Tunnel Roads, Take Me Home...

One of the great side-effects of being the first one in your family to make Aliyah is the incredible visits from family members, which consist of strait-up quality time and a chance to see the Holy Land through the fresh eyes of someone you love very much.

My father was just here, and in addition to ascending the Holy Mount we appeared on the premier Jewish music radio show, The Beat with Benyamin Bresky on Israel National Radio. We hastily composed the following song for the occasion (click the link to listen):

Tunnel Roads.mp3

Tunnel Roads
Lyrics and Vocals: Ezra HaLevi
Guitar and Backup vocals: Baruch Ben-Tzion (Buzzy) HaLevi Levine


Almost heaven
Cross the checkpoint
Jewish mountains
Shiny Jewish rivers, yeah
Life is old there
Older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Flowing with the peace

Tunnels roads, take me Home
To the place I belong
Gush Etzion and Tekoa
Take me home, tunnel roads

All my memories
Gather round her
Har HaBayit
Angels on the ladder
A scattered people
Looking toward the sky...
Get on up to the Holy Land it's up to you and I!

Tunnel roads, take me Home
To the place I belong
Gush Katif and the Shomron
Take me Home, tunnel roads

I hear a voice in the morning, its a Bat Kol
Radio reminds me that it's still far away
All Diaspora Jews should get the feeling like they should have come Home yesterday
Yesterdaaaaaaay...

Tunnel roads, take me Home
To the place I belong
Gush Etzion and Bat Ayin
Take me Home, tunnel roads

Tunnel roads, take me Home
To the place where I belong
Gush Etzion and the Shomron
Take me Home, tunnel roads

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Prime Beachfront Real Estate For Sale!

Apparently we are not leaving Gaza in order to "return" the land to its Palestinian owners - we are opening the bidding to anyone who is interested in moving in to our homes:

"People from all over the world have turned to us and are asking we reconsider our position and refrain from demolishing the homes," one political source said. "Even if in the end we decide to keep the original decision it is still important that we rethink the move."
[....]
One of the offers Israel had recently received came last week from billionaire Mahmoud al-Abar from Abu Dhabai. Al-Abar met with Ilan Cohen, director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, with a proposal to buy the Gaza settlements for $56 million. (JPost)

Sounds like a great opportunity! But, do you think there will be any restrictions on who is allowed to buy? Say, NO JEWS ALLOWED?

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"We just put this up in front of our house." - Michael

THIS WEEK ON 'THE ALIYAH REVOLUTION SHOW'
Kumah's Malkah and Yishai Fleisher talk with Danny Oberman of Nefesh'B'Nefesh about new immigration laws and filling out a Nefesh application. We Shmooz with David Halevi of K'Cholmim about the hottest new Aliyah resource: AliyahNet, and finally we talk with Jordan Frankel about his family's upcoming Aliyah...

PLUS - Yishai reads Aliyah verses from Ezekiel and Jeremiah

It's all as easy as clicking this Aliyah Revolution link - Enjoy!!!

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Now Hear This: HaRav Eliyahu Soloveitchik on Aliyah

Rav Eliyahu Soloveitchik, the son of the late HaRav Aharon Soloveitchik ZT"L, one of the most preeminent religious Zionist thinkers of our time, spoke at the Lander College for Men last night. He spoke on "Yishuv HaAretz and Aliyah Today." As promised it was very inspirational and educational with personal stories of his father's love for Eretz Yisrael and the need for religious Jews to make Aliyah.



If you weren't able to make it don't worry. Kumah was there and we taped it.
Click here to listen to the whole shiur right now!

Ben Greenberg, who runs Yavneh at Lander's arranged this event and plans to have more like it every month! You can contact him at bengreenberg@gmail.com and anyone interested in signing up to the mailing list for future event announcements can go to http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/LanderGarin/

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Another 'I Love Israel' Story

As the world keeps it's sinister eyeball hovering closely to our little country, and the powers that be exercise their powerful hijack, regular life keeps on keeping on in Israel. No crappy dictator, no caravan of UN "peacekeepers", can keep Israel from being the best darn country in the world.

Here is one such account:

I was on the bus a week ago, a typical Sunday busride in which a 50 person bus seats 62. As miracles would have it, I had a seat - the best seat on the bus, the one in the front, on the right, where you can watch our beautiful mountains roll by without any impediments.

Approximately 12 minutes into an hour long busride, a soldier with the classic Israeli hair spikage and (to my horror) waxed eyebrows staggers up to the front of the bus. "Driver, can you pull over for a second?" The soldier isn't looking good, and I'm not just talking about the eyebrows. He's breathing heavily and his eyes are glazed over. The driver asks if he wants to get off - no. So we keep going. The solider stands in front of my picture window, head on his arm, no doubt begging for the strength to complete a ride. The previously chatter-filled bus goes silent. Everyone is feeling this guy's pain. Questions start floating to the front :"Are you alright?" "Did you eat anything today?" Someone passes a bottle of water, then a plastic bag for the inevitable fruits of this lone soldier's bad ride. I offer him my prized seat, which he declines.

Even before we left the Central Bus Station on this ill-fated journey, our bus driver, a man in his 30's, was in a bad mood. Incorrect change, an over-filled bus, and moody passengers had gotten him off to a bad start. Now, 25 minutes into our ride, he was transformed. He stopped the bus anytime a side glance at our sick friend showed a turn for the worse. Corners were taken widely, almost apologetically. At some point, when the soldier finished the remnants of a small bottle of water that he was given, our soldier asked the driver if he had any more water. He didn't. So he pulled the bus over, hit the 5 shekel coin button on the change machine, and exited the bus at a sprint. Five minutes later, he returns, our hero, with an icy cold bottle of water for our soldier. I'll bet that 5 shekel came out of his own pocket at the end of the shift.

Two sips later, and 35 minutes into a valiant effort, our soldier lost his battle. Sounds of wretching and spitting filled our packed bus, as the front stairs saw the contents of our soldier's stomach. In America, I would have expected faces of disgust, a few distasteful snickers, and a lot of cursing from the driver. Our bus was frozen in time. Everyone's eyes were on their laps, as waves of sympathy rolled forward. Our driver had his eyes on the road, still driving carefully, without a hint of anger or frustration. The soldier looks up at the bus, embarrassed. A few people smile at him "hey, everyone's gotten sick in the car some time." "Keep drinking that water" "you should just be healthy."

We arrive at our poor friend's stop. He is relieved to be off the bus, but already looking decidedly better. The driver moves on to Beit El. I throw "Kol HaKavod" over my shoulder. And in the decidedly modest manner of Israelis, he shrugs.

Israel, I take my scarf off to you. You're not always the easiest to understand, but you're the best.

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