Say Hello To The New Olim!!!

See more beautiful Olim here!

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Words Can't Add Anything To These Photos!

20 Photos From Thursday's NBN Winter 2007 Aliyah Flight

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The War of Religions

Torah, Netzach Yehuda Battalion

Christian Bibles, Fort Jackson

Some suicidal woman

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New Israel Videos

Remembering Gush Katif: Home Game the Movie is finally on the web

Jacob Richman has put a list of Israel-related YouTube videos - hours of fun - check it out.

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A German Pig And His Nazi Dog

Question: which one should be kept on a leash?

Dog's Nazi salute lands owner in jail
by JTA

A former car salesman in Germany will spend five months in jail for teaching his dog the Nazi salute.

Roland T trained his dog, named Adolf, to raise a paw in a mimic of the Nazi salute whenever he heard the phrase "Heil Hitler," according to the British tabloid The Sun.

The dog's owner bragged about his dog's trick to police, even though performing a Nazi salute in Germany is illegal.

Adolf is living at an animal shelter while his owner is in jail in Berlin. The shelter staff is working to teach the dog how to shake instead of salute, according to The Sun.

Roland T told The Sun that he was planning to have his pet, who was born on the same day as Hilter, euthanized on the anniversary of the Fuehrer's suicide.

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Jerusalem Event - Screening of Movie on Jews of Uganda

Screening of SABC (South African Broadcasting Corp) documentary entitled

PEARLS OF AFRICA – THE ABAYUDAYA JEWS OF UGANDA

Produced by Marion Segal and Directed by Guy Lieberman
who will be in attendance to present the documentary while he is visiting Israel.

WHEN:

Thursday 27th December, 7 pm
(Doors open at 6.45 pm, all those non-reserved will be first come, first served. Limited seating)


TICKETS : 20NIS

VENUE:

3rd Ear Screening Room
8 Emek Refaim
German Colony, Jerusalem


BOOKINGS:
abayidden@gmail.com


SYNOPSIS

This film documents a unique community of Jews living in a remote corner of Uganda, close to the border with Kenya. Called Abayudaya, which means "Jews" in the local language, these peasant farmers practice a home-grown form of Judaism which harks back to biblical times. Claiming no ancestral or genetic connection to Judaism, Chief Kakangulu and his followers chose to adopt the Jewish faith about 90 years ago, despite opposition and even persecution.

Produced by Marion Segal, the story of the Abayudaya is told through the eyes of South African director, Guy Lieberman. Journeying to an area known as the Pearl of Africa, Guy's encounter with the Abayudaya raises questions of faith, identity, devotion and belonging amongst a peoples living in isolation from the rest of the Jewish world.

"It is a remarkable story of hardship and profound faith, prayer and the promise of deliverance, told with humour and joy."

- excerpt from the South African Jewish Report article, attached.

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Yerushalayim, Sir, Yerushalayim!

Dear Sir,

A few weeks ago I started receiving an unusual type of spam in my work email. I was subscribed (without my permission) to your excellent halacha mailing list. (It happens to be a wonderful idea and I wish you much success with this endeavor.) While I felt it was not proper derech eretz to subscribe someone to a list without their permission, even if it is for Torah, ("derech eretz kadmah laTorah" after all), especially using someone's work and not personal email address, it is still nice to learn a few halachos a day. Surely no one would object to Torah and this no doubt was exactly what the conceivers of this new Halacha list were thinking when they scoured the web looking for any email addresses they could find listed on the Internet of people working at frum organizations.

The email I received read:

Welcome to the Daily halacha e-mail!

Two short halacha's each day - Monday through Friday - plus Friday a special Halacha L'kovod Shabbos and candle lighting times for NYC.

The last part upset me. You listed candle-lighting times for "the heart and soul" of the Jewish people, New York City - but completely omitted Yerushalayim! So I wrote to you:

Please unsubscribe me.

I don't need to be part of a mailing list that forgets to list lighting time for Yerushalyaim Ir Hakodesh!

Kol Tuv,
Pinchas

And you promptly replied:

Hi Pinchas,
You have been unsubscribed.
We do not list lighting time for Yerushalayim because we only have some 50 subscribers from EY, but we have 2500 in the NY area. I hope you understand that.

Of course I understood - but there was even more that you didn't understand! Still I decided not to pursue the matter until today. When I was once again subscribed to this list but this time you used my Kumah mailing address (and presumably everyone else here at Kumah.)

Well, if you are going to start emailing Kumah we are going to explain to you, and all our visitors why omitting mention of Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh is not a light matter. It demonstrates the golus-yid's (exile Jew's) total and complete detachment from his roots.

Now let us forget the obvious question of how you could claim you only have 50 subscribers from Eretz Yisrael, when you are subscribing people without permission and don't even know who we are or where we live. Let us set that aside. Let us pretend all 2550 subscribers were living in New York City, the center of the Jewish world, after all. I would still argue that Yerushalayim should be mentioned if another city is listed.

I quote Gil Troy, who wrote:

In synagogues throughout the world, when taking the Torah out of the Ark, Jews sing "kee mi tzion tezeh Torah, u davar Hashem me'Yerushalayim," the Torah will come forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. "Zion," the Biblical name for Jerusalem, is not just the three-thousand-year-old capital of the Jewish people, it is the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual center of Jewish gravity. Mentioned over six hundred times in the Bible, it was the city of David the heroic, who conquered it, and of Solomon the wise, who built the first of the two Temples there. During the many centuries of exile, Jerusalem symbolized both the glorious past of the Jewish people -and their hopes for the future. Much of Jewish prayer, in fact, entailed reflecting on what once was in Jerusalem as a way of conceptualizing what again might be there.

Sir, the Jew must always be focused on Yerushalayim. The clearest example of this we learn from celebrating Purim in Yerushalayim on the 15th of Adar. Our sages explained that because of the extra day needed in Shushan, that city would celebrate a day later then the rest of the world. But this presented a dilemma! How dare could the Jewish people honor the Persian city, the New York City of the day, above Yerushalayim? What an embarrassment to Yerushalayim it would be - even if only 50 Jews lived there at the time! A solution was devised (all cities that were walled in the time of Yehoshua Ben Nun would celebrate on the 15th and this would include Yerushalayim) just to avoid this embarrassment and to keep Yerushalayim central in the minds of the Jewish nation.

Today, more than ever, at a time when the nations of the world and some of our misguided Jewish brethren speak openly about plans to divide Yerushalayim, about plans to rip apart our true heart and soul, is it absolutely imperative that we ALWAYS keep Yerushalayim in mind and that we not forget about it while giving other cities precedence. For if we ourselves forget about Yerushalayim how could we have the audacity to complain to others about the injustice of dividing it?

So I repeat, and I speak for everybody at Kumah.org (and Neozionist.com). Please unsubscribe all the accounts you signed up from our organization so long as you continue to forget to list the candle-lighting time for Yerushalayim ahead of the candle-lighting time for New York City.

I will close with Mr. Troy's eloquent words:

"Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach yemeeni": If I forget, if I FORSAKE, you O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning, may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth. If we abandon Jerusalem, we betray the essence of our being, that which makes us human, our hands and our mouths, our bodies and our souls.

UPDATE: After 5 days we did NOT get a reply, though we were unsubscribed from their mailing list immediately. Presumably the still forget Jerusalem...

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Kids, Teenagers, Beware!

by Tzvi Fishman

According to Jewish Law, every Jew is obligated to study the Torah, whether he be rich or poor, healthy or ailing, youthful or old. He must set aside a definite time during the day and at night for the study of Torah, as it says, “Thou shall meditate therein day and night” (Rambam, Laws of Torah Study, 1:8). In addition, the Torah is read publically in synagogue twice during the week and on Shabbat.

We learn Torah because this is G-d’s will for the Jewish People. Throughout the ages, we have been known as “The People of the Book,” and the Torah is our book. There are a lot of books in the world but the Torah is ours. The only way a Jew can understand what it is to be a Jew is by learning the Torah. If he doesn’t study the Torah, he may think he knows who he is, but he really doesn’t.

The Torah is not a long ago, once-upon-a-time story. The Torah teaches us what G-d expects from us today. The tales of our holy Forefathers are examples for us to follow, as our Sages have taught: “The doings of the Forefathers are signs for their sons.”

As we have previously written, give any ten-year-old child the Torah and let him read about Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov, then ask him where G-d wants the Jewish People to live. Ten out of ten will say, "Israel!" G-d commanded our Forefathers to live in the Land of Israel, they only departed from the Land in time of severe famine, and then returned as soon as they could. To highlight this to his children, when it came time for Yaacov to die, he made Yosef swear that he would bury him in Hevron, so that his children never forget that, no matter how good a life they had it in Egypt, they were strangers in a strange land.

Our Sages explain that Yaacov wanted to establish for all posterity the principle that Eretz Yisrael was the Jewish People's only heritage. He knew that his burial in Hevron alongside Avraham and Yitzhak would forge an unbreakable bond between his descendants and the Land that Hashem had promised to give them. Yaacov was especially assertive in making Yosef swear because Yaacov saw that his children had become possessed by the foreign land. “Soon,” he reasoned, “they might substitute the Nile for the Jordan, and what began as a temporary sojourn in Egypt would no longer seem to them as an exile” (See, Artscroll, Bereshit, Vol. 6, Pg. 2090).

Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch summarizes: “This was his motive for so ceremoniously insisting that they should not bury him in Egypt, but that they should carry him to their true homeland. This was the reason he told them, ‘Though you may wish to live in Egypt, I refuse to be even buried here.’ This is why he used his name Israel in expressing his wish – he spoke as Israel, the bearer of their national mission.”

Our national mission is to be a holy nation in Israel. Yaacov Avinu’s teaching was not only for his children, but for his children’s children, and for their children after them. His teaching is for us – those of us in Israel today, and those of us who have not yet absorbed the message.

So kids, teenagers, BEWARE! If they tell you that you are American or Australian or Englishmen – don’t believe them! Your parents and rabbis and Federations are lying. You are the Children of Israel. The Land of Israel is your country. Jerusalem is your capital. If your Birthright leader lets you believe that by visiting Israel you are a full-fledged Jew who can continue to live a life of dual loyalty in America, he is lying.

Being a complete Jew means living in Israel. That’s what our Forefathers wanted to teach us. That’s what the Torah tells us over and over again. That’s what G-d wants for His People – to abandon the graveyards of the Diaspora and be living Jews in His Land.

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Is it worth it?

Well...is it?

Reading the news these days and seeing the repetitive cycle of events make you wonder. Do we really have a say towards the outcome of the State of Israel? Or is it all pre-determined by greedy, pompous, money hungry human wannabes? Do the rallies help? Do the online petitions catch anyone's attention? What about the new outposts springing up all over Judea and Samaira? What about the mass aliyah from all over the
world? Do any of these things have any significance in the portrait of Israel's future?


A couple of weeks ago, while driving, a friend of mine told me that he doesn't see the point in the state of Israel since he feels it will no longer exist in 10 years. What to say back? The way politics are headed, from an unbiased view, he might have some validity in his statement. I can say "we are trying to get new leaders in the government that aren't corrupt and want to build Israel's future not the Arabs" But who am I joking, to me it seems the Israeli people are not willing to do what it takes to eradicate corruption from its political spectrum and the sympathy towards the Arabs doesn't seem to bother many (I am not going to get into the news aspect, that's just too frustrating).

Next, rallies, petitions, strikes... well that didn't work with Gush Katif and with Homesh, and with Hevron, so how will I convince this guy that this time a rally will have a profound effect?

Persecution? Well I don't think I want to throw that idea out, since I think that Israel persecuted the Orange youth more then I care to remember ( 12 year old girls being thrown into jail) and the fights going on between who should be getting more money from the government the frummies, or the ultra frummies?

As I rummage through my brain trying to give this friend a feeling that Israel has a point and should and will exist until the coming of the redemption, a song begins to play. I know the song well, its part of one of my favorite Jewish cd's "Destiney." The words are self explanatory, its talking about a Jewish Russian army pilot that steals one of the planes and tries to fly to Israel to gain his freedom. Using the song as an excuse for my delayed response to his comment, I began to sing with it. There comes a part where the Israeli air force commands the Russian plane to identify itself and the pilot says the only Hebrew words that he knows "Ani Yehudi I'm fighting for my freedom, I'm just one Jew alone, and I'm on my way back home."

And there it was, my answer. Israel has a point, Israel has to exist, if not for all the reasons in the world, then for this one Jew, that was fighting for his freedom. It says when you save one life, you save the world.

~ Shulamit ~

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The Abayudaya - Jewish Zionists in Rural Uganda!

You heard right!

This is one of the most inspiring stories of our time. It is a story that takes place in rural Uganda, in Putti village, where 160 people have been practicing Judaism for nearly four generations.

The organizations, Putti Village Assistance Organization as well as The Committee To Save Ugandan Jewry are working to gain them an Orthodox giur (if needed) and economic self sufficiency. Their ultimate goal? To resettle in the Land of Israel and join the Jewish People.

You have to check out this amazing story: The Jews Of Uganda

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The Jew & His Homeland

"For a Jew, the land of Israel is more than a place, it is a body for the soul of a people...a place to find where you began, where you belong and what you truly are; A Jew does not travel to Israel, s/he returns there..."

Check out the great new feature on Chabad.org

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Chinese Food On Christmas

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Shmittah Calendar: Month of Tevet 5768

The month of Tevet began this past Monday!

The following list is not fully comprehensive at all but includes some common everyday produce most people use. It is largely based on Rabbi Marcus's "Shmittah 5768: A Pratical Guide" (which we recommend you order for yourself here) and other sources. For more information on what these dates mean see here.


Kedushat Shevi'it Starts

1 Tevet

Avocado

Additionally Kedushat Shevi'it for these items remains in effect:

Artichoke
Asparagus
Banana
Basil
Beets
Broccoli
Butternut Squash
Cabbage
Cabbage (Red)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Coriander
Corn (Fresh)
Cucumbers
Dill
Eggplant
Etrog
Fennel
Horseradish
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Melon
Mint
Onions
Paprika
Parsley
Peas (in pod)
Pepper (Jalapeno)
Peppers
Pineapple
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Radish
Radish-Small
Scallion
Spinach
Strawberries
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turnip
Watermelon
Zucchini (Squash)

Kedushat Shevi'it Ends

There are no items that Kedushat Shevi'it ends this month.
------------------
Sefichim Begins

Sefichaim Begin this month for the following:

On 1 Tevet:

Tomatoes

On 5 Tevet:

Kohlrabi

On 10 Tevet:

Cabbage (Red)

On 15 Tevet:

Broccoli

On 20 Tevet:

Carrots

On 25 Tevet:

Cauliflower


Additionally Sefichim remain in effect for the following:

Beets
Cabbage
Coriander
Corn (Fresh)
Cucumbers
Dill
Lettuce
Melon
Parsley
Peas in Pod
Radish
Radish-Small
Turnip
Zucchini (Squash)


Sefichim Ends

There are no items that Sefichim ends this month.
------------------
Biur

There are no items that will require biur this month.

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Message to HappyJoel - When You Make Aliyah You Will Sing a Different Tune

I saw half of your video (see warning below), man, and I hope you are having fun blowing smoke up the Christian folks', ummm, toes.

Maybe I should have seen the light side of it, but to me it looked like you just want to get on the good side of the folks in power at the expense of your home team. Which is really the essence of being a galut Jew.

Notice: contains obscenities. And like I said, I only watched half, so be careful.

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Compare and Contrast

Israeli Extremists March To Set Up New Outposts in West Bank

Hundreds of hardline Israeli activists fanned out across the occupied West Bank on Sunday, setting up eight wildcat outposts to protest possible evacuations of Jewish settlements....

Pioneers Establish Six New Points of Light

The nuclei for six Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria were either established or strengthened Sunday by Jewish pioneers, in a special Chanukah settlement project. Despite scuffles with police and the IDF, which declared the points of settlement closed military zones, Chanukah menorahs were lit in at least three of the sites.

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Jerusalem Chanukah Lights Ceremony

I took this video. Here are some stills of the ceremony by Jonny.

Also, here are a few round-the-world Chanukah lighting articles:

Muslim clerics light Hanukkah candles

Lighting the Menorah at the White House

Hundreds Enter Yosef's Tomb, Light Menorah

Live: Hanukkah candle-lighting from Iraq, Afghanistan

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Matisyahu the Maccabee, From the Belly of the Babylonian Beast

So I caught Matisyahu and the Wailers on the second night of Chanukah. Read about it here - check out the videos.

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Publicizing the Miracle At The Kotel

A new, large and magnificent Menorah was placed at the Western Wall Plaza this year and festivities are being be held every night! This is what the third night looked like with Mayor Uri Lupolianski, mayor of Jerusalem, the Rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz and Police Commissioner Aharon Franko.


Don't miss out!

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New Chanukah Music by Rocky!

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Ingather

Pic Script by Yehezkel Laing and it says:
"Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.'" Ezekiel 11;17

Also, check out this Aliyah article called "The Persistence of Vision" by Barry Leff

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Chanukah Night One at Jerusalem Malchah Mall

There is something special about Chanukah in Israel, and I got to start off the holiday feeling it. From lighting a Chanukiyah outside my apartment door with a little girl and her grandmother, to a Chabad Chanukiyah in front of a Kosher Pizza Hut at the mall, restaurant chanukiyot, and of course all the bakeries selling Sufganiyot, Chanukah is a holiday that happily unites all Jews, especially in Israel, whether religious or secular. For more fun details and first night Chanukah experiences, read the full post.


I light my Chanukiyah in the hallway of my apartment, right outside my door, something common in Israel. I happen to be on the ground floor so people going to the elevator will notice if they happen to look the other way. A little girl wearing paper candle crown and her grandmother walked into the building while I was lighting tonight. The grandmother took the girl over and started singing Maoz Tzur with me. Then we sang a few Israeli Chanukah songs with the little girl. Then the grandmother started spinning the girl's cool electric laser dreidel on the stand with my chanukiyah. It's too bad I didn't have my camera out - the little girl was really cute, and her and grandmother really added to my joy of lighting the first candle.

Then I went to the Jerusalem Malchah Mall to celebrate Chanukah with my fiance. The first thing that caught my eye was the big Chabad Chanukiyah by the fountains. Nothing like getting a chanukiyah and a Kosher Pizza Hut in the same picture! While I was putting my camera away, a guy came up to me and asked me to be the 10th man for a Ma'ariv minyan in the mall's synagogue.

After Ma'ariv, we went out to eat at the Korusin, a fancy Chinese restaurant on the top floor. While we were there, the waiters found a few quiet minutes to themselves, took out a chanukiyah, lit it in the window of the restaurant, and sang a bit.

I didn't buy a sufganiyah (jelly donut - 1 of the traditional Chanukah foods) because I was already full, but not because there was any lack - there are a few bakeries in the mall and not only were they selling sufganiyot, but there were even a few stands set up in other parts of the mall selling them.

Finally, in Jerusalem there is no such thing as a Christmas sale, but many of the stores had Chanukah sales.

Chanukah in Israel - the way it should be! Happy Chanukah to all!

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Milchik Menorah and Chanukah Guide

Eight pudding snacks for eight pudding nights. Jewish children, lucky to be living in Israel, will remember the miracles of Chanukah by eat this super-kosher milchik treat. It's deeper then it appears.

Also, check out this great online Chanukah Guide

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Modern Day Maccabees?

Erev Chanukah in Jpost:

OC Chaplaincy Brig.-Gen. Rav Avichai Ronzki: "We are supposed to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. We are here to be a light unto the nations, in all ways - morally, socially, spiritually and value-wise; a nation that is engaged in all aspects of running a sovereign state economically, militarily and politically."

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Masada!

I believe in good movies and television. I think that moving picture media is full of junk, but there are gems out there. I have to thank Yehuda HaKohen for indtroducing me to this film. He showed it once at a Am Segula Shabbaton in Gush Katif. Ever since then I have been waiting for it to be released on DVD - and it finally has!

Plot summary: Flavius Silva, commander in Roman Palestine, wants to reach a reasonable compromise with the Jewish Zealots and withdraw his legion. Events and personalities in Rome, however, lead to his besieging the fortress of Masada. There, the Romans must fight both the harsh climate and landscape, and the passion and ingenuity of Eleazar Ben Yair and his people.

I found this writeup on the net:
"Masada is amazing, in part, because it is a true story and also because it is truly a fascinating drama. Originally filmed as a mini-series, at 6 plus hours, it has been released in short (movie length) form but don't bother with that edition. Even though it (the six hour video set) is quite long, not one minute will bore you. It is a story of the military...in a battle of wits against (Jewish) patriots. The cast is superb, with Americans playing the Jews and British actors as the Romans. The lowly soldiers speaking in "middle class" dialect while the officers sound more aristocratic...a really nice touch. Peter O'Toole has never been better in his role as Flavius Silva commander of the Roman regiment dispatched by Rome to capture the Jews holding out at Masada...a huge, almost impregnable mountain fortress. Anthony Quayle and David Warner also do some of their best work ever. Peter Straus as Eleazar, leader of the Jews is passionate in his convictions and the rest of the cast shines also. The mind games they utilize on each other are fascinating and make for engrossing drama. It is truly one of the best mini-series, or historical epics ever put to film. The newly released 4 video set consists of 90 mins. per video so one can enjoy Masada over four evenings. Note: As of 2007 it is now available on DVD. The viewer will feel it is time well spent."

I agree, and think it is a great educational film which really gives you a sense of the time and puts you in the Hanukah zone. You can order it, as I did, on Amazon.

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