The news of the inevitable eviction of Migron

In between many other news and dangers. The challenges aren't new, the opportunities change always.

Are yeshiva students exempt fro... JPost - Jewish World - Judaism

Are yeshiva students exempt fro... JPost - Jewish World - Judaism

Haaretz: How Facebook is helping to fight my friend’s cancer

As I write this, it’s hard to believe that just one week has passed since we received the devastating news as a Facebook post. Our dear friend, Pamela Weisfeld, was diagnosed with brain, liver, breast and bone cancers. Two and a half months ago, Pamela, a nursing mother, started experiencing back pain. Her doctor then found a lump in her breast and associated it with a blocked milk duct. Medications were prescribed to deal with what, at the time, seemed to be benign symptoms. Now that the illnesses have been fully diagnosed, both chemo and radiation treatments are being employed.

I’ve known Pamela’s husband, Shmuel, for over ten years. After arriving in Israel from England and then serving in the army, he enrolled as a student at Yeshivat Darche Noam/Shapell’s. My family lived in the Beit Hakerem neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Yeshiva. During that time, Shmuel and I enjoyed sharing quite a few Divrei Torah coupled with single malt l’chaims over our Shabbat table. After his leaving the Yeshiva, our paths crossed on our various journeys. Most recently, Shmuel and his Rusty Mike radio sidekick, Stephen Rosenbaum, interviewed me on air for my organization’s Threshold project.

Pamela made aliya from New Jersey six years ago. She and Shmuel have been married for four years. They are blessed with two children, Shoham Adiel, two and a half, and Tehila Anael, eight months, and live in the Talpiyot Mizrach neighborhood of Jerusalem. Shmuel, in addition to his radio show, builds websites. Pamela has been working in social media and Internet marketing.

Tradition teaches us that the three weeks, particularly the nine days leading up to Tisha B’Av, are a dangerous time. Within the last two weeks, Israeli tourists in Bulgaria were murdered in a terrorist attack and midnight moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, were slaughtered in the theater. And here in Jerusalem, a young mother of two suddenly finds herself fighting for her life. How should we, the “unaffected,” respond?

For a group of the Weisfeld’s friends, the answer was obvious. Marna Becker, Kelli Brown, Matt Gleicher, and Samantha Robinson started a Facebook page, Refuah Shlema (a complete healing) for Pamela Weisfeld (Ayala Pamela bat Leah). Since its inception a week ago, it now has over 3,000 members and continues to grow rapidly. A website is about to be launched.

There are regular, very moving, Facebook posts on Pamela’s condition from Shmuel. In the world that we live in, where virtually nothing is private, a real concern is that we, the readers, become voyeurs. But there is a crucial difference here. We want to know because we care deeply and we will take positive action based on changing conditions. And technology is being employed to engage an expanding audience to do more mitzvot in the merit of Pamela’s recovery and to provide care for the family.

Besides praying three times a day in our Shmoneh Esreh (Amida) an insertion for Ayala Pamela bat Leah in the blessing for healing, there are opportunities to say chapters of Psalms and to “take challah” when making our loaves for Shabbat. To formalize the commitment, there are Google Docs set up where friends sign up. Special classes are being taught from Jerusalem to London to New York, all in Pamela’s merit.

Want to make a meal for the family? You can sign up at the meal Train website, but please, no pizza nor red meat.

And of course, there is financial need. Friends from across the globe have been recruited to be collection points and to help raise funds for treatment and for the family using PayPal and other online giving tools.

Our Temples were destroyed because of sinat hinam (baseless hatred). Our response, we are taught, needs to be ahavat hinam (unconditional, boundless love).

Shmuel, in his first post on Facebook, wrote, “I have learned many things in the last two days, but the one thing that keeps slapping me in the face is: I am more mystified and at a loss on how to handle the chessed (lovingkindness) that Am Israel has shown us than I am on how to handle the reality of my wife with severe cancer and maintaining my children's welfare. Thank you for introducing me to Hashem and the Jewish people… Thank you.”

When I received my Semicha (rabbinic ordination) some years ago, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger addressed us and said, “At the end of our life’s journey, after our 120 years, we are asked questions about how we lived our lives. But, there’s an additional question to be asked today. Did you have Internet? And if the answer is yes, did you use it to learn Torah?”

I would humbly add another follow up question. Did you use the Internet to do chessed, acts of lovingkindness? For those thousands involved in assisting the Weisfeld family in its time of need, the answer is a resounding “yes.” May it only be for a refuah shlema for Ayala Pamela bat Leah and shalom for the entire family.

For those who want to learn more and help in some capacity, Rabbi Yehoshua Looks can be contacted at yehoshua.looks@gmail.com.

For Tisha B'Av

The short history of Kinot and some detailed explanations

Excerpts from the Koren HaRav Kinot