Sparks From Israel

2007-07-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sparks from Israel

Pesach 2007
I was arriving at the old city of Jerusalem for Pesach when I passed a family with that hippie biblical look you see everywhere in Yehuda and Shomron. The father was carrying a baby goat over his shoulder and when I looked back the little goat was looking at me with a beautiful smile. It was as if he was saying ‘How lucky I am to be a Pesach offering. Every beast is returned to the ground, but my body will become elevated and my animal soul will become spiritual’.
It was so nice to see this vision, for it reminded me of what used to be. The whole Israelite Nation would arrive at this time and with each family group a goat. It made me feel that soon we will rebuild our temple. A half hour later I spoke to my brother in Canada and told him of my experience. He informed me that the army did not allow the family to make their Passover sacrifice. How was it possible that he knew about the family I had just passed on a road in Jerusalem. ‘It was on CNN’ he explained.
Some say that it’s the world outside that affects the tensions and the growth within our Nation while others say the opposite. It’s the tensions and the growth within our Nation that affects the very nature of the world. I’m inclined to believe the latter. Why else would a Nation of less than 1% of the worlds population be mentioned nearly everyday on the news around the world? Why is the world so interested in this one family who really wanted to fulfill the mitzvah of Pesach?
I think back to September 11th and wonder how 33 evil men managed to destroy so much and change the course of history. What could 33 righteous men build I wonder; maybe the Beit Hamigdash? At any rate it makes you feel like your part of something very important. The eyes of the world are always watching us. Are they waiting for us to become the Light unto Nations? Or do they fear that we will rebuild our temple and bring more Godliness into the world? I suppose their hopes and fears are similar to our own. The same forces within our Nation struggle between pleasing the world and pleasing G-d. I hope this Pesach brings true freedom to rebuild the eternal and tear down that which is already rotten. Chag Somayach

The Tribes of Israel
Shabbat has many faces, especially in Tel Aviv. To some it’s sipping a beer at the beach. To others it’s leaving work early and shopping on Shenkin or the Ports. Every where you look there are street fairs and street musicians. One group of drummers always begins their drum circle Friday afternoon on Nachalat Binyamin and people randomly jump in, dance wildly to the tribal rhythms, and then continue on their way. Another group meets each week for traditional Israeli dancing by the promenade.
The one constant theme in the ever changing pattern of events is Shabbat, the physical and spiritual day of rest. To some it’s more physical to others more spiritual. Each one finds his or her own tribe that gives expression to this idea of Shabbat. Whether it’s doing a tribal dance or dressing in white and reciting prayers, the tribes of Israel cannot help but mix with each other on this tiny Island in the Middle East.
There are those who never leave their tribe, those who rebel and change tribes and those like myself who have friends in all of them. One can find a wild uninhibited nature within the most observant, as well as a deep spiritual vision within the completely untraditional. We are all part of the same family, and always going through changes. It’s nice to be part of a somewhat unified nation made up of many tribes.

The Air Raid Siren
I haven’t yet had the experience of hearing an air raid siren in Israel. Although I was here in the last war the missiles fell short of Tel Aviv. In North America, an air raid siren is only heard in old movies and is completely obsolete. In Israel unfortunately they must be ready for any emergency. There is however a positive side to being a tiny country always under attack. To keep our air raid sirens in good working condition we pipe music through them every Friday before sundown with the traditional Shabbat song ‘Shalom Alechem’.
The effect is tremendous. Instead of the fear and tension that we would expect from an Air Raid siren, it is transformed into a warm feeling of brotherhood and a sense of security from above. The music reminds us that Shabbat is about to begin and even in the capitol of non-observant Israel it strikes a chord deeper than prayer or ritual. Through the speakers comes a memory that we heard before we were born and will continue after us. Today instead of missiles falling, peace will be ushered in. It’s time to stop working, light your candles, or meet your friends. And tomorrow ‘swords will be beaten into ploughshares’ and Air Raid Sirens transformed into Sound Systems.

The Table of Kings
There are angels above in the heavenly court that decide many things that occur below. These angels are purely spiritual beings and cannot act outside of their jurisdiction. There are physical humans below that can transform themselves into angelic beings of an even higher order. In fact it is they who influence the judge who then commands the angels above.
The court proceedings begin by transforming the synagogue into a banquet hall and placing the herring on the table. After more herring, salads, and three bottles of vodka the red faced rabbis are shaking heaven with their refutations about the true nature of what is constructive and what is de-constructive. They lash out at each other with pointed words in an expression of their love and how best to manifest it.
After kicking the weak leg of each argument and destroying them, another l’chaim is passed around and the opposing ideas are merged as one. As the vodka reaches its zenith, the Heavenly Judge, impressed with the verdict dispatches His angels forthwith.
There are those who rub shoulders with Generals and Kings, but I have the good fortune to sit at the court that determines their actions. Ours is not the only court. There are others that can be found, not in palaces or mansions, but in tiny synagogues in market places such as ours. I don’t understand the language too well, so I have no opinion, but the herring is very good.

Sparks For Israel

Prayer and Lag B’omer
On the 33rd day of the Omer, the plague that killed 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva stopped. It later coincided with the yorzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and has become a day of celebration and an end to mourning. Hundreds of thousands flock to his gravesite in Meron and pray and petition the Tzadik to answer their prayers. There are some opinions that say the plague really alludes to the war against Rome. Rabbi Akiva enlisted his yeshiva students to fight this war and to bring Moshiach who he claimed was Bar Kochba. In the end they lost and were killed. One student who escaped death was Rabbi Shimon. The Romans heard of how he had fearlessly condemned them in a time when the Nation had been crushed and destroyed and to save his life he and his son hid in a cave for many years and lived from the fruit of a carob tree and a stream of water. Here is where he wrote the Holy Kaballa.
Before my trip to Meron on Lag B’Omer I enquired as to the meaning of prayer and the significance of the Tzaddik. Now I am very litvish in my thinking and the idea of someone interceding between me and Hashem sounds heretical to me for what could be greater than talking directly to ones father? It also makes the Tzadik out to be more merciful than Hashem and moreover suggests that the system above is run like the Knesset below with kombina (having friends in the right places). My research into prayer is ongoing and the book is not yet closed but here is a sketch of my current thoughts on prayer, for what it’s worth.
Heard three things
I have heard three ideas about prayer. Number one, it must be sincere and every sincere prayer is heard by Hashem, especially those that open the gates with their tears. Number two, for a minyan the gates of prayer always open. Even if you don’t feel worthy of approaching Hashem, in the company of ten other Jewish men, your prayer passes through with theirs. Number three the main idea of prayer constitutes the idea that you are truly standing before G-d.
Faith (Emunah in Hebrew) comes from the root word ‘Oman’ (artistry) and also related to ‘Imun’ (exercise). It appears that faith is something we are always shaping and developing like an art or a craft, or an exercise that develops our ever changing and growing relationship with the Almighty.
And so with each prayer I try to feel like a child standing before his father and asking for the things he desires in his heart, or to request guidance or to aide someone who is suffering. For me to mumble a few words alone I feel sometimes is not much more than mumbling words to myself. But with a minyan of ten I am in the company of others who are whispering their concentrated thoughts, and so mine become more concentrated too and have more weight. Even if I feel unworthy or Hashem seems too far and inaccessible to me, I know my prayers are carried together with the congregations of Israel when said in a minyan.
So what place does the Tzadik have in all of this? If we are sincere and standing before Hashem, why do we still need an interceder? If we are not worthy, isn’t the congregation worthy as a whole? The way I currently understand prayer is like this. Most people can find enjoyment from singing a song or playing a melody and connecting with the higher world of music. Those same people would stand in awe, however of a virtuoso who can sing or perform at the highest levels would demonstrate their ability in front of them. We are well aware that every virtuoso did not arrive at their place by accident, but with talent plus many years of hard work that helped them to shape their talent. We are inspired therefore, not only at the brilliance of his inspiration, but also the dedication that he must have made in order to arrive at this stage.
As sons and daughters of the covenant, we are all free men and even those enslaved are never permanently so. We all were impregnated by the Shechina. Willingly or unwillingly each of our lives creates an essential piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is the image of G-d. The ‘virtuoso’ in our example inspires us to bring out our own music through discovering our inner voice, which is part of Hashem’s voice, and dedicating our efforts that will channel it more beautifully and maximize our potential.
What is the work that the Tzadik has done that is rewarded by such a large gathering of the greatest sages of Israel? What is the place of the Tzadik in our prayers and how does he intercede? What was the work the Tzadik had done that preceded his inspiration to write the holy books that people study and bring on that memorial day?
The work that always precedes is self-sacrifice. He dared to say truthful things that were not popular but had to be said. He made himself a target by not allowing himself to be intimidated by Rome and fearing only Hashem. As his teacher Rabbi Akiva was, so was he. He was one of the fighters rebuilding the Temple despite all the odds. Even though 24,000 died and they lost the battle, and we still die and lose the battle today, Hashed is always counting. It is not the end result that matters but the deed itself and the ramification that follows. It is the courage to stand against adversity and wage Hashem’s wars, that endears Hashem and brings Him closer.
And so on this anniversary we remember not just a gifted miracle worker. We remember one who with his gift maximized his potential and crafted his faith by exercising it. Actions of self sacrifice for the sake of truth and the glory of Hashem, will always win in the end, against all odds. The end result of this sacrifice and lifetime of toil in Torah is the overflowing multitudes that are drawn to this light, and by their presence increasing it.
And so as I stand before Him sincerely and reflect on one of His very special souls I know that the gates of prayer are open wider than the opening made by ten Jewish men, but rather 300,000 Jewish souls. Even if I am not worthy, I reflect and submit my petition, that I should receive some of this inspiration and have the dedication and courage to implement the commandments of Hashem, to live by them and to improve my deeds before my maker.

2007-07-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

Chanuka 2005

Sparks From Israel

For Better or Worse
I told myself I would never write another Sparks from Israel. But tonight I am absolutely drunk, and it’s the 5th night of Chanuka and so I will tell you about the holiness of our nation, even though I still think we are a bunch of slaves and taskmasters.

At 3 am, after drinking all night in one club, I went to another club that was still packed, and lo and behold at 3 a.m. two men with black hats and beards had the DJ stop the music, as they lit the Chanuka candles, and the crowd sang along with the Chanuka prayers. I thought I was hallucinating, but no, this is Israel.

At 4 a.m. as I left that bar and staggered home, I stopped into the chips store, and asked the cook, what wisdom he could impart on the 5th night of Chanuka. He told me, that he always liked the passage regarding Yacov, that he worked for 7 years for Rachel but to him it seemed like only days. I kissed the Rav of the chips, and blessed him that his light should increase in the world.

Who would think the man who fries potatoes in oil all night would think of such passages of Torah. Such holy people, even though they worship America, and New York, and all that is there. Still in the middle of their parties and drunken stupors, they can light Chanuka candles and give divreh Torah.

There is no other people like the Nation of Israel, and in my mind, I don’t even have a choice to leave here. There is nothing like this land and I have absolutely no desire for a different land. Even if we lack vision and faith, still this is a land like no other. These are the sons and daughters of prophets, and the sons and daughters of slaves. There is absolutely no other choice in my mind. Better an Israel that is infected with foolishness, than an exile that dreams of a perfect Israel that will never be.

July, 2006

Sparks from Israel

Soldiers off to War
When you watch those old Hollywood movies of young people going off to war, it always seems so distant, like a far off time of romance and adventure. Here in Israel the war time past is always present. You see eighteen year old boys dressed in uniform, machine gun slung over their shoulder riding the bus with their girlfriend on their way to the base. You see them in love and kissing wondering inside if it will be the last kiss. Bravery and self sacrifice are part of the fabric of this society and distinguish it from the complacent and fearful worlds that exist in other places.

We are a strong and passionate people, an army of poets and scholars. Even though we stumble like a lion cub tripping over its feet I still feel proud to be part of this Nation. I heard in Seattle one crazed Arab went and shot some Jews. The city was immobilized. Every synagogue was locked. Although the military plans of our leaders may not accomplish the job, our brothers in the exile have no plan at all. There is no force that protects them except trying to look invisible.

I feel far safer here in the middle of the raging sea then alone in a world disconnected from the current of life. Certainly everywhere there is existence. But existence is not life. It’s better to be alive and living well in Israel than being invisible and safe in a lonely guarded palace.

A friend of mine who is a 16 year old chabbadnik recently got his drivers license. He has rented a car and gone repeatedly to the northern border to put tefillin on the troops. He described to me the deserted highways, the missiles falling all around, dodging the bits of shrapnel on the roads. For him and his friends it was a thrilling experience. He wondered jokingly what was a better way to die; by a Ketusha or by a Kassam. These are your people Israel, from soldiers to civilians. There is no fear, only duty, perseverance and prayers.

Rosh Hoshanna 2006

Sparks From Israel

Gush Katif a Year Later
On Rosh Hoshanna, a year after the Hitnatkut I sat at a Shabbat table with some exiled Gush Katif residents. We reflected on the teshuva the Nation had done over the year. Our host, who was a resident of Sfat, had lived through a summer of 600 katusha missiles falling in his back yard. He said he could not help thinking as the missiles were falling all around him, what his friends in the Gush had lived through for many years and realized that even he, who was sympathetic to their plight, could have felt more and done more.

Surprisingly some Tel Aviv friends of mine who were ardent supporters of the Hitnatkut where shocked when the Arabs had the audacity to bite the hand that gave them Gush Katif. They mostly have woken up to the realization that the Arabs are not interested in creating a Palestine, but rather in destroying Israel. I didn’t think one needed to be a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion, but some of my friends actually are rocket scientists, and they are still putting together the broken pieces of their delusions.

We spoke about the strange fate of Sharon, not alive and not dead from the moment the Hitnatkut began till now. A friend of mine heard from a Mekubal that the reason he has not died is because the earth does not want to take him. The man who disturbed the dead and unearthed so many Jewish graves may not have the privilege of being buried and like the rest of the Nation he too must go through a process of teshuva before being laid to rest.

When asked how the Hitnatkut had affected their faith, one of the exiled guests said some remarkable things. She said her faith had not been diminished even though she had fought to the last minute expecting a miracle. In retrospect, she said, one must also accept that this decree was Hashem’s will. She went on to say that one of the Rabbi’s of the Gush comforted the people by telling them that they had the privilege of being the Tzadikim who were sold in order to avert possibly harsher decrees against the whole Nation and like Yoseph who was sold to Egypt these perfidious events are still unraveling and leading us somewhere.

The most haunting image that she remembered was the teshuva she witnessed entering the hearts of even the hardest soldiers. They had been trained to expect an armed rebellion and were ready to shoot and possible kill their brothers. What they met were people dancing with Torah’s and singing and praying. They saw the heart and the soul of the Jewish people and no one had trained them for this experience. The children and grand-children of those who had escaped persecution had now become the persecutors and this was the family that they never knew. Many soldiers broke down and were sobbing.

She went on to say, that the effect that the Hitnatkut had to the Nation and the war that followed was profound. Not only did the whole Nation see that we are all Gush Katif but the seeds that were sown from those tears are still bearing fruit.

From the self sacrifice of the children of the Orange Revolution, the Tzadikim who’s homes and livelihoods were destroyed, the soldiers who found a crack in their armor just below their hearts, the masses of Northern refugees that suddenly became Gush Katif, the tears of the families of the fallen, the bubble of indifference and complacency that was shattered, the isolation and fear, which is the beginning of faith and wisdom, all of these pieces are finding their place in the puzzle as the new light of the year approaches. May it speed the way for us to rebuild all that which is broken.

Yom Kippur 2006

Sparks From Israel

The Quiz
In the old country before January 1st you might see some news shorts about people and their New Year resolutions, along with a list of places to party. In Israel, however, it is a little different. The day before Yom Kippur I was stopped on the street by a group of 12 year old kids. Their teacher was taking them on a Yom Kippur outing and their job was to interview people about Yom Kippur. They asked me if I planned to fast this year, and what was the meaning to me. Was their anything I would do differently this year? What was the meaning of the Yom Kippur prayers to me? What role does Hashem play? They wrote down my answers in their books and it felt so nice to connect with the children of our Nation on such a deep level regarding the meaning of prayer. Our New Year isn’t a party, but a re-awakening.

Outside and Inside
A late comer ran into the synagogue to say Kadish in a loud voice followed by a Baruch Hu. The congregation answered ‘amen’ and then one person said to him we don’t do ‘Baruch hu’ now, we have an order that we follow, you should come early. He yelled back at this man for embarrassing him and went on to say that he missed the Boruch Hu prayer and it’s the obligation of the congregation to respond ‘amen’ regardless, and then others began debating and the man said in a loud voice. ‘Is there anyone else who would like to publicly embarrass me the day before Yom Kippur, please, I invite you’.

Threatened with the prospect of divine retribution the crowd settled down and after a few more moments of bickering everyone was sitting at the same table eating a nice Kiddush sharing Vodka and words of Torah. I turned to my Canadian friend and said ‘you see how normal it is here? Where we come from people are polite and that person would have held his resentment inside for a week a month, maybe years, from one silly comment. Here people react, they get upset, they yell at each other, and then it’s forgotten and they are brothers again. It’s great to be Jew in a land of Jews and learn how to be the same outside as you are inside.

2006-07-15T03:05:00.000-07:00

Compilation from May 2005-June 2006

Sparks From Israel (May 28,2005)

My Personal Pesach

Often people ask me why I chose to come to Israel, especially at this time. I say I didn’t come I was ‘taken’.

There are times in ones life when one sees G-d’s hand in history and can’t ignore it. Take September 11th for example. On that day we all knew the world was a different place. The events of the world and the events in one’s personal life are not disconnected; they are all taken into account by the Creator who fashioned each of us and placed us in this moment. We are given the free will to recognize the moments, to hear Hashem’s whispers, and to trust our intuition.

A year after the events of September 11th and the series of plagues that followed and continue to afflict every place we consider to be ‘safe havens’, I was fortunate enough to recognize the road of my personal exodus and follow it.

In the siddur there are two expressions for G-d’s hand of redemption. ‘Yad chazaka’ and ‘Be Chozek Yad’. A year before my exodus I remember asking what the significance of these two expressions were, but the only answer I found was one is masculine and one is feminine. After living through my own personal exodus, I now have discovered a meaning behind these two expressions.

There were three factors that contributed into my hurried departure. The events of our times, a love interest in Israel, and a free trip that was offered to me. I arrived like a king during chol hamoed Pesach, staying in one of the best hotels and tasting the finest fruits of the Land of Israel. With hardly any money in my pocket I decided to extend my trip and found a yeshiva that gave me free lodging. I wanted to see if I could survive in Israel and continue to do the same business as I did in chutz l’aretz. I realized right away, that not only could I survive, I could do even better. Israel is a modern country, yet is thirsty for new things all the time; a perfect place for those with an entrepenurial spirit.

After my first week in Israel, I realized that the ‘love interest’ wasn’t for me, but there was a greater love that surpassed all previous romances; the love of the Land of Israel. From each perspective, as a king, as a pauper, with romance or without there is always a feeling of satisfaction each day and fulfillment. I realized it was the hand of Hashem that had lured me out and I was ‘taken’, for I followed. After a months time I returned to fill out the Aliyah papers, get rid of everything I didn’t really need, and then I returned. This time it was ‘I’ who made the decision, and instead of leaving secretly, I left with certainty and with a trust that comes from experience.

In every way, I see the story of Pesach as ‘my’ story. Just as the Jewish people celebrate the ‘times’ of Pesach when we were taken and the ‘times’ of Simchat Torah when we willingly accepted our marriage vows, I too celebrate two dates. The day I was taken with a feminine ‘Yad Chazaka’ and the day I left with a masculine ‘Be Chozek Yad’.

This will be the first year that I will do Birkat Hailanim, the blessing on two fruit trees during the month of Nissan. I see now the significance of Pesach and blossoming of trees that is short lived like the fragrance of inspiration. It’s a season that blooms without fail; a season that arrives whether we are ready or not. Just as Shabbat arrives with it’s motto ‘ stop the world of action and reflect’ Pesach arrives and ‘blooms’. We must (as my brother once so aptly put) ‘grow or die’.

There are times in all of our lives that the doors of exodus seem clearly open but the flame inside flickers as the winds of doubt find their opening. Once I stood frozen as a giant wave crashed down on me. My experienced friend and laughed and advised me not to be scared of how big the wave is. ‘Just jump into the wave and go under it and you will come out on the other side. He was right. I hope Pesach becomes a personal experience for all of you as well. Take the plunge. Chag somayach. (Pesach 2004)

Sparks From Israel (Aug7,2005)

Obstacles to Peace
Many of my closest friends are ‘obstacles to peace’. They weren’t born that way, they just happened to move into a new apartment on the other side of an imaginary line which made them an ‘obstacle to peace’. There are hundreds of small settlements and towns that dot the country side and from a travelers perspective one cannot tell which one of these beautifully designed neighborhoods are filled with peaceful citizens or ‘obstacles to peace’.

I suppose one way you can tell is when you notice 55,000 soldiers and hired goons waiting to evict you or beat you for non-compliance. I suppose sometimes only brute force and violence shocks one into the realization that the last 25 years of building bright horizons and raising well adjusted patriotic families was a crime that finally caught up with them.

The Times They Are A Changing
There is a protest movement going on in Israel, the old revolutionaries are now the establishment, and have no answers for the troubled times we live in. While many of their children took cues from their parents and exchanged whatever was left of tradition and ideology for the gods of materialism and moral relativism, another generation born of more traditional parents has begun a new revolution that is growing every day.

The Nation is being overturned in a way that America was overturned in the 60’s, but not for drugs, orgies, and pacifism. This revolution is based on brotherhood, idealism, and the struggle for justice. Their love is felt on every street corner where they hand out orange ribbons from the Temple Mount to Tel Aviv. One can see the light in their eyes reaching out to their brothers and succeeding in winning the hearts of many, especially the young.

As they stand in the Gush, face to face, a fence separating soldiers and protesters, they speak to each other, for after all they are brothers. Brothers engaged in enforcing evil decrees stand opposite other soldiers who are engaged in defending their homes and the Land that they love; a Land they both have sacrificed for. The soldiers talk to each other between the holes of the wire fence and they pray together from both sides. The Final Revolution has arrived and it has everyone fighting inside of themselves between all the grey areas we thought were black and white.

It only takes a small light to enter a large dark room for it to be enlightened. History has always been written by these lights, and the indifferent masses are simply shaped by the changing tides. Today the light is more refined, and the masses are not as dense as they used to be. It’s a good time to be living in, for here ‘The Times They Are a Changin’, very rapidly.

Sparks From Israel(Aug 12,2005)

The Other Side
All across the country one sees determined young people standing at busy street corners handing out orange ribbons. These kids who would normally be spending their summer vacation at the beach and traveling with their friends, have done something different this summer – they have made a revolution.

Even the threat of prison has not deterred thousands of young people from taking to the streets to protest on a regular basis throughout the summer. Recently public outcry forced the ‘democratic’ state to release three girls ages 14-16 after being in jail for forty days for their crime of civil disobedience.

Now there is a different color ribbon – the blue ribbon. This ribbon is worn by the side of those who support the apparently ‘necessary’ expelling of their brethren from Gush Katif. Although one sees predominately orange ribbons, even in Tel Aviv, I have seen the blue ribbon on a number of cars as well and sometimes blue and orange together.

There is one thing, however, I have not seen. I have yet to see a youngster, or anyone of any age, standing on a street corner handing out blue ribbons. Despite all the money and government support on the ‘blue’ side, I have yet to see one protester out on the street fighting for their cause. Why is that? Where are the determined youth of the ‘blue’ side? Why aren’t they spending their summer vacation opposing the opposition?

I suppose they are busy enjoying their summer and not thinking too much about ‘politics’ or ‘Zionism’. The revolution of Gush Katif is a revolution against apathy. Those who support the expulsion of their brethren are embarrassed to say so and believe it to be a necessary evil that will enable them to continue their private lives undisturbed. Strangely enough, they continue to be disturbed.

They are not so disturbed by future Arab missiles that they hadn’t thought of, or of throwing their ‘fanatic’ brothers out of their homes. They are disturbed by something else. They see the conviction, faith and love that their brothers demonstrate each day and I’m sure must ask themselves, where does this come from?

The ‘blue’ side is silent. They have no answers. When they speak it is in an apologetic tone, as they convince themselves that the rape and pillage will be done with sensitive hands. However, as a growing amount of their friends join the ranks of the underdog, they feel more ashamed and embarrassed of their position.

It is only a matter of time before Israel is transformed into the Nation that the world is waiting to see – the ‘Light unto Nations’. Although there are a few bulldozers who try to dowse this flame, the silent masses in between are slowly finding in themselves the courage to feel love and concern for their brothers despite the propaganda painting them as enemies of the state or messianic extremists.

Even those who lack any ideology or faith are attracted to these determined youth. People like to be on the winning side, and today it is clear that the future is being shaped by 14 year old girls who will be Directors of Foreign Affairs some day.

State of Judea(Sept 2, 2005)

Jewish Holidays
According to our traditions, after each holiday we begin to study the laws of the next holiday and prepare for it. After Purim, we begin to study the laws of Pesach, and after Pesach we begin to study the laws of Shavuot and so on. After Gush Katif, I suppose it’s appropriate to begin thinking about the return of Judea as Hertzel once dreamed of Israel. Hashem rewards everyone according to their merit and when their merit is spent, it is time for the greater merits of others.

The Midrash tells us that in Egypt there was a large group from the tribe of Ephraim that left a number of years before the Exodus. They were warned by the spiritual leadership not to go, because it was not yet time. They left for the glory of Israel and to escape their slavery, but unfortunately the whole multitude perished by the sword of the Philistines.

Although their cause was noble; the emancipation of a people, it was not for the cause and glory of the Torah which was waiting in the desert. This was their mistake. However, Hashem, the true judge, always rewards each of us for whatever good we do. When Yecheskel prophesied that the dead will come back to life he describes the scene of bones arising from the dead. The Midrash tells us that the bones Yecheskel refers to are none other than the bones of Ephraim.

These two midrashim seem to describe the merit of modern day Israel that had enough of persecution and rebuilt their Nation again, with or without God. With our own eyes we have witnessed the dead come back to life as Israel became a State again and what was once barren is now filled with gardens and cities and modern day life.

The merit has been repaid, and now it is a new time. The body has come back to life, and Hashem is now breathing a soul into it. It is a time of fixing the flaws and mistakes that invited a history of Holocausts upon us. The tribes of Israel were the first to be exiled, and (it appears) the first to return. The body is now intact but missing some vital organs. Today Judah is returning, and he is coming to fix the damage caused by an adolescent body and rejuvenate these vital organs.

With good examples the body will not become an addict and drive the soul out of him to his demise. With good examples the body will learn to be subservient to the heart and the soul and the brain and benefit from the proper balance. No doubt the brain must take over and battles may ensue, battles that most teenagers go through. But whatever way the course of events turn, the State of Judea is being formed and the subjects of this kingdom are arriving every day at Ben Gurion airport.

Bar Kochba
I never understood something about the story of Bar Kochba. Rabbi Akiva felt that he was the Moshiach, and they say he could have been the Moshiach but in the end it was taken away from him because he said we will win, ‘with or without’ Hashem’s help. The commentators describe this as arrogance, and because of this arrogance the would-be Moshiach was defeated.

Why are we left with this Midrash? If the Torah isn’t a history book, but a book of the present, then what are we to learn? Is it possible that this statement of Bar Kochba was left there like the achievements of champion athletes that remain forever, until someone comes to break his record? What did he achieve by this statement and what did he lose, and what do we learn from it?

Is it possible that what the rabbi’s call ‘arrogance’ was the result of a perfect ‘faith’ that had become tarnished through battle? Were there not many innocent and god fearing Jews that Bar Kochba saw suffer as he battled for the glory of Israel? In light of what we have witnessed in Gush Katif, could we not have some similar feelings?

Maybe there are those among us who feel that despite Hashem’s lack of intervention, we will continue. Whether He joins us or not, we will continue to build. It seems entirely possible to me that this may have been the ‘falling out’ of Bar Kochba and the ‘Bar Kochba’s’ to follow.

Was Rabbi Akiva’s praising Hashem while he was tortured to death, the antidote for this tarnished faith? Can one love Hashem even as He destroys everything you believed in including what you thought was redemption? I suppose this is a question we can ask Avraham as well, as he saddled his donkey to destroy everything he lived for.

Certainly we must continue to build and to rebuild, and I suppose Hashem is still observing at a distance for some unknown reason. I’m only a reporter below speculating on things beyond my understanding. But today Bar Kochba seems a little more human to me than before.

The State of Judea (Sept 9, 2005)

Katrina and the Jewish Problem
There is a concept that when the Nation of Israel accepted the Torah at Mount Sinai, they effectively re-accepted the mission of Adam, to rule the Earth below while serving G-d above. It was with this concept in mind that a religious friend of mine remarked to me during the Tzunami disaster that he felt somehow that Israel was responsible.

The idea is that if Adam ruled the world below, then all the forces of nature were also subservient to him. His decisions, for good or for bad, would affect the harmony and balance of the world that was created to serve him. This concept is further reflected in the morning Shma which is read by observant Jews daily as they bind themselves in Tefillin.

‘And it will come to pass that if you continually hearken to My commandments ….I will provide rain for your land in its proper time’. Followed by the warning:

‘Beware lest your heart be seduced and you turn astray and serve gods of others and bow to them. Then the wrath of Hashem will blaze against you...’

If Israel is the foundation and rock that sustains the world, along with its stiff necked priests, then when that rock is under attack and shaken up, the effects reverberate around the world. It was no surprise to me therefore when a large section of the foundation stone of Earth was uprooted, that it would have not only national and spiritual side effects but also natural and earthly ones.

Many people I have spoken to seem to feel that what happened in Gush Katif was the result of American pressure (personally I think were old enough to make our own decisions). But regardless, it seems that if this is so, then America is being punished by a natural disaster that may be rooted in a kabalistic way, by the by our own self-imposed disasters.

It is strange to see a huge city, thousands of times bigger than Gush Katif being forcibly evacuated against the will of its settlers. Didn’t we just see pictures of policemen forcibly taking people from their homes in Gush Katif and Homesh because it was ‘unsafe’ for them to stay there? The timing was interesting. On the day the cadavers of Gush Katif arrived to be re-buried in Jerusalem, death blew into New Orleans to bury it under a flood.

Maybe it’s all just coincidence. Maybe there is no connection. Regardless, I am certain that after some time New Orleans will be rebuilt and re-settled again. Gush Katif was settled twice already, before 1948 and after 1967. Certainly if New Orleans, a city that celebrates the annual ‘Decadence Parade’ can be re-built, than all the more so will Gush Katif be re-built one day soon, after the flood, in the State of Judea.

State of Judea(Oct 24, 2005)
The Editor requested an article

Even Though…
Even though I am still mad at our Nation of slaves that cannot refuse orders and taskmasters that are compelled to give them. Even though the only ‘free’ people in this Nation are now homeless, in jail or persecuted. Even though a self inflicted Hurricane came and erased huge Jewish communities as if they never had been there for 25 years.

Even though the sound of children playing in the street has been replaced by the sound of jackals howling from the ruins. Even though all that is left of hundreds of the finest and most loyal communities is an orange ribbon I wear on my knapsack. Even though I had expected Hashem to notice the sons correcting the sins of their fathers as they trekked through the night with full faith in their hearts. Even though there was no miracle.

Even though we have the sensitivity of a donkey, as we stare blankly and say life goes on. Even though we are like the generation of Mitzrayim that is too weary with our labor. Even though we have a courageous army that trembles in front of a puny Goliath. Even though we allow ourselves to be bullied and our leaders represent our weak hearts. Even though I cannot understand why such a strong people is such a frightened people.

Even though I cannot understand why we divorce such a beautiful wife and are obsessed over such an ugly one. Even though I said to myself I would not write any more about such idiots. Even though the Arabs run wildly now through Tel Aviv on Ramadan, without any fear insulting and cursing their self-defeated enemies. Even though many Jews no longer go to their synagogue in Jaffo for fear of being mugged by Arab gangs.

Even though the ‘capo’ Jews of the past, who willingly beat their brothers for an extra piece of bread, still exist in the ghetto of Israel today, and are still willing. Even though before the Holocaust the rabbis who said don’t go to Israel were wrong. Even though the rabbis that said nothing would happen to Gush Katif were wrong. Even though my belief that this was the beginning of the redemption was also wrong.

Even though I still believe with perfect faith that Moshiach will come, not today or tomorrow, but probably after we feel suffering in our own living rooms, which may be the day after tomorrow. Even though I am still mad at the director for breaking His own rules and not explaining Himself. Even though in the end I must accept that this was His decision.

Even though I have many questions about the Divine. Even though I have no illusions about what His children are capable of. Even though I know that my disappointment comes from a tremendous love of G-d and His nation and His Land. Even though I have every right to be mad and upset..still…How can I be angry when a little girl shoves a plate of apples and honey in front of me and I look up to see an army of school children offering similar plates to commuters at the Central bus station? How can I be mad when a Chassid finds me walking the streets at midnight and then prepares a beautiful meal in his succah for me?

How can I get mad at the magical synchronicity that still exists within this chaos? How can I get mad at the picture of a full moon over Mount Meron? During all this time, did I even think for a second of leaving Israel who I married for better or worse? Did I ever wish to hear a foreign bird singing in my window? Is there another Nation I would trade for my dysfunctional family?

How could I remain mad at bitter opponents who still greet each other with hugs? How can I get mad when I hear 10.000 Cohanim blessing me, or dancing together on Shabbat? How can I remain upset when so many others feel the same way as I do, from bus drivers to businessmen who still call each other ‘Ach Sheli’ – ‘My brother’.

Ill get over it and Hashem will get over it, and the Nation will get over it, and something will grow from these wounds. As the storm clouds approach, one can still see the light at the other end. The light comes from ones choices, to be free or to be a link in the chain of indifference. To serve the one above though He remains hidden, or to serve the State that already knows everything about you. For now I suppose we must be like Avraham who woke up early to sacrifice his son, without understanding why suddenly everything is upside down. You can call this a spark from Israel, a dull glitter, or a raging fire, they are all true.

State of Judea (Nov5, 2005)
Formerly Sparks From Israel

Nachamu, Nachamu
This article is dedicated to those who have felt disappointed and disillusioned by the events of this summer. The after shock of those who had expected victory has left its mark. Many who have felt secure now feel that their own future is uncertain. A dangerous precedent has been set encouraging more terror, more retreat, and more betrayal. But there is yet hope.

Personally this is not the first time that I have felt this kind of devastation. It happened once before with a leader that many felt was on the verge of bringing the redemption ‘gloriously’. One who appeared more like a prophet than a politician, who's gaining popularity threatened to overturn the feudal establishment of Israel and so the barons banned him and later he was assassinated. His name was Rabbi Meir Kahane.

A similar devastation happened eleven years later, when his son who continued his work, was also assasinated. In those days I had expected terrible tragedy to follow and it did, but not in the way I had thought. Meir Kahane was murdered a block away from the twin towers and I expected the ground to shake. The ground did shake, but it was not until eleven years later, in the year his son was assassinated; a year that became famous as the year of September 11th.

Just like the twin towers, the two giants who once stood were no more. The two giants who warned of such possible events were foolishly silenced, as if silencing the messenger would stop the storm from arriving. The storm arrived and it took the twin towers down and thousands of other victims of Arab terror since, whose untimely deaths could have been prevented.

Who would fight the battle now, I thought? The great generals are no more, only a small handful of the broken hearted faithful. Who had the talent and courage to lead and to speak so eloquently? The future looked terribly bleak and redemption was only a story book idea in the far away future.

These days, with the events of the summer, I remember that devastation. But on Simchat Torah I found comfort. A thought I had in the back of my mind was confirmed. I sat at the table of a Chassid in the old city who had been friends with the Rabbi I never met, that great visionary whose last words emanated from ground zero. We spoke about Rabbi Kahane and his son Binyamin Kahane.

The Chassid knew both of them well. He was now a principle of a school in Yesha and he told me that in every child’s school book is a picture of Rabbi Kahane. ‘The generation before used to speak about Rav Cook’, he said, ‘but today it’s only Kahane’. The principle looked me in the eye and told me that these children never heard Rav Kahane speak; they were born long after he died, but if it wasn’t for Rav Kahane, the whole orange movement would not exist. The ideological leader of the protest movement in Israel is Rabbi Kahane. He was the first to protest for Russian Jews and from his almost single handed efforts many thousands were freed from Russia. His words gave me comfort.

A Tzadik lives long after his years. This Rosh Hoshanna I heard there were 2 million people in Uman celebrating at the grave of Rabbi Nachman. Two hundred years after the death of a tzaddik his popularity has become greater than anyone would have ever have imagined. It has only been 15 years since Meir Kahane was taken from us and the country was almost overturned by children; children who were motivated to protest from his example. Thousands went out into the street every day, to demonstrate their love and concern, to expose the fraudulent, and to re-establish Torah justice and patriotism.

As Leonard Cohen writes in one of his songs ‘I have seen the future and its murder’. Yes, it is, there are dark days ahead, but the forces of good will win, just as they did in ‘48 and ’67. The next war, however, will begin from within the heart of every Jew and will overturn that which oppresses us more than any gentile from without. The self-hate within our hearts will be expelled along with every other enemy that seeks our demise.

Gush Katif is only the beginning, and the government trembled. A new Jewish heart is being formed from the ashes of September 11th, to the dust of Gush Katif. Although we saw glimpses of this potential when Rabbi Kahane was alive, and his son, and the massive Orange protest this summer, Hashem has His own timetable. I have been disappointed each time I saw glory trampled and beaten and buried because I thought it would change the world, but it didn’t-or maybe it did. Maybe the seeds that were buried are still growing and are beginning to bear their fruit.

Those who have been waiting in their seats are upset because they came on schedule but the show hasn’t begun on time. Some say it is because the manager is trying to accommodate the thousands of late comers and make sure they get a seat too. Maybe this is the reason for the delay. Maybe this is a reason to find comfort. There are many sparks in Israel but our life blood beats from Judea and soon the two will be united. Soon the theatre will be full. May we all live to see the curtain opening and none of us should lose their seat. Shabbat Shalom

Sparks From Israel II(Dec 12, 2005)

After the Plague
A chapter in my life has now closed and a new one begun. The starry eyed oleh chadash who wrote about the Holiness of Israel from surfers to Satmars is no longer starry eyed. Yes, I am embarrassed and ashamed, and disgusted, because I had expected more of this Nation and I am disappointed because I was waiting for a miracle that never happened. What good is left from a redemption process that seems to have been reversed? What can one harvest from fields that were burned down by their owners? I have no answers.

The painful pictures of our own Jewish thugs pulling the holiest Jews of Zion out of the homes they had built and paid for with their blood was too devastating for me to watch. The name tags on the soldiers were removed so that their violence could not be reported, but one could see a prosecuting angel on the shoulders of each one writing his and her name down in an accounting book in Heaven.

There was another counting taking place as well. In the Torah, there are a number of places that Hashem counts His people after a plague. We are told this is because each Israelite is precious to Hashem, especially after He has suffered a loss. Well, in retrospect, over this summer, we certainly have counted many who tied the orange ribbon to their bags and cars and street signs. Judging from the predominance of this color in every city of Israel it is clear that what happened in the Gush did not reflect the Nation. Despite this tragedy, an accounting of goodness has also been registered above.

Not only is this a new chapter in my life, but this is a new chapter in the Land of Israel. Just as precedence’s were broken from the sacred cow of democracy, revealing it’s true face of tyranny, precedence’s among the Nation were also revealed. Hundreds walked for many hours under the cover of darkness, eluding police to arrive at the Gush. Millions crowded the squares and Kotel for demonstrations never before seen. Like the Israelites of old, who walked into a desert with nothing but faith, the generation of Moshiach is coming of age.

The Jewish spirit has been revived. The ‘Jewish’ soul of Israel is emerging at the very moment that the forces of assimilation seek to extinguish it forever. Yes it’s a black day in Israel, and I suppose Hashem was also in mourning. Maybe He is saving the big miracle for another day. Maybe the ranks of goodness must swell even more. Maybe the tyranny must be let loose for us to recognize its face and beg forgiveness for our neglecting its rise to anarchy. I have no answers.

I just wanted to point out that there is more good than bad, and now is a time when good people must rise to the occasion and be counted.

Sparks from Israel (May4, 2006)

Here’s to Jewish Heroes

It was a great sign for all to see. Hanan Dayan, a staff seargent being decorated on Yom Haatzmaut for outstanding service refusing to shake the hands of the Ramat Kal. Of all the heroic actions Hanan has participated in, this one was most glorified and most significant. It was the glory of a true Jewish soldier serving a higher authority; a Jewish soldier that cannot betray his brother at any price and cannot shake the hand of the architect or foreman of evil.

This was a fine example of a true Jew, and a true descendent of the line of David, to which his family claims a connection to. His action gave me hope that there is still a glimmer of fire that burns in the bosom of this Nation. May his fire increase, and may it light up the eyes of this Nation sick with apathy and self indulgence. May those who seek darkness depart into the night and not delay the dawn from approaching. May those who simply ride on the bandwagon of the most popular parties be convinced that goodness is better than selfishness and strength is better than weakness. Protecting ones honor better than accepting defilement.

Those who even call it a mitzvah to denigrate oneself, as they spiral into nothingness and grasp at radical philosophies of self-loathing. Let they without backbones, who follow the majority that do terrible things, let them stumble into the notion that the right way has become the easiest and accepted path. Let it be that those who kindle the sparks and blow on the coals, ignite the half-dead and hypnotized into blindly following a new trend of Jewish love and love of the Land. Let fools stumble on the truth for a change and usher in a new world initiated by heroes who refuse to accept the unacceptable. Let the lambs be led after so many years of wandering by a true shepherd who cares for his flock.

Sparks From Israel(Oct 1, 2006)

For Better or Worse
I told myself I would never write another Sparks from Israel. But tonight I am absolutely drunk, and it’s the 5th night of Chanuka and so I will tell you about the holiness of our nation, even though I still think we are a bunch of slaves and taskmasters.

At 3 am, after drinking all night in one club, I went to another club that was still packed, and lo and behold at 3 a.m. two men with black hats and beards had the DJ stop the music, as they lit the Chanuka candles, and the crowd sang along with the Chanuka prayers. I thought I was hallucinating, but no, this is Israel.

At 4 a.m. as I left that bar and staggered home, I stopped into the chips store, and asked the cook, what wisdom he could impart on the 5th night of Chanuka. He told me, that he always liked the passage regarding Yacov, that he worked for 7 years for Rachel but to him it seemed like only days. I kissed the Rav of the chips, and blessed him that his light should increase in the world.

Who would think the man who fries potatoes in oil all night would think of such passages of Torah. Such holy people, even though they worship America, and New York, and all that is there. Still in the middle of their parties and drunken stupors, they can light Chanuka candles and give divreh Torah.

There is no other people like the Nation of Israel, and in my mind, I don’t even have a choice to leave here. There is nothing like this land and I have absolutely no desire for a different land. Even if we lack vision and faith, still this is a land like no other. These are the sons and daughters of prophets, and the sons and daughters of slaves. There is absolutely no other choice in my mind. Better an Israel that is infected with foolishness, than an exile that dreams of a perfect Israel that will never be.

Sparks From Israel (June 27, 2006)

The Promenade
There is a tiny shul tucked away inside the Promenade where artisans, shmata traders and tourists walk by. Tonight on my way to my usual afternoon prayer I thought to bring along my new Talmud book. There is a reward for coming to shul, a reward for praying in shul, and a reward for learning in a shul. I thought to myself, even if I don’t find time to learn while the rabbi’s gather the minyan, at least I will begin a good new habit of bringing a book with the intent of learning. I recently saw a man who had not been in a shul for a long time, wave his hand across the book section and kiss his hand, as if to say ‘I love these books, and I wish I had time to study them, let it be that even though I don’t have the time, that their wisdom should somehow enter into me’. I have felt like that too. Judaism has many levels to it, learning is one of them, and service is another. I have grown accustomed to do at least the minimum of trying to make the afternoon minyan each day but of course there is no end to calling of a Jew. Today was one of those days where one is reminded that a Jew is called upon to interrupt his day to participate in a group activity that involves at least nine other Jews. To me this seems like the source of my religion. Even though prayer is a meditational practice that gives one a great spiritual satisfaction, there is pre-requisite practice that one must do before this meditation; gather the minyan. To me the minyan represents the nucleus of our religion which is not really a religion; it is a National Service that begins at home. It is not a lifestyle choice that you chose to do at your leisure, but a National Service that interrupts your quiet day to fulfill an obligation whose end result brings you much more than peace, it brings fulfillment. A person who’s peace and communion is dependant on gathering nine other souls, is a person who has the good fortune of seeing the divine presence each day. To understand this idea in a more practical sense let me return to the Promenade.

Today, as I arrived at the shul and saw a small handful of people and the sun rapidly setting, I realized that there would not be any time for study, and if I didn’t jump into action, there may not even be a minyan. I stood outside and asked passersby who shook their heads. Above the promenade on a second floor balcony were a group of young men who sat there drinking beer and whistling to the women on the street, inviting them up to party with them. As the day grew darker, and the usual minyan men where nowhere to be found, I yelled up to the party boys to come help us with a minyan. They laughed and said, ok. At the last second the minyan came together with more than ten men, and the young men in Bermuda shorts and bare feet prayed with fervor. The prayer books and the prayers were not foreign to these men for they were Jews too, and it was part of their National Service to interrupt their party and assist a minyan. The feeling of being needed and obligated to help out is a necessary pre-requisite that easily opens the gates of heaven where collectively each ones meditation is received. Although this is a wayward nation always on the brink of destruction, it is this improvised symmetry of spiritual needs and obligations that disturbs our day and rectifies many evil decrees. These actions endear us to our Father in Heaven, who in turn disturbs Himself and goes out of His way to protect us and annul thousands of evil decrees against us, so that we can have a peaceful Shabbat.

2005-07-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sparks of Israel

Moshe and the Rock
I recall the weeks before Pesach when I was visiting the old country. A famous learned rabbi was speaking and someone asked how they are supposed to fulfill the requirement of feeling as if we were slaves in Egypt? I suggested that to understand what happened at that time, we could think about our brothers at this time, who are having a Pesach Seder in Gush Katif.

The same overwhelming odds against this small group, and the same expectation of a miracle might inspire our Seder tables so that we can better appreciate the original Exodus and make it happen again in our own time. The Rabbi didn’t agree, and was resigned to the fact that this Jewish expulsion was inevitable and was the product of anti-religious propaganda from an anti-religious state.

What made me recall this story at this time? Parsha Chukat- where Moshe gets angry and hits the rock and is condemned to not enter the Land of Israel. Even though water eventually came gushing out of this rock, the water of Torah that poured forth was Torah of the exile, that had lost its meaning. Moshe had lost touch with the people, and instead of being angry at them, he had an opportunity to bring out the best in them and raise them to a new level.

The same rock that sustained Hagar, the mother of the Ishmaelites, condemned Moshe who gave us the Torah. Even the Ishmaelites who took possession of a Land that was not given to them, understood its miraculous powers better than those who were never troubled by their disinheritance from it.

Those who love the Land, understand that the Land speaks, and water pours forth even from a rock. The Land will not tolerate its children being torn from them, and its children will not tolerate being separated from her. One doesn’t need to be a rabbinical student to understand this he only needs a new heart formed in the Land of Israel.

Despite leaders that accept the unacceptable, and continue to lash out at their arch-enemies, instead of speaking to the hearts of the people, the hearts of the people will speak to them and alone, they will bring forth miracles from above. A new generation has already entered the Land and despite all the Pharaohs of Egypt and our own Meraglim and Korach’s and rock hitting rabbis, the revolution has begun and from here you can smell the salt of the sea beginning to part.

2005-07-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Good News and Bad News
First the bad news
A young protester showed me a note that was sent to the wives of the policemen who are being trained to remove the residents of Gush Katif. The note asked the wives to be patient because their husbands would not be coming home for a few months, when they begin their holy work.

It goes on to explain how there will be four policeman for every citizen of Gush Katif. They will insure the safety of these residents and remove infants from the arms of their hysterical mother’s before proceeding to remove the parents and their belongings. They recognize that this may be a traumatic experience for some, and so they are enlisting the help of Druze and Bedouin policeman who of course will not have the same trauma as our soldiers, and might even enjoy this kind of work.

Is this Germany? Stalinist Russia? No, it’s Israel 2005.

And the good news
This same 15 year old protester belonged to a yeshiva, which together with his friends succeeded in bringing highways to a halt, closing down bus stations and an assortment of Gush Katif pranks that stunned the police department. This activism is not limited to the religious sector. On Shabbat walking along the beach of Tel Aviv, there were Gush Katif protestors, with megaphones that the police could not remove, because the sun bathers began marching with them.

For thousands of years, Jews have been at the mercy of our host countries, and for the most part sat quietly, relying on our leaders to barter for our best interests. That Jew died in the Holocaust and a new Jew was born. Not only the Jewish soldier, but the Jewish activist was born.

In the 60’s Jewish protest began with Meir Kahane and the Jewish Defense League. This handful of Jews succeeded in bringing the Russian Empire to its knees and ultimately releasing over a million of our brothers from behind the iron curtain. Meir Kahane paid a great price for his activism on behalf of the people he loved.

He was murdered a block away from the twin towers warning of terrorism that could happen, and not by coincidence did happen, 11 years later on September 11th in the same spot, by the same people. Nine months before September 11th Meir Kahane’s son was also murdered for his activism and just as the world changed on that fateful day when these two towers crumbled, so did something within the Jewish body.

Those towers of activism who alone led the conscience of the Jewish people were no longer. But from the ashes young seeds of fire were born, and today their orange light burns brightly. The police push and shove the peaceful orange protesters, they spray them with water cannons and they throw these youngsters in jail, but they cannot stop the tides from turning.

Finally yeshiva students are putting their chulent spoons down and getting arrested for civil disobedience (as my young protester friend says, the food in prison is kosher and you can study all day). Finally Jews regardless of their level of observance are demonstrating Ahavat Israel that even ‘frum’ Rabbi’s from the exile, couldn’t come close to.

The good news is that ‘the times they are a changing’ and our great Nation is about to give birth once again. The generation of young Jewish soldiers, who also have young idealism and passion for their people are coming of age. The generation of self-serving politicians and self-hating Jews has already ended. The generation of true leadership that comes from sacrifice, concern, and love for one’s people, has begun.

As the day of the earthquake approaches and the tremors are felt throughout the Land, I can’t help but feel incredibly lucky to witness these new pages of the Torah being written before my eyes, and to taste the future before it arrives. Some resign themselves to studying a Torah that has no connection to the present, but as far as I can see, the best pages are yet to be written.

2005-06-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Birds
If you look westward you can spot them arriving one by one. Then they come in larger numbers, like a stream trickling through tunnels and alleyways. Finally there is a rushing river, as they flood the marble floor of the Temple wall all the way across the large open plaza, up to the stairways at the other end. As the sun rises you can see them all, like birds. A hundred thousand Jews all huddled together for the morning prayer of Shavuot, after being up all night learning Torah, which is the Jewish tradition.

I have one friend who was at the original Sinai in the dessert and felt the vibe, another who was in Sfat receiving the kabala, and then there was me who stood witness in Jerusalem to the flock of black, white and multi-colored Jews doing their prayer dance together in improvised assemblies. What an interesting species these people are.

As I stood off in the distance taking in the sight of these multitudes I could hear the Song of the Hebrews calling to their G-d. I understood the language of this species and I too could return a call, in the same voice. After all I guess I'm a bird too.

A Nation of Prophets
I was coming back on the bus from the Kotel with two Israeli guys I had just met over Shabbat. One had a business idea he was speaking to me about, and his Temani friend was an inspired yeshiva student who only spoke about Torah. We managed to find three seats on the bus, and then his friend suddenly stood up and started to give the bus riders a lecture on the Importance of remaining silent in the Beit Knesset.

Imagine the scene; a Sephardic young man with a black kippa lecturing to a bus load of Ashkenazi rabbi’s with black furry striemels and women in kerchiefs. At first they smiled to each other, but as the bus rolled along, he continued, and they became engrossed in the lecture. While he was speaking, I turned to my friend and asked him if he does this everywhere, he nodded.

When we arrived at our destination, I hurried to catch the last bus to Tel Aviv. I looked back and saw the Bus Rebbe surrounded by new fans asking for his telephone number. On the bus back to Tel Aviv, he asked the bus driver if he could use the microphone and give a Torah lecture. He was flatly denied and we continued home with the radio playing Russian ballads and Trance music. I guess it must have been similar in ancient times.

The Academy of Questions
On Shabbat in Tel Aviv, I can only understand about 60% of the lectures because my Hebrew is not that good yet. It’s a treat for me to visit Yerushalayim where there is so much learning in English, and Shavuot is the holiday where we traditionally stay up all night long learning Torah.

There were a hundred different classes to choose from in the Old City, and a friend recommended a Talmud class that began at 2:30 am. He advised reviewing the material for a few hours before the lecture, because it was very deep stuff and the regular students have already spent a week reviewing it. So I sat with an old friend from this yeshiva and we struggled through it for a few hours until the Rabbi arrived.

He spoke for two hours and I must say, that instead of the 60% I usually understand in Hebrew, this time I understood about 10%, and it was in English. This academy of intellect was so refined that one could hardly make out the subject of the question that was extracted from the previous question that was concealed within the statement that was really another question.

Now I understand why the great yeshivas are such a big weapon for Israel. They are splitting the atom every day here and it creates a tremendous force field of impenetrable light.

Heavy Metal Chulent
Just as I had unpacked my things and was settling into a nice spiritual Shabbat in the Old City a 7-foot tattooed biker entered the room. He took off his spiked boots and Metalica T-shirt, stretched his legs passed the bed and with the moan of a giant lied down. The thought occurred to me, to put my valuables in the office safe. Jerusalem attracts all kinds of unusual people.

Another roommate arrived with a friend and they were discussing the laws of the Shavuot Festival. The rocker who hadn’t yet fallen asleep turned to them and in aristocratic English explained the detailed differences between the laws of Shabbat and the laws of the Festivals. Everyone was stunned, and he went back to sleep.

Later, I spoke with this gentle giant and discovered that his father was a rabbi, whose advice to him was to always question everything. His questioning led him around the world and back to Jerusalem. I suppose he will continue to question as his father did and there is a good chance that he will follow in his fathers footsteps and become a rabbi himself one day; maybe a Heavy Metal Rabbi. You can’t judge a book from its cover, especially in Israel.

2005-06-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Yom Yerushalayim
Outside of Israel reading the Torah seems like reading a history book. Here in Israel that history comes alive. On Shabbat we read Bamidbar which described the formation of the first Israeli army and the Nation under its various tribal flags. The next day was Yom Yerushalyim and I watched the parade down Yaffo street full of flags and floats from every tribal area of Israel along with army platoons and marching bands.

It was an overwhelming sight to see the banners of Zevulon and Binyamina followed by thousands of young people in colorful costumes from their provinces and settlements. I just read about these people in the Torah, and there they are before me marching through history.

The groups in orange T-shirts received the biggest applause along with the army. It’s these two groups that we seem most proud of; those who settle our land and those who defend it. It’s these two groups that make up the very fabric of our society.

Like a classical score our ancient script is interpreted by new directors in every era; the same themes, with new characters and a backdrop of tension and glory. Next week will be a new chapter in our Torah and I can’t wait to see what new revelation will be manifested and watch with my own eyes, as the music comes alive.

2005-06-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Contract
As one travels through this vast and mysterious land one cannot help but notice how quickly topographies change and alter. In one moment one is in a desert with rocks and caves, then rolling hills with lush gardens and flowers. It is as if the whole world was folded up into a small little concentration of land and water.

Whatever country you originate from, from Canada to Africa, you will find a part of that land, right here in Israel. As individuals return to rebuild their small section, that concentrated area expands and is beautified not only here, but reflexively in a corner of the world somewhere. The world is rooted in the Land of Israel, and we are the gardeners.

A visitor remarked how she never saw such beautiful bouquets of flowers growing wildly. There is a sense of blessing and abundance that emanates from the places that we have returned to, as if there is another gardener adding to our own efforts.

One can understand the Midrash of Sarah whose body transformed from a dried up woman of 90 to a youthful young maiden when it was time for the prophecy to arrive. Today, we are the prophecy, and we are arriving each day. Sarah gave birth in her old age and today the Land of Israel has become young in its old age and is being reborn every day.

Just as the figs drop like honey from the sky and fruit trees bear three fruits for every seed one can see the people of Israel blessed with children running wildly through the streets and pregnant mothers wherever one turns.

Amid this backdrop I heard a friend of mine say that we must ‘give back’ some of these lands. How absurd this sounds. ‘Giving back’, implies that we took something that doesn’t belong to us. Who can return his inheritance? And to whom would he give it; to robbers and thieves?

If one reads the will and testament left to us by our father in heaven, he will see that the only stipulation in receiving this abundance is to enjoy it, appreciate it and honor it with its sabbaticals. There is of course an insanity clause, as in many contracts.

If for some reason we go mad and want to divorce ourselves from paradise, curse all of this wealth and run away from our responsibility to tend this garden, then the inheritance will be passed on to another child who will protect this inheritance from both robbers and the momentary madness of his brother.

In the end, the decree of the Creator will stand and be enforced upon all of us, in all of its severity and no one can escape it. The ultimate commandment will be administered despite ourselves: Thou shalt be blessed!!

How Do You Know You Are In Israel?
In the old country, they have couriers that come in courier uniforms, take your package and give you something to sign and then leave in a hurry. Here a man arrives casually dressed, calls me by my first name and asks me if there is music on the CD’s he is delivering for me. I told him ‘no, they are video clips, why do you ask?’ ‘I was going to listen to it in the car along the way’, he answered me. Only in Israel.

2005-05-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Fires of Lag B’Omer
Lag B’Omer is a night where great bonfires dot the landscape. As I stood next to the largest bonfire I have ever seen it was as if I discovered fire for the first time. Huge streams of fire where rushing up into heaven and disappearing into sparks as they were swallowed by the night. Water also flows in streams downward to the sea, and is swallowed by the sand. The stream of water is constant and water makes up most of our being. Fire is unusual and man-made, but a large fire, has a current and flows like a raging sea upward and then just like the sea, it disappears into the air, as if it was never there.

The first fire they say was made by Adam after Shabbat, and this is one of the reasons we light the Havdalah candle. The ability to make fire is one of the things that distinguish man as Gods emissary here on earth. The soul of man is also like fire and we light yortzeit candles to commemorate the neshama, and invite the spirit to fill the room once again with their light. Our history is made up of great souls that reached for heaven like fire and brought heaven down to us like rain. The temple was destroyed with fire, and they say it will also be rebuilt with fire. But how does one rebuild with fire?

Just as there are currents in the sea that appear to have a form there are currents of time that are real and then swallowed by eternity. But the current of the sea brings something to the shore, as the current of fire brings something to light in the world. The wave of Jews that fill the kever of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is a sea of elbows and arms that lifts you and carries you like a current that you are helpless to fight against. Inside, the current swells in circles as Jews lose their identity and become a bonfire reaching towards heaven in song. Each face is one face and the ‘one’ face has a multitude of variations.

Who was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and why does this sea of fire continue to burn and to grow? He was the author of the mystical Zohar. But why was he the man to receive this most mystical book from Hashem’s secret library? Was he a man who sat in a study hall contemplating the universe? It seems that he was, but also much more than that. He was also a rebel, who like his teacher Rabbi Akiva, was not afraid of the authorities, but only of the higher authority of G-d. He, like his teacher, was engaged in the physical battle against the anti-Israel forces and the spiritual battle to bring the Melech Moshiach. He became a legend for evading the forces that tried unsuccessfully to put out his fire.

My friend Yecheskel pointed out that we can see how even a modern day cave dweller has become a legend among his people for humiliated his American captors by constantly eluding them. Shimon Bar Yochai became a legend for the Israelites by eluding the Roman authorities and continuing to fight the revolution of the Moshiach that according to some opinions say succeeded on the 33rd of the Omer, the same day of his yorzeit.

The same commentators say that the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died not by a plague, but in this war similar to the Macabees, who fought against forces a thousand times greater than themselves, and won. Although the victory was short lived, the battle continues, even into our own times.

Meron was not only lit with bright orange fires, but also with bright orange t-shirts, the symbol of Gush Katif. The battle for the Land of Israel is a battle for the soul of Israel, and throughout history, the battle always has had the same odds, a thousand to one. But our ‘One’ cannot be defeated, only refined.

The deepest mysteries of the Zohar are only given to those who build a fire inside for Hashem, His people, and His Land. Without all three, the fire doesn’t reach high enough. When it does, he may be entitled to a library card from Hashem’s secret library. The currents of time have brought the building materials to the shore, and the fire that needs to be kindled is increasing. It is the fire of sacrifice and devotion and love. This is the fire that will be kindled one day soon in the Beit Hamigdash.

2005-05-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Macabee did it again!
Tonight Macabee (Israel’s Basketball Team) won the European championship for the second year in a row. Within minutes Kikar Rabin (City Hall) was filled with thousands of people dancing wildly, beating drums, and singing into the midnight hour. The Breslov Trance-Music Vans were parked there and gave away their books and glow in the dark buttons. Vendors set up impromptu popcorn stands and candy floss machines. Everyone marveled at how little Israel once again conquered all of Europe.

Many say the victory was a direct result of the coach of the team who started to keep Shabbat a month before last years victory. This year he went to the Kotel and got a bracha from a Rebbe and gave away tzedaka before the final game. Only in Israel would you hear such a story and would the fans be cheering not only for victory of a basketball team but for our coach in Heaven who stands behind us.

Two days from now the Kikar again will be packed with thousands who will not dance but sit and mourn those who were sacrificed this year in battle or from terrorism. Yom Hazikaron is a solemn night where there are no vendors selling food, only videos on a large screen of parents and friends talking about loved ones who are no longer with us, mixed with live performing artists singing solemn ballads without applause at the end. It is a moment when the whole Nation cries together.

The next night, the square will again be overflowing with its citizens, this time dancing again and waving flags for Israel’s Independence Day. The greatest entertainers will fill the stage and perform in all their glory, one after another.

How can one describe this place called Israel that rejoices one day and mourns the next; that is constantly being destroyed and rebuilt? This tiny Nation that has such a vast history and such tremendous influence on the planet. In comparison the world seems to be hardly rotating. There is no moment wasted in Israel, nor day without meaning. It is an ancient country that grows younger each day as it continues to flower. I cannot describe the intensity of life here in Israel. All I can say is that whatever way you look at it, one cannot help but see the reflection of the Divine shining through it from every direction.

Israel - Fifty Seven but looks Twenty Five
Israel is not a Nation. It is a family that has become a Nation. In only 57 years there are huge metropolises exporting all the latest hi-tech inventions to the world and teaching other countries how to make deserts bloom and armies run more efficiently.

There is one area however, that although it has been exported over the years, will soon explode in a huge industry. Which industry do I speak of? The industry of light! The light of the Nation is growing and there is a growing thirst in the world to receive it. The light of the spirit, through words, dance, film, and especially through music is breaking into the world stage in a rapid pace.

Every year I go to Kikar Rabin to see the fireworks and hear some of Israel’s top performers. Every year I am more impressed than the year before. The world class bands are better than what I see on MTV with lyrics that are deep and come from Jewish souls dressed in many different colors. Israeli bands from Rap to Heavy Metal, to Reggae are touring the world and receiving standing ovations wherever they go.

Here in Rabin Square is the home they return to and the source of their inspiration. The music begins in the early evening with children running wild spraying their friends and the crowd with foam. There is so much foam that the streets are slippery to walk on and you see cute little kids that look like snowmen chasing after each other. The music is interspersed with sets of fireworks from the roof of City Hall. At midnight the mayor gives his blessing and the final round of fireworks goes on for at least 15 minutes.

This year the fireworks were set to Mizrachi/Ska music and Reggae Dub. When I lived abroad I used to see the world competition of fireworks each year, but I never saw fireworks orchestrated this well to music and with such spectacular design. Now I understand why the country is bankrupt. They spend all their money on fireworks.

The concert goes on far past the children’s bedtime as some of the top rock bands perform. I noticed in the crowd some people with orange shirts and orange kippas, a sign of those who support the people of Gush Katif. I also saw a chassid in a black hat dancing in the crowd. Although there are extreme divisions in our country, it doesn’t seem to stop us from dancing together.

Certainly there are deep divides within our Nation, and the next few months will be a big test for us. However, whatever side of the line one places himself, on the other side of that line facing us in a fur hat, an orange shirt, or dreadlocks - is a mirror. We are a Nation faced against each other and with each other and next to the window of Heaven this makes beautiful rainbows. Chag Somayach!

2005-05-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel
(at the Boombamela Music Festival)

‘How Goodly Are Thy Tents Oh Yacov’
I couldn’t help but think of this prayer when I attended the Boombamela Music festival during Chol Hamoed Pesach. Imagine a tent city of 20,000 people living by the seashore, with a shanty town built over night. In the evening bond fires, guitars and drum circles, as well as many stages of rock, reggae and world music. There is a place for those who wish to dress with fig leafs like the Garden of Eden and there is a place for the Dosi hippies who dress in biblical robes.

So this is what the bible must have looked like; Woodstock with both the Golden Calf and the Torah. A tribal multitude made up of the best parts of the whole world, connecting to each other in our collective path that leads in all directions. There are deep divisions within the body of the Nation, but this is counter-pointed with a love and responsibility for each other that we all feel, in different places in our hearts. It’s nice to have a tribe to come home to. Hine matov umanayim, shevet achim gum yachad.

The Burger Ranch Rav
I was at my brother’s place during Pesach and asked him if he had any mustard in his fridge. He said that he couldn’t find any kosher for Pesach mustard in the ‘glatt- kosher’ grocery store. When I returned to Israel during Chol Hamoed I went for my special Pesach treat; a Pesach hamburger at Burger Ranch. I asked the burger purveyor for a package of mustard and she replied that she was sorry but ‘mustard is chumatz’.

Now I understood why we couldn’t find any kosher for Pesach mustard in the grocery store. Imagine learning this obscure Halacha from a 17 year old Burger Ranch employee. Only in Israel!

The Market
I live in a market place. All day you hear the vendors shouting their bargains and selling their wares. On the surface one would think that they are simple folk that work hard and at the end of the day come home to watch television and drink a beer. Maybe they do, but as the sun begins to set, I see many of these vendors in my local synagogue for the afternoon prayers. There are maybe fifty other synagogues in the immediate area as well.

Between the afternoon prayer and the evening prayer, someone will get up and speak a few words of Torah. The discussion between the congregants and the one leading the discussion I would compare to great rabbinical discourses I have read about in books. The level of their knowledge is astounding.

The next day as I questioned one of the congregants about a question he had asked, he clarified it for me and then pointed to the tomatoes. ‘Take four for 5 shekels, it’s a better deal’. He stuffed the tomatoes in my bag and continued shouting. Where I come from Torah is something studied in academies. Here it flows through the marketplace, where some of the greatest masters teach it while selling tomatoes.

2005-03-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Life is Loud
I have a good friend here who is also a new immigrant. We smile at each other when we see Israeli’s passing by dressed loudly, shouting to each other and behaving in what appears to be a primitive way. ‘Why must they scream and yell?’ I asked. My friend answered me. The Galut is very quiet. Here there is noise everywhere. The buses are loud, the people are loud; music blares out of speakers everywhere you go. But here is also the place where the world began. The stream of life is transmitted from the Light of this Nation to the world. And life is loud. It is the sound of building, the sound of protest, the sound of fighting for ones right to exist.

The Galut is quiet, and people try not to rock the boat. They are quite happy if they go unnoticed. They live comfortably in foreign countries and wish to be left alone to continue to live quietly as model citizens of their adopted countries. If the problems of Israel begin to affect their quiet lives, this concerns many and worries them.

Here on the other hand, if the problems of one group of Jews affect another group of Jews no one is quiet about it. If someone is pushed, they push back. Even if it involves foreign governments, world bodies, collaborators, even armies. No one goes down quietly. Life is loud and only death is quiet. Life changes rapidly, while death stands still.

We sat by the water to escape the noise but life was still loud all around us beating its drums and blowing shofars. Life is loud, but it certainly feels good to be alive.

2005-03-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Oranges
I have a good friend who went home to London for two weeks. She said she missed her friends and family and the club scene. We met yesterday when she came back and she told me for two weeks all she thought about was Israel and her friends here. She was so happy to come home. It’s really odd when I think about it. She is somewhat traditional, but she is by no means a religious girl. In fact she dresses quite provocatively. Why is it I thought to myself some people just have the bug to come and live here and others simply don’t? I know many pious Jews who pray fervently each day about returning to the Holy Land of Israel, yet they don’t. What inspired us?

We waited for a bus to come. There were many Orange trees growing wild on the boulevard. I reached up and picked two giant oranges as we waited for our bus. We looked at each other and I asked her. Why were we so lucky to have found this? She munched on her Orange and looked back at me ‘Dunno’.

2005-03-04T03:08:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

How Do You Know You Are In Israel?
I was sitting in a café at 2am on a corner where there are quite a few dance clubs. All of a sudden I heard some loud funky dance music with Chassidic chanting. Everyone stopped and looked. It was the Rabbi Nachman van. The van parked on the busy street corner and a troupe of Rabbi Nachman Chassids jumped out with their white cotton kippas. They got everyone dancing on the street, even on the roof of the mini-van.

I used to think there was a big separation between secular and religious, but now I understand there are a lot of grey areas in between. No one is really totally ‘secular’ and our religion has also gotten a lot ‘groovier’.

Blame It On Syria
Every time our leaders proclaim 'a new era' of Peace and release prisoners and relax borders the world rejoices while I expect tragedy. Therefore I was not altogether surprised when I heard the deadly explosion that took five more innocent Jewish lives. Of course the terrorist could not have been among our cousins who we just made peace with. Everyone knows that they suddenly have changed. They wear tailored suits now and they shaved their beards. Therefore, it must be Syria.

It was Syria who gave the order to send the local Arab resident through the newly relaxed checkpoints, or maybe Iran, or Hamas. It doesn’t really matter much to me who gave the order, or even if it was just another pious Muslim wishing to wed 70 virgins. The point is, when the Arabs and the world are angry with checkpoints and walls and terrorist assassinations, I feel safer. When our leaders collaborate with those who seek our demise and sell our birthright for a pot of lentils, I feel less secure. I would much rather be alive with animosity and condemnation than dead with the 'new era' of peace and world sympathy.

Alas, Israel is a work in progress, and I love it dearly. The day after the bomb, the beach was crowded with people, and life goes on. Less than a week after the attack at ‘Stages’, the club was redecorated and re-opened and there were twice as many people lined up outside waiting to get in. I suppose this is an indication of the indestructible spirit of our people. Israel will outlive corrupt politicians, terrorists and indifference, because its future is an interactive prophecy that we all participate in. Each of us chooses their part and none of us can undo its rebirth, only stand in its way. I still feel lucky to have been given such a good seat in the center of it all.

2005-03-04T03:07:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

The Yellow Brick Road

My friend is a soldier. He was coming home once from Gaza looking tired and scuffed up. People got up to let him sit down. He ordered a shawarma and the man would not take his money. This is Israel, a country where everyone has been a soldier and understands what it is like to serve your country. I’m sure many of those who leave because they are looking for a simpler life will always feel that they traded a part of their soul for something that is partly empty. It’s good to be needed and to protect your family.

In the exile, one relies on the laws of other Nations for protection. However no matter how hard a Jew tries to assimilate anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment seems to be rising. I suppose one finds himself increasingly having to defend his opinions about Israel or take up the cause of anti-Israel sentiment to be politically correct. I wonder what fear could ever turn a person against his brother. I’ve never had this feeling so it’s foreign to me, but I would venture to say that its cure can be found in ones Native Land.

Just like the lion who traveled the yellow brick road, to discover the courage that was always inside of him; from here one can feel the undercurrent of our strength as a people. It is a family of many tribes, dependant on each other. Here is the place they all come together and form themselves into a Nation. Everyday soldiers who defend the country they love and reap its abundant harvests while at the same time excelling in the market places of the world. It’s a wonderful feeling to have left the final exile and come home to a world where one can truly build their permanent home; from the hills of the Golan Heights to the shores of Gush Katif.

2005-03-04T03:06:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

The ‘Hood’
I was visiting a high school for troubled teenagers in Tel Aviv. It was a special school for students who had been kicked out of other schools and most of the students had problems at home. Many of them worked and some, instead of living at home, lived in hostels.

Amid the noise of students yelling at each other the teacher tried to conduct a class. I was assigned to two talented young rappers and helped them to translate their Hebrew rap into English. The teacher explained to me that she was fighting a losing battle, with no budget for books, and students that only show up once in awhile for class.

Although these young people were tough and streetwise; with all of the gelled hair, baggy pants and sideways baseball caps there was one thing that one wouldn’t see overseas in the ‘Hood’. Each time the bell rang, and students left their class, at least 50% of them would raise their hand as they passed the classroom door, to touch the mezuzah and kiss it. Only in Israel.

Salsa
I heard some Latin music as I was walking home late at night from a gathering. I entered and found a club full of Latino’s dancing wildly. I never saw such great dancers. In the summer I was also suprised to see a dance contest in a shopping center with dancers doing moves that would put Micheal Jackson to shame. It was hard to believe that Israeli kids could dance like that. In the Latino club I overheard people speaking Spanish and Portuguese and Hebrew. I asked a Brazilian looking woman if most of the people here are from South America. She answered in a thick Russian accent, 'no, mostly Israeli'. How is it that these Israeli's look more Latin than the Latino's and dance blacker than homies from the ghetto? I thought of Woody Allen's movie Zeilig. Wherever the Jewish people go, we seem to adapt to the culture we find ourselves in and take it further. It seems to be part of our nature and part of Hashem's plan to scatter us to the four corners of the world to absorb its various elements.

I remember once when I spent time in a Yeshiva in Yerushalayim you would enter the study hall and hear students sitting in pairs arguing in ten different languages. Their was a buzz of Torah being shaped and redefined and extracted like sparks of holiness that had been hidden among the cultures of the world. This energy was like a nuclear power plant of positive thought.

We have always been at risk of losing our identity by the allure of the surrounding cultures but something always prevents us from being completely assimilated. There is a saying that goes, 'when the Jews stop making Havdalah, the nations make it for us'. However, as we have become inoculated by the challenges that have faced our Nation over the years, now it is a time of gathering. The skin has been discarded and the fruit remains.

As each spark returns to the Land carrying various parts of the world on their shoulders the pieces are assembled like a microcosm of the universe. Each one another letter of the Sefer Torah, from the halls of the Yeshiva to the Latin nightlife, the letters dance and come together as a unified nation of many streams. As the pieces return to their origin a picture is formed of the many faceted jewel of Israel and it's light is magnificant.

2005-03-04T03:05:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Karioke
I went to an interesting bar last night. The DJ would play the latest music from Rap to Rock to House and the audience would jump on the stage and the tables and dance completely uninhibited. Every so often the DJ would stop the music and give the audience a chance to sing Karioke. Now in America, if you were into ‘rap’ or if you were a ‘rocker’ you would usually have a certain attitude. There would be an image of toughness or aloofness that might go along with this music. But here, all of those attitudes that go along with the current music trends although they undoubtedly influence the Israeli youth, when the music stops and the Karioke begins the songs that these rappers and rockers choose to sing is not what I would have thought.

All I heard were traditional and sentimental Israeli pop songs. Suddenly the sexy MTV crowd transformed into a folk crowd singing and swaying arm in arm. Although Israeli’s are always thirsty for the latest world trends in music and pop culture, the attitudes and mannerism’s that manifest themselves in the west wash off like moss over here, to reveal the solid rock that lies underneath the current waves.

The influence of western culture is a serious challenge to the Jewish Nation, just as ‘Hellenism’ was to the Macabees and the ‘Enlightenment’ was to European Jewry. The alienation caused between our own roots and culture and the ‘times’ has always been the friction that was in the backdrop of our history. Today, these frictions continue, but are now contained within a Nation that needs each other in order to survive.

The young Sephardic man who after praying left the synagogue and put his kippa back in his pocket and the ‘rappers’ and ‘rockers’ who forgot their attitudes for a moment to sing folk songs describes the common ground to me that exists somewhere between religion and MTV. It’s more than Nationalism. As my British friend remarked to me in the Karioke bar, ‘We are a complex people, aren’t we’. I suppose so, especially when the Nation is beginning to come of age.

Every Day Heroes
Life is so full in Israel and so much fun. Israeli’s love to go out and they love to sing and dance and live. In my work place at least once a week many of the staff including the bosses, go out for drinks. This is not unusual. When they are not at work or going out, each one has their special interest. One is a DJ who spins records, another studies art and multi-media. Another plays pro-league soccer and one stunning woman studies languages and has traveled to over 20 countries in her 24 years. One day the artist received a letter that made him light up. What is it I asked him? He told me the army has called him up for service.
Every year soldiers return for a few weeks or a month of the year to train or to upgrade their skills, or even for action. He was excited to be reunited with his paratroop battalion

2005-03-04T03:03:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel
Betrayal
There is a Midrash that describes how the spiritual leadership followed Moshe and Aaron to Pharaoh’s palace. One by one, they disappeared leaving in the end, only Moshe and Aaron.

This reminds me of something Meir Kahane (z’tl) once said of supporters who used to claim they were behind him -- and he would respond 'yes they are behind me-very far behind me.'

The spiritual leaders of Egypt, who abandoned Moshe, eventually received capitol punishment from Heaven for their inability to stand on principle and for their betrayal and lack of faith. The spiritual leadership of the exile that remains ritually pure while at the same time ‘biting’ the Hand of Redemption has caused untold suffering in every generation that stands at the edge of glory.

‘Against the great men of the Children of Israel, He did not stretch out His hand – they gazed at G-d, yet they ate and drank. ‘(Shmot 24:11)

The Gadol HaDor of the exile will never be the Gadol HaDor of the redemption. They will prefer to receive manna from heaven than to conquer the Land of Israel. Certainly it is Hashem’s plan to humble the arrogant Pharaoh, while at the same time redeeming the Nation of Israel. No army in the world can alter Hashem’s plan. Our free-choice is simply whether it will be a seven day journey home, or a tragic forty year blunder.

Today we have a Jewish Pharaoh who says, "Those who call for defying orders or for forcibly or violently opposing are subversive, mistaken and endanger our actual existence in this place,"

Of course one can read through these lines quite easily and see that he means ‘his’ political existence that is endangered, and he will stop at nothing to persecute and jail those who uphold Hashem’s law’s and disobey ‘his’ laws.

The decrees of a dictator who sends brothers to uproot brothers would be a fallen dictator had it not been for the Gadol HaDor’s of the exile, who put principle aside, in preference for the stipend of manna in the desert yeshiva.

In the end, these holy men of the Midrash were replaced by a new Sanhedrin. The government of redemption that Moshe picked was made up of Jewish taskmasters that had previously distinguished themselves by preferring to take beatings themselves than to hand over Jews who could not fill their quota of work. These leaders did not spend their days of redemption in the academies of Goshen, but like Moshe who went out of the palace, they led the people out of their suffering, from within it. Those who sit and wait for the Beit Hamigdash to fall from heaven while they are eating chulent will see it fall on top of their heads, while those who build it from below, will enter it.

The leaders who were persecuted and killed in the past; the Meir Kahane’s (z’tl) and Binyamin Kahane’s (z’tl), and those who are persecuted today for their love of Israel, by encouraging soldiers to defy their treacherous orders will become the Gadol HaDor’s of the future.

It is those who take the beatings, and allow themselves to become targets, because of their love of their people, their Nation, and their G-d, who become true leaders and shepherds that bring about redemption while betrayal only delays it.

The truth is we have nothing to fear, from the threats of the Arabs, or the threats of Washington, or the United Nations. They mean absolutely nothing. The only thing that stands in the way of our redemption is ‘us’. It has always been this way. But it’s getting clearer for us to see.

I pray that soon the prophecy of Yechezchel will come true, when he envisioned the unification of the tribes of Yehuda with the tribes of Ephraim ‘like a single wooden tablet, and they shall become one in your hand’. (Yecheskel 37:15-17). In this weeks Parsha the plagues began and the Israelites sat back and watched it all. If we rise to the occasion, we too can witness the redemption in all of its glory and lead ourselves out of Mitzrayim. Shabbat Shalom

2005-01-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

The Twilight Zone

I work in an Industrial Area in South Tel Aviv, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. At night, I took a break and sat in a corner pizza parlor.

Sitting at another table was a disheveled looking man who had had a few drinks. Across from him sat a large man with missing teeth and grease stained T-shirt from the truck he drove. If I was in my native land, I could imagine the drunkard cursing the Jews about something or other and the truck driver laughing back with a mouth full of pizza. But as I sat there I was startled to hear the man full of booze blurt out the following words in Hebrew:

‘The Song of song’s of Solomon:
Communicate Your innermost wisdom to me again in loving closeness, for your friendship is dearer than all earthly delights. Like the scent of goodly oils is the spreading fame of your deeds; Your very name is Flowing Oil, therefore have the nations loved you...’

The tuck driver added:
‘Upon perceiving a mere hint that You wished to draw me, we rushed with perfect faith after You into the wilderness. But you’re not supposed to recite Psalms in the night.’

The drunk responded ‘That’s not Psalms that’s the Song of Song’s and where did you get that ridiculous idea that you cannot recite Psalms in the night time? My father (rest his soul) read all of the Psalms every Friday night.’

The truck driver replied, ‘Well your not supposed to’.

As the pizza delivery man put his motorcycle helmet on the drunk grabbed his arm. Yossi, he said, my father (rest his soul) read the whole Psalms every Friday night and this ‘rabbi’ here (pointing to the truck driver), said you can’t read Psalms at night, what do you say?’

Yossi took off his helmet. ‘Well, there is a tradition with some people not to recite Psalms between sundown and midnight, however, even those who hold by this tradition read Psalms on Friday night, because Shabbat is considered ‘day’, this is why we don’t say goodnight on Friday night, we say Shabbat Shalom.

‘Oh..the drunk continued. ‘Though I am black with sin, I am comely with virtue, O nations who are destined to ascend to Hevron..’

‘ To Yerushalayim, not Hevron’..said the beer drinking truck driver.
‘No. it’s written Hevron’ said the man with a hiccup.
‘Ahh..your drunk, said the truck driver, ‘you don’t know the difference between Hevron and Yerushalayim’..

As I walked out, they continued to argue. Here in Israel, even the salt of the earth is not salt, but gold.

2004-12-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Chanuka in the Hills of Samaria
Imagine walking through a Munk painting where you can see emotion in the clouds and the skies are spread out in all of their majesty. The colors of the brownish green hills are the same as they were two thousand years ago and each tiny rock is Holy. The view around the yishuv is breathtaking and perfectly peaceful.

I once heard someone say that all of the Jews could not possibly fit into the tiny Land of Israel. This is not true. There are great expanses of land unpopulated, and more than that. The hills of Yehuda and Shomron are like a blanket waiting to be spread out and filled once again with her people.

Just as Yerushalayim expands like a beautiful quilt upon the landscape, so too will the provinces grow. ‘The voice of Hashem convulses the wilderness’ (Tehillim 29). You can actually see it, how the mountains move and make way for their princes and queens arriving each day. Even a stone in this Land is alive and filled with an expansive energy.

I suppose it is this very Holiness; the source of all existence, that challenges the world. The war of Israel is a war of houses and homes. Each Jewish family that returns to these hills and beautifies them beautifies the source of Creation.

In adolescence the body and the soul often war with each other. But through this struggle a man emerges. Today we live in the times of Chanuka, where the soul emerges victorious over the body and becomes its driving force. As Israel comes of age in our times every Jew has an important role to play. There may be a storm ahead, but it may also dissolve as the light increases. May we see the world come of age soon, and may we all be there at the Bar Mitzvah, and may there be pickled herring! Amen

2004-12-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Economic Hardship and Divine Abundance
They say it’s hard to find a job in Israel. I suppose this is true, however on the other hand, we experience miracles in abundance. Everyday miracles as common place occurrences are simply not factored into the equation outside of Israel. Divine intervention is such an ever present part of life here that in comparison it is as if there is no G-d outside of Israel.

In other Nations there are simply natural forces that have been set in place so that one doesn’t often feel the need to rely on a G-d when he can rely on the welfare state or his family, or the abundance of opportunities. Because one feels much more at the mercy of G-d here, I’m certain that He too is quite happy to be a significant part of our lives and livelihoods. All those who dwell in the Land cannot help but feel an interaction with the Divine that simply does not exist with the same intensity outside of Israel, regardless of the level of one’s ritual observance.

I personally have felt the warm hand of someone guiding me throughout my sojourn here. Something I never felt so assuredly before. As a small example I went from being fired from a lowly job and feeling destitute to being hired to a management position with all of the management perks. All of this took place within 48 hours.

The only problem with my new job was that because there was more responsibility, there were also more demands on my time. When the time arrived for the afternoon prayers which I prefer to do in a synagogue with a minyan (a quorum of 10 men), there was not synagogue to be found, nor enough time to travel to where I might find one.

One day, I slipped away from work and turned down a side street in the industrial area of my workplace hoping to find a secluded spot to pray. Lo and behold in the middle of this abandoned area was a synagogue full of congregants that seemed to have been placed there for me like a mirage. The next day, when my supervisor was relying upon me to prepare a brief that was needed immediately I noticed that it was getting dark outside and like the salmon that instinctively returns to the stream, I slipped away to the corner mirage and joined the minyan.

I realized that it was a little risky to disappear at such a time, but I said to myself if a job is so consuming that I cannot afford my fifteen minutes of meditation to the supervisor of all supervisors, then it’s not the right job for me. I felt relieved to do my quick prayer and hurried back to the office. As I entered I passed my supervisor who noticed me entering from outside. I continued to the photocopy room and a few minutes later he approached me.

I could see it coming. He was going to ask me why I took a break at such a time when our overseas client was about to call and I was to brief him on the details. He would be disappointed and reprimand me.

As he approached he looked me in the eye and said. ‘I just want to tell you that I’m really very happy that you are with us and to thank you for doing such an excellent job’.

As he left I looked up at my supervisor in Heaven and smiled, ‘You have such a clever way of demonstrating your love for me.’ I said. He smiled back.

It may be difficult to find work sometimes in Israel, but that’s because the purpose of our lives is not merely to make a livelihood, but to recognize the source of our livelihood. Hidden beneath the surface of a poor economic situation is a proximity to the Divine that flows abundantly and visibly. I wouldn’t exchange this privilege for all of the fatness and delusion the world has to offer.

Greetings
In the exile when you purchase an item the clerk says ‘Have a Nice Day’. In Israel, the clerk might say, ‘What accent is that? Where are you from?’ And after talking for a few minutes will say ‘Shalom Achi’ (Goodbye my brother). Or he might charge you 50 shekles instead of 54 and say ‘Lchvod Shabbat’ (In honor of Shabbat). Here, we have rules but were not clerks. Just like the King who lives in close proximity, the sons of that King also behave like small kings, who can bend the rules and alter things according to their disposition. ‘Have a nice day’ is good, but ‘See you my brother’, it’s a different level of existence.

2004-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Riding the Bus
Imagine giving a motorcycle gang member a bus license and saying, go ahead, have fun. Sometimes riding a bus, especially in the night when there is less traffic is a thrilling experience. Overseas when you get stuck behind a bus you complain because they go slow and stop everywhere. In Israel they swing to the left and right barely missing people, and other buses, stopping only for pit stops as people hurry on and the race continues. One night as the bus zigzagged through traffic at lightning speed the bus drivers friend started to beep the horn ‘yahoooo’. They laughed and I also was amused.

Another night, I was coming home and the bus driver detecting my English accent asked me to help him translate a line from a Beatles song. We enjoyed talking with each other so much that he missed his turn and took the bus on a different route. I told him that this was actually closer to my place, and so he happily dropped me at my corner. We shook hands and parted.

As my brother once said, in Chutz Le Aretz we have ‘I’ ‘It’ relationships. We relate to people more as things and objects. Here it is an ‘I’ ‘Thou” relationship, and we relate to each other regardless of our station in life, as family, brothers and cousins. It’s really such a huge difference.

That’s it for this week. Oh yes, I heard another famous terrorist passed away. I couldn’t really care less, but I went to the Shiva and I brought a deli plate. There will be more of them I’m sure, just like mosquitoes or hornets in the summer, but it won’t stop me from building my corner of the Promised Land. I hear they are also opening a new hotel in Gush Katif. Kol hakavod! Shabbat Shalom

2004-11-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Shuk HaKarmel
Luckily I wasn’t at my local market the day of the Shuk Hakarmel attack, but the next day as I sat in the shuk I was impressed to see something unusual. As I ordered my boreka’s a famous singer flanked by a camera man pushed a microphone past me to the owner of the shop.

He was making a video clip and going through the market singing ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ and reminding the people that Israel is ours ‘Yisrael Shelanu’ to bolster the spirits of the shop owners who had just been the victims of a terrorist attack. They clapped along and sang. It was quite a sight to see, how a day of darkness was transformed into an indestructible day of light.

More than that, this famous Israeli singer was a Black man from America who had moved to Israel 30 years ago and become the master of Chassidic music with a blues twist. Amazing to see how the sparks of Holiness from all the different Nations of the world have returned to rebuild our ancient homeland.

I still thank G-d every day for bringing me here and giving me a place. I feel very fortunate to be here with my brothers, despite the war. As for those who think Israel is being sold for a bowl of lentils, don’t worry the story isn’t over. This is only another chapter in the unraveling story of the divine plan. Leaders can make all sorts of proclamations, but in the end it is the Big Director who decides. And from what I can understand of the story it has a happy ending.

2004-11-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

The Revolution
It’s embarrassing sometimes to be part of such a Holy Nation and to be led by heroes who are small in their eyes. Leaders reminiscent of Saul who rage at those who have everything that he lacks, and in his rage labels the builders of the Nation of having a ‘Messianic complex’ to cover up his own ‘complex’. It’s obvious that their strength makes his own lack of self-esteem more acute and so ‘the accuser accuses with his own blemish’.

How can we be part of such a great nation of courageous soldiers and everyday heroes, yet we allow ourselves to be bullied by modern day Nazis, their International supporters, and our imprisoned leadership. All of the courage and machismo of our indestructible Nation turns into jelly without one essential ingredient – faith.

When one has faith, one marches through life confident that all adversity is meant to strengthen us and to teach us that there is a force that has created this design and is always with us, as long as we are with Him. Despite the apparent dangers, if we steer our ship with integrity, the rough waters will subside and we will be protected. This is freedom.

On the other hand, one who lacks this faith sees himself as a tiny dot standing alone against giants who wish to destroy him, and lacking integrity, he is willing to sell and barter his heritage and even his family, for the shallow promise of security from the Gestapo’s of the world. This is slavery. With this perception, even the finest soldier can be reduced to the level of a ruthless drug addict.

But what is a revolution if not a popular uprising from among the people? It is we who choose to be led or misled. It is we who pay the price for complacency, just as Job did. It is we who burned in Europe when our spiritual leadership said ‘stay’, or today say ‘soldiers obey your orders’. Don’t blame the shepherds for getting fat from the sheep. Stop being sheep and demand real leaders. Be David’s who saw the brave soldiers being conditioned each day by the taunting of Goliath on the CNN of their day. Slay him and be done with it.

Stop whining about an imaginary Moshiach and bring him by protesting and demanding a leadership that at the very least has the best interest of his people in mind and is not afraid of a world that is always against us anyway. Despite the imaginary pressure and the bear hugs, and the outright threats against us, if we continue to build the Promised Land, and punish the guilty instead of the innocent, we will build peace not only in Israel but in the entire world.

Let’s stop being embarrassed by our leaders who are on their way out with the rest of this desert generation. It’s time for the generation of Yehoshua to take over. It’s time to grow up and stop whining about where was G-d and ask ourselves, where were ‘we’ then and where are ‘we’ now?

2004-10-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Times of Moshiach
And it will happen on that day that there will be neither clear light nor heavy darkness. This will go on for a whole day-understood only by Hashem-neither day nor night; but toward evening it will be perceived as light. (Zecharia 14:6)

We are all waiting for Moshiach to come, but in Sfat he has already arrived. When we say we are waiting for the times of the Moshiach, what exactly are we waiting for? The times of Moshicach are supposedly a time when the light of Torah will be revealed and the world will return to its original condition. The delight of such a world one can feel in Sfat where sometimes you walk into an empty shop and must wait for the owner to return in order to buy something. Or a Jew might come dancing out of a Beit Knesset and grab your hands and dance with you as he continues on his way. Certainly we are still in the middle of a war, and the battles that Joshua left unconquered are still being waged by his children. But when one needs a rest from the state of darkness that emanates from the valley of Schem and hovers around the globe, one can slip into the future for a few days and visit the dreamy city of Sfat. Then one can return to the war with purpose and knowledge of a time that awaits us. Every battle and revolution brings us closer to that day that is neither light nor dark, but something we have never known before.

My Kind of Tzaddik
The ‘Tish’ (banquet) of Shmini Arzeret is a time of lots of Lechaim’s (words of Torah accompanied by shots of Vodka). Of course, if Chabad didn’t invent the Lechaim tradition, they certainly perfected it. I was in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City at this festive occasion that marks the culmination of the days of awe. There was a very distinguished speaker at the head table who had written many scholarly books that I remember from my youth. It was exciting to see this great Rabbi and even more exciting when he greeted me in the most unorthodox fashion.

As I sat at the corner of the table trying to discuss some idea with the students across from me among the noise of 60 Jews eating, drinking, and schmoozing I felt the splash of vodka on my head. We stopped talking and turned to the main speaker Rabbi Steinsalz who had just thrown a plastic cup of vodka at the three of us and smiled sweetly like a lovable grandfather. ‘Shudd up over there..Shush..Im trying to speak’.

This was my introduction to Rabbi Steinsalz. As people tried to ‘shush’ the crowd, he continued to discuss the meaning of Shmini Atzeret and explained that it was not a time to learn Torah, but to celebrate with our bride – The Torah. Afterwards I went over to him and asked him, ‘Isn’t that more appropriate for Shavuot, the anniversary of when we received the Torah for the first time, and were not so aware of what was contained in it? Don’t they say now it’s like a second marriage, this time one with more knowledge of who it is we married? He gave my face a gentle slap and answered with his Albert Einstein voice ‘Ve are in love, silly, the commandment now is to be happy and to dance with your bride..He continued to slap me..your in love!’…Ok, I guess I understood.

Now that’s my kind of Tzaddik, a man who can throw vodka at you and then slap you on the face. Sometimes those things are more meaningful than another speech.

A Picture on the Wall
There is nothing like being at the kotel for the climax of the chagim, When you see all of the diverse streams of Judaism mixed together in a soup of souls dancing beneath the angels as the birds fly in circles above it makes you feel like a tiny drop which seen from afar becomes the face of the Almighty.

2004-10-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Yom Kippur in Israel

The delivery man arranges to bring your bookcase to you after the Chag and wishes you an easy fast ‘Tzom Kal’. The security guard at the passport office answers a few questions you had and he too wishes you a Tzom Kal. So does your neighbor, the shop owner and the street cleaner. Your workplace has a Sukkah and Etrogs are available for the employees to purchase. Your co-workers put customers on hold, in order to finish their Torah discussion. After work, half of the staff stays behind to do Selichos. In the exile, we are like a secret society, but here it feels so good to be in a normal environment.

A friend of mine recalled how when he was young a gentile would ask him what his Nationality was and he would say ‘Jewish.’ His friend would answer, ‘not your religion, your Nationality!’ The truth is, we were never meant to be a ‘religion’, nor were we meant to be a Hebrew speaking Scandinavia. Whether one is religious or not, our National holidays were written long before 1948 in the constitution of the Holy Torah. As our Religious Nation takes shape and comes of age, may we be privileged to see its light revealed and reflected to the world thirsty for its light.

2004-09-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Leaders of the Redemption
Amid the loud trance music, tattoos shops, Russian punks with spiked hair, and provocative women staggering out of discos, there are many run-down Beit Knesset’s where the Torah observant few come to pray and argue past the disco hour the relevance of their particular stream of Judaism.

In one of these holy places, made even holier by the three shots of Arak I ingested, a man gave over a Dvar Torah about the Parasha Ki Sisa. He quoted a local man Rav Alfasi from a Beit Knesset in the affluent North Tel Aviv.

Regarding the Tehillim we read before the Birkat Hamazon (the blessing after the meal) which reads: ‘When Hashem will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like dreamers. Then our mouth will be filled with laughter and our tongue with glad song.’ Rav Alfasi asks the question, why will our mouths be filled with laughter? Why not with joy, with happiness, with praise?

He answers, ‘Because we will see that the redemption is being brought by the lowest element of society. What the holy rabbi’s failed to bring, what the purest souls were incapable of achieving, will be achieved by thugs and gangsters!’ These are the times we are living in now, and soon, with laughter we will see, how the lowest elements of society, will in fact be the redeemers of our generation. How funny is that?

A Familiar Song
I met with a fellow countryman who has been in Israel for a month now. We spoke about the synagogue we both used to go to, and I told him that for over a year now, I have searched for a synagogue that sings Chadesh Yamenu with the same melody that we both were familiar with. I added mystically, that when I find the place that sings that melody, I will know that I have found my inheritance in the Land of Israel. We laughed and parted.

The next day I met a friend who offered to guide me to a synagogue across from the Temple Mount where most of our Arab cousins live. I was surprised, in the middle of the service to hear a familiar tune. As I walked back through the Arab shuk, I heard my words echoing from the night before. Is this my inheritance? It’s not exactly the easy going life style I have in Tel Aviv.

The message seemed clear to me, coming one week before Rosh Hoshanna. If one wants to continue to receive Hashem’s blessings, he must continue to grow and fulfill the potential given to him. Each of us has their own definition of what that growth entails, but each of us must conquer new territory within.
Just as our Nation settles the Land of Israel despite the worlds protest, as individuals we also must conquer new territory within, and subdue the forces that seek to undermine the fulfillment of our potential. I thought for a moment of my younger brother, who would often add at the end of his letters. Grow or Die.

The Watermelon man

As I walked through the market on a hot sunny day, I saw a merchant sitting next to his kiosk eating freshly cut pieces of watermelon. As I approached he saw me looking at the appetizing cold slices and motioned to me to take a piece. I said ‘no’, but he insisted. As I continued on my way munching my slice of watermelon I thought to myself. ‘Is there any other place like Israel, a family that became a Nation?

‘Tis the Season
All the shops are busy once again with last minute shopping. Soon the whole country will be closed down for two days. Extra people are hired just to wrap merchandise and in most corner kiosks you can pick up some last minute gift packages for the holidays. It all seems reminiscent to me of a holiday that falls in December in North America, but it’s now early September. What was once a religious day of observance to a tiny Jewish minority is a National Holiday here in Israel. It’s Rosh Hoshanna, and even the bus drivers wish you Shana Tova ve Metuka. Have a good and sweet year!

2004-09-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Evolution of Man
Living in Israel is unlike any other nation. One might study the highest levels of Judo in Japan, or find the greatest Blues masters in Chicago, but when it comes to studying ‘faith’, this is the place. What makes this the place where ‘faith’ can be acquired more than other lands? On a simple level, we have no great rivers and lakes to rely upon. Our water falls directly from Heaven, and we subsist constantly upon the blessings of Heaven. If the rain were withheld, we would feel it right away.

Prayer was the first service that Adam, the original man, was created for. And here he lies buried in Hevron. Prayer was his vocation, for without it, there would be no rain and the grass would not grow. Living in Israel is living like Adam Ha Rishon, the first man, and the ultimate man.

It seems to me that all good flows from upward downward (like parents to their children), and from downward upward (as we mature) and then down again with greater love than before (as we succeed). And this is the evolution of man.

Israel, which is the training ground for the ultimate mankind, must see these results daily so that it becomes second nature. As we master our service, the pipelines flow freely and the whole world is affected in a positive way. And this is the evolution of Israel, which brings about the evolution of mankind.

Living Inside the Torah – Rosh Hoshana
Upon hearing the news that our commuter van was being cancelled I arranged a meeting with one of the bosses of the company I work for. I explained to her that without the company van that brings us Tel Aviv people back and forth to Yerushalayim each night, it would be too expensive and time consuming to continue working there.

Furthermore, we were the top salespeople that earned certainly enough money to justify the van. She said she would look into it, but the prognosis did not look good. I thought to myself, I better work hard and make some extra money, because it appears that soon I will be without a job.

That Shabbat I forgot about work and asked a multitude of questions about Rosh Hashanna. How can one day affect a whole year and is this fair? What in fact are we determining if everything is already determined? What is the point of doing teshuva especially at this time and not before or after? Isn’t this a little false; like hiring a good attorney to plead for us and then he departs after the judgment has been rendered?

After many long discussions, the answer seemed to have already been given. I have always felt that the events of the week in the physical world often reflect the spiritual times we are in. One has only to look for the signs and the poetry of life. As the month of Elul was ushered in, so was I being ushered out of a job. What is the connection?

This time is a time when everything is in question. No matter what you bring to the company, no matter what you bring to this world. There is a higher authority that is determining once again if He will renew our contracts based upon His understanding. It is a time simply to recognize that there is a King, and that we wish to be subject to His rule regardless of what He determines. It is a time to accept His decrees as ‘just’ despite our inability to understand why bad things happen to good people.

The concept of ‘Teshuva’ is similar in a way to the idea of wanting to make extra money in case one finds himself out of a job. Teshuva has an intrinsic value, like money. It can be used in this world and there are money changers on every corner in the next world too!

They say that the Torah was the blueprint of all creation. And before the Torah was Teshuva. The whole system of creation is based upon change and renewal. Even a snake changes his skin; certainly angels must plume their feathers.

And so as the king is being crowned once again by his subjects I suppose we can receive a base salary from this acceptance of His rule. Regardless if we attend the coronation, He still will provide for us. And I suppose the extra commissions we receive through our good deeds will have special bonuses attached just because of His visit, so it might be a good time to stock up while at the same time taking stock.

It seems that it is really the concept of change that is the spark that ignites the world. The Creator of all artists had this in mind when He made His Creation whose existence never stagnates but is always changing from growth to death to re-birth.

In the end, we made an arrangement regarding the van, but it is no longer free, and we see that even though we are assets to the company, we are also expendable. Nothing is as certain as it was before. But that very uncertainty makes me feel secure. I was never truly in control of events in the first place. What a comforting thought, nothing stays the same.

The Garden of Eden
It is a fascinating time to be in Israel. The highest souls are arriving each day and stepping onto the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport. Of course there are also many who dream of boarding those planes and discovering America. There is a changing of the guard taking place; a new stage in the building of this palace. The foundation has been dug and the frame has been erected, but now the various artists and designers are flocking to the Land to refine the interior and beautify the exterior. To the degree that the clouds darken over lands of the exile, they brighten over the hills and valleys of this Land. To those who can envision it, there is only opportunity. To those who can see it, this is the Garden of Eden.

The Bicycle Tzadik
While most of us suffer from lack of faith, I have a friend who has too much. He has very little money, and his only possession, his ‘bike’ he would leave everywhere without a lock. I would scold him and say, you should not rely upon miracles. ‘Baaa. He would say. If Hashem wants to take my bike, let Him take it’. After a year of miracles in which everyone else’s bike was stolen except his, it happened all of a sudden one day that his too was taken. He couldn’t understand what happened and why Hashem was angry with him to take his bike? I argued with him that Hashem gave us a book of rules and He clearly wants us to do our part below and not rely upon His miracles.

After a month I saw my friend again with a brand new bike that he was very happy about. He was quick to show me that he took my advice. This time after saving up for a month to get his beautiful new bike, he bought a lock. However, it was the cheapest lock he could find. Even a five year old thief could rip it apart and steal his bike. ‘Your right’, he said to me ‘I must do my part below’, and so I did. ‘I bought the cheapest lock I could find’, so He can’t say that I am not doing my part’. But this is only symbolic, because it is not the lock that keeps my bike, but Hashem. I had to agree with him. Ours is only a symbolic effort from below, and to the degree one believes this, this is the degree to which he is blessed.

One Doesn’t Study Kabala he Receives It
I was a little sad yesterday because I have very few books to read in English. I am sometimes in places where rabbis are speaking and I am only able to get an idea of what they are saying, and not bold enough to attempt a question in my broken Hebrew. As I left the lecture my cell phone rang. A young man was returning my inquiry about some Torah books in English he wanted to give away. I had been the only person who answered his advertisement that he had posted the day before. Within 2 hours, he delivered to me a brand new complete set of the Zohar in English, all 23 books. Now where else does G-d hear your prayers and answer them like this? Only in the Land of the Living.

2004-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Enforcers
Living in Israel one sees the direct hand of Hashem in many ways. He speaks to people through many intermediaries, from people, to the rocks of the Kotel, even through Jelly Fish. To those who love the sea, it was particularly difficult not to notice Hashem’s messengers which arrived on schedule at the beginning of the three weeks.

According to our traditions, we are forbidden to go bathing for the three weeks that precede Tisha B’Av and there to enforce the laws of Heaven were frightening and ugly Jelly Fish (Medussa’s in Israel) that sting worse than bumble bees and kept many of the regulars from violating the laws of Heaven. As mysteriously as they arrived in abundance, they all suddenly left just after Tisha B’av without a trace. Only in the Land of Israel!

Chukat – The Shoa – and The Birth of Israel

It appears to me that there is a connection between Parsha Chukat, the Shoa and the birth of modern day Israel. The apparent illogical process of the Para Aduma which purifies while causing impurity in the process is not so illogical when one stands at our viewpoint of history and looks backward. The sin of the snakes, which punishes as well as cures, is also a similar concept. The Shoa too was a punishment that contains within it the cure that we must come to understand.

We learn another difficult idea in this Parsha that the death of the spiritual leaders of the generation, atone for the generation by their death. Let us examine for a moment the mistakes of the people and the spiritual leadership that resulted in tragedies and the consequences of these tragedies that resulted eventually in purity coming from impurity, and new life coming from death.

In the Haftorah we see the rectification of histories mistakes that lead to the conquest of Biblical Israel and also guide us today with the answers that we still are searching for; answers that have taken a devastating toll on the Nation to discover.

There is a Midrash that tells us that the Para Aduma is a symbol of Nation of Israel. Each part of the cow represents a different part of the Nation, from Torah scholars, to those who support the scholars, even the dung of the cow which represents the lowliest parts of the Nation. All are placed together and burned on the Alter, and from this sacrifice comes the elixir that purifies the Nation.

What were the faults of the Nation that led to the national tragedy? It is through understanding the difficult questions of our time, which was similar to their time that we can come to understand these ideas and produce the elixir that purifies.

The Rebirth of the Nation
Why were the greatest leaders of the generation denied entrance to the Land? What were their mistakes and the mistakes of the generation? The Midrash tells us that the generation of the dessert were not only condemned to die in the dessert but were also commanded to dig their own graves (a familiar image). How could a people on the verge of such glory as they left Egypt end up in such tragic circumstances?

How could it be that after praying thousands of years for the rebirth of Israel that our own generation failed to see its doors opening even to save their lives? And what gave birth to the new generation that conquered the Land if not for the tragic mistakes of their fathers?

The Rock
One of the keys to understanding this catastrophe lies within understanding why Moshe was punished for hitting the rock. Chazal tells us many reasons, some of the more famous ones are: Moshe hit the rock instead of speaking to the rock. He got angry when Hashem wasn’t angry. He and Aaron were being punished for the previous sins of the golden calf and the spies. Moshe had an opportunity to raise the consciousness of the nation which he failed to do.

If we think back to the generation that entered Israel in our own times before the Shoa and the response of the spiritual leadership then which still echoes in our own time, we might understand these ideas clearer.

Was Hashem really angry at the Zionists for their complaints? If the religious leaders spoke to the nation and showed them that water was coming from the rocks of the land of Israel and that the re-birth of the Nation was a clear sign of Hashem’s blessings, maybe millions of Jews might have gone to Israel when they could have. Instead there was a war between the lovers of the Land and the guardians of the religion.

It’s interesting to note that the rock that Moshe hit, according to the Midrash, was the same rock that gave water to Hagar. This seems to indicate that there is connection between the rock that sustained Ishmael and that which sustains Israel. The punishments inflicted on the Nation of Israel in the past and in our own time seem to be due to our rejection of the desirable land. Ishmael on the other hand is sustained by the very rock that is rejected by the Israelite Nation.

The Cure
In Parsha Pinchas Hashem says a second time that the reason the leadership is being denied entry into the Land is because they failed to sanctify His name. In the same Parsha Yehoshua and Calev are distinguished for doing the opposite. It seems that the general rule is that leadership that appeases the people as Aaron did with the golden calf, or Moshe did, in the episode of the spies, will eventually lead to the long road of redemption, while those who stood against the mob like Calev, Yehoshua, and Pinchas, were rewarded by bringing the people into the land.

In Parsha Devarim which often falls during Tisha Bav the sins that lead to National catastrophe are further explained. The Meraglim who were great leaders of stature, we are told, slandered the good Land and had a powerfully negative influence on the Nation. In the Haftorah of Chukat Hashem tells us what He despises most - Mendacity amidst assemblage; piety that masks lack of faith.

‘He shall make war for you, like everything He did for you in Egypt, before your eyes. And in the Wilderness, as you have seen, that Hashem your G-d, bore you, as a man carries his son, on the entire way that you traveled, until you arrived at this place. Yet in this matter you do not believe in Hashem your G-d, Who goes before you on the way…(Devarim 29-33).

One can be a very pious Jew, but still it is in this way that we lacked faith then, and today. We are told that Calev and Yehoshua believed in Hashem fully!. We didn’t believe fully that Hashem would walk in front of us and lead us into the Land. Instead we slandered the Land and because we were afraid to forge our destiny as we were commanded to do, we exchanged it instead for a set of rituals called Judaism. This piety that lacks faith has resulted in terrible tragedy.

Chukat describes the inevitable punishments of running away from our destiny and the mistakes of leadership. The rectification which begins with the new leadership of Yehoshua and Calev and the zealous acts of Pinchas affected the cure that was finally resolved in the end of history by the Haftorah of Devarim.

Former Jewish enemies resolved their differences in order to repel an enemy of the newly formed Jewish Nation. The enemy of the Jews at that time offered a peace treaty in exchange for land, the same claim as today. They bargain with the Jewish conquerors, that they wont make war, if only these conquerors would give them back Land that they felt was theirs previously.

But the Jewish leadership and people had changed. They no longer saw these enemies as giants and themselves small, but rather as Calev and Yehoshua saw them – Goliaths who’s time of retribution had come.

In the end, the answer they received was the same answer we will give one day to both villains and imposters of piety. ‘All that your god gives to you he has given you, all he has given us he gives to us.’ End of story.

2004-06-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Meraglim

Its amazing how some times Hashem brings the Parsha into the week. There is a poetry of life that is written each day if one looks for it. The events of the week are not merely coincidences but relate to the cycle of events and times that we revisit weekly, monthly, and annually. And so it was, as I reflected last week that my one year ‘aliyah’ anniversary is coming up, that something unusual happened to me.

I came to Israel first at Pesach time with the ‘yad chasaka’ of Hashem (topic of another essay), but then returned to prepare things and finally made ‘aliyah’ officially on Parsha Shelach. I remember telling my friends at my Shabbat speech that I was going in good company, with Yehoshua and Calev, to bring a good report of the land. And so I have been doing for the last year.

I was meditating on my anniversary, as I walked down a small path to a new beach I hadn’t been to. As I approached the walkway by the shore, walking towards me was a famous politician followed by an entourage of camera men snapping pictures as he sauntered down the boardwalk in his tailored suite. He noddedd to me with his official smile prepared for his adoring fans. As I continued, on my way, someone said to me frantically, ‘Was that him? Will he be coming back this way?’

This man and his wife were so excited at seeing a celebrity and it appeared that this politician also enjoyed the popularity of being one. Who was this politican? What was his name? For now he shall remain nameless. A simple man who lives in Gush Katif and has to struggle not only against an Arab enemy that attacks him, but a hostile world, and a hostile government that seeks to appease that hostile world at his expense, this to me is a man with a name.

The surreal sight of a man surrounded by an entourage of snapping cameras as he strolled along the beach and his gawking fans who have a tremendous respect for ‘fame’, made me think about the Parsha.

Here was one of the Meraglim, face to face. Here was one of the most important, affluent, and elucidate representatives of the Jewish Nation, but what was the basis of his leadership? He wasn’t a man of principle or faith. He had betrayed the people many times for his political advantage and instead of tending his flock, he grew fat from them and abandoned them to the wolves. He was not a leader, he was a shrewd follower of political tides.

The complaint of the Meraglim was that they ‘felt’ small, and in their eyes, the Cannanites appeared to be frightening giants. Some say that underneath this lack of faith and self-esteem, was also another agenda. They were afraid of losing their positions as leaders in this new land, and so they preferred that the Nation stayed as it was, in the dessert. Although this would compromise Hashem’s plan, it would ensure their status as leaders, or rather ‘politicians’.

The real leaders however, were Calev and Yehoshua, who were almost stoned to death for daring to go against the majority who had now been corrupted by these gifted speakers who knew how to play upon the peoples weakness. And of course the rest is history, the people cried for no reason, and so Hashem said, I will give you a reason to cry, for now you will not enter the land, but your children will. The very children that were used as the ‘pretext’ for their fear and worry, in the end, were not like their parents and they had no fear of these Cananites.

The signpost of selfishness and dissention already had come to light in last weeks Parasha when the people left their unified experience at Sinai and began to complain and doubt their leaders. Moshe appointed new judges that were needed for he could see the age of Meraglim that was coming. He appointed former Jewish taskmasters, who used to take beatings from the Egyptians, rather than inflict more suffering on their brothers.

These were the true leaders that were needed then, and are needed now. Leaders willing to suffer for the sake of their people, rather than let their people suffer for the sake of their political advantage. There will always be banquets and celebrations for Meraglim, and the true leaders will be banned and stoned by the rabble who like the Meraglim lack faith and prefer appeasement to the gentile world, rather than obedience to G-ds will.

The Meraglim looked at events surrounding them and they read them as ominous omens of destruction by giants who could crush them like ants, while the truly G-d fearing Yehoshua and Calev read the same events as proof that G-d was watching over them and protecting them. And so it is today. It’s hard to believe that the majority cannot see the obvious while the minority is persecuted for relating it.

If this tiny Nation of soldiers and artists and geniouses, exists and prospers and flourishes despite the animosity of the world, then why do we not conclude that there is a G-d watching over us and therefore, if we do His will and conquer our enemies He will continue to protect us? Why do we instead seek ways of expelling Jews from their homes when it is their neighbors the Cannanites, that should be expelled, and could be, quite easily.

They are not giants, and we are not grasshoppers, Yehoshua and Calev referred to them as bread to be eaten. The only strength they have is created by the Meraglim who made them into giants because of their fears. We gave them courage by our retreats and never ending humiliating appeasements. In the end, it will not be the Meraglim who inheirit the land but the Yehoshua’s and Calev’s.

The tikun of the 10 spies who brought an evil report is the 10 men of the Minyan, who gather to pray. Among every Minyan of Jews there are always miracles, and among every Jewish community there are more miracles, and a Jewish Nation? All we need to do, is to come home and to see for ourselves with a good eye that Hashem is our stronghold and those who retreat will only fall into the hands of Egypt with all of its punishments. But those who build the Nation even if they are few will be remembered, while the politicians who represent the apparent majority, will be forgotten. How many remember the names of the Meraglim? But who doesn’t know Yehoshua and Calev?
And so as my year draws to a close, I am reminded of the words I said when I left. I told my friends I was coming to Israel in good company with Yehoshua and Calev, and I will bring back a good report. And so, it has been a year now, and I continue to bring a good report about the Land of Israel and it’s people. (you can read all of my reports in Sparks from Israel http://sparksfromisrael.blogspot.com/).

2004-05-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Body of Israel

One of the first things I noticed when I arrived here was that people are much closer. Even strangers sit close together in mini-van taxi’s tapping each other on the shoulders and passing money from hand to hand to the driver. Good friends walk arm in arm in the street. People hug each other and call each other ‘achi’, which translated means ‘my brother’. But even brothers in Canada don’t act so close.

When you get even closer to the heart and soul of the nation, by the generator that sits waiting to be rebuilt in Jerusalem – the ‘Kotel’ that closeness is felt even deeper. One of the most amazing sights to see at the Kotel on a Friday night is all of the many factions of Israel that oppose each other, dancing together arm in arm. Holding hands in the same circle are fur hats, black hats, knitted kippas, black kippas, paper kippas, soldiers with guns on their backs, Sephardic, Ashkenazi, converts, white faces, black faces, oriental faces, hippies, businessmen, visitors, kabbalists, left wingers, right wingers, religious and not religious. All dancing together in a trance that goes beyond the body and beyond our understanding.

On festival days when thousands of Cohens meet at the Kotel to give their blessings to the people you really feel the body of Israel because your body is pressed next to thousands of other bodies. You can drop your siddur, and another hand will catch it, your hat can fall, and another hand will return it, you can think a thought, and the man next to you who just flew three thousand miles from New York was brought there just to give you the answer. No wonder the birds go mad, flying in circles around the courtyard above this soup of Jews. They must see us too as one divine body, the molecules that make up the original man ‘Adam’ next to the divine presence.

It seems to me that part of the process of Pesach that climaxes with Shavuot is the recognition that we are one body. Through the seven weeks we fine-tune that body in all of its parts by reciting the sefirah. By the final sefirah, which is Malchut (Kingship), we come to an even higher understanding. We are kings who control our bodies and direct them in different ways. We are judges who can punish or forgive, be satisfied with little, accepting of much, and discerning in judgment within and without. We are kings and sons of kings. We are also servants to master, students of a teacher, and a teacher to other students.

This Shabbat I wondered what was the connection between the Parasha Bamidbar and its Haftorah and how are they both connected to Shavuot, which falls at this time? I found an answer in a commentary in my Chumash. Rav Kaminetsky writes that the census taken of the people when they left Egypt was of the nation as a ‘whole’. The census taken in the book of Bamidbar which list the numbers of each tribe, and their leaders could only be done once the Nation understood that it’s central focus was the Mishkan (the Tabernacle).

By drawing attention to various tribes and leaders of tribes in the formative stage of the Exodus, there might have been a danger of Nationalism or Factionism, but now that it was understood that their was one aim and goal, then their individual roles in achieving the collective goal could be expressed in a healthy way. In the center of the Mishkan itself was the Menorah whose candles pointed towards the central candle.

In the Haftorah the Navi talks about a future time when we are gathered together as a people and when we no longer think of Hashem as ‘my Master’, but rather ‘my Husband’. I suppose if one looks from an outside faction, inward, he sees a world of service, with rules and regulations. However, if one stands by the generator, where all factions become one, then one becomes a bride and feels a closeness and completeness that’s hard to explain. He looks outward as he loses himself and gains himself at the same time. On one hand he is a small part of the collective body of Israel, but on another hand, he is a significant part with unique gifts that only he can bring and add to this great Nation.

I wonder if Hashem looks down from above, seeing everyone dancing under His light and sometimes thinks to Himself. What a beautiful bride, what a great body, and she’s clever, too!

2004-05-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Workings of Heaven

They say there are many gates in Heaven. These gates open and close all day long receiving guests and prayers and sending billions of angels on deliveries with little motorcycles like they have in Tel Aviv. At different times in our lives we may feel imprisoned, or between doorways, or going from one chamber to the next.

I read once that one who does charity, and especially one who ‘feeds’ the community, is judged mercifully because of their special merit and the gateways of heaven open easily for them. I think others too must have read this, because even in Tel Aviv, which to many is synonymous with ‘secular’ Judaism, there are many people who make banquets in synagogues every Shabbat for the congregants. And so this begins the story of a shul Gabbai, one who sets the table for those who come to pray.

As the chulent was being passed around he announced to everyone to listen closely to a true story that had happened to him recently. ‘He was the Gabbai of one of the oldest synagogues in Tel Aviv. Every Friday afternoon when he arrived to prepare the synagogue for Shabbat, he found on the doorstep a box full of catered food for the congregation. One Friday he arrived slightly earlier and for the first time he saw a young man placing the box there. He called to the man, and the startled man rushed off. He said, ‘wait, what’s your name, we can at least mention your name at the Torah reading’. The man pointed upward, as if to say, ‘He knows my name’, and fled.

A few weeks later, a friend of his called. He wanted to do a mitzvah that day and he asked his Gabbai friend to come to a shiur with the 95-year-old Rabbi Rokovesky. The Gabbai answered he would like to, but he couldn’t because that day he was scheduled to appear in court. (A few years before he became a Gabbai of a shul, he was a secular Tel Aviv restaurant owner, whose business went bankrupt.) The judge had no mercy on him, and demanded he pay $5000 immediately or be thrown into prison. He frantically left messages with his friends, but to no avail.

In the end, he was forced to tell the judge he could not pay, and was then taken to prison. He passed through doorway after doorway, each one being locked with yet another key and led through many different corridors by different guards until the last guard who wore a kippa opened the final door of an overcrowded holding cell. The Gabbai appealed to him, that he was a Baal Teshuva (a newly observant Jew). How could he observe Shabbat here? The guard hesitated then said ‘follow me’ as he took the prisoner through another series of doorways to another guard. ‘He’s a good guy, put him in the dati cell.’ He said to the other guard.

When the door shut behind him, he looked at the room full of prisoners, and one stood out from among them. It was the man who brought food to the synagogue every Friday. He had run away so quickly he never saw the Gabbai’s face, but the Gabbai recognized him. ‘You’re the man who brings food to our shul each Shabbat, now I can thank you.’ The man’s face turned red. The Gabbai looked for a place to sit, but there was none. The man motioned for him to follow, as he led him to another room inside the cell. The room was full of cans of food and there was a table and chair. ‘Are you hungry?’ said the man. The Gabbai hadn’t eaten all day.

After serving him a three course meal, he asked him if he wished to shower and shave before Mincha. The Gabbai thanked him and after being fed and refreshed proceeded with his prisoner friend to Mincha. After the prayers, his name was called by one of the guards. ‘Your free’, he was told.

Standing outside of the prison perplexed, the Gabbai looked down at his watch and realized there was still time to make it to the shiur. When he arrived it was explained to him, that when the Gabbai’s friend appeared at the shiur distraught, the Rabbi asked everyone to donate what they could, and in addition he used the funds dedicated for re-tiling the synagogue floor. They rushed down to the prison and miraculously released him. In the end, the Gabbai did the re-tiling job and so it all worked out.

What is the meaning of this story? Number #1 – Even when times are difficult and judgments are cruel, one who tends to the needs of the community is given a special status above and gateways are opened below. Number #2 – We all go through periods of judgment, but the judge above can override the judge below reducing a sentence of 3 years to 3 hours. Number #3 – Blessed is the ‘true’ judge, who gives, and takes, and restores to each man according to divine justice.

I suppose it was decreed that he go to jail, but only long enough, to have a good meal, take a shower, pray Mincha, and be back in time for a Torah lesson – I’m sure he got one. Who was the guardian angel in prison? This remains a mystery. And so, these are some of the workings of heaven.

2004-05-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

What’s Not in the Paper

There was a local protest at city hall tonight in our little town. On the Internet this was an international headline. Why? I really have no clue. Are we really that special that the whole world is interested in our local affairs? Anyway, I thought I would walk down and see if they really did have all the numbers that they said they did, and to check out the left-wing chicks.

I didn’t start out till 11p.m. so that I wouldn’t be adding my number to this appeasement demonstration, but if it was anything like the Yesha rallies, it would still be going strong at 11pm on a Saturday night.

To my surprise there was no security to go through because the blockades had already been taken down. Rabin Square was practically empty, except for a bunch of litter from the demonstration and of course big Peace Now signs that were still hanging. As I approached the center I noticed a group of young dosi freaks sitting in a circle with guitars playing Am Israel Chai. I thought to myself, could it be that the religious people are also with Peace Now? It didn’t quite make sense to me.

I saw one young man wearing a Peace Now T-shirt with another one wrapped around his head like a pirate. He was cleaning up and at times took a break to dance to the Jewish-hippie music. I asked him, how many people showed up? He said he was very disappointed. There were many, but then they all left so fast. They didn’t have time. I asked one of the dossi guys if they were here to support the rally. He said they were from a yishuv next to Schem, and they had come to talk to the people and explain to them that they too want peace, but abandoning their communities will not bring peace.

Of course I agreed with him and was relieved to know what they were here for. It seems elementary to me that savages who parade body parts of Jewish soldiers today, dream of Tel Aviv tomorrow. But the real war is not with the Arabs, it is within the soul of the Nation; a soul full of spiritual and emotional problems that overshadow the intellectual process. I watched the lone Peace Now ‘believer’, as he kicked a box in frustration.

True to the ideology I suppose of ‘Peace Now’ the followers didn’t have much time. Little time to rally, and little time to think things through. They just wanted there to be a temporary Peace, that didn’t interfere with their lives too much. If that meant that other Jews would be dragged out of their homes, and their communities demolished, so be it. The dossi guys also believed in miracles. They said we need our Father in heaven to come back. But their faith wasn’t haphazard, and cold-hearted. It was a well-founded belief that by reclaiming their inheritance they were obligating their father to return.

The newspapers can write all they want to about the ‘protest of the majority’, and the huge numbers of the Peace Now turnout, but theirs is a camp with no spirit, and no ideals. The future is with the handful of hippies beating their drums. Even the Peace Now devotee, who was all dressed up with no place to go, ended up dancing to their music and then sitting in a corner frustrated and confused.

If I was to base my thoughts on what is written in the papers I would think that it’s a matter of time before Israel surrenders itself to the Goliaths of the world. But I don’t read papers, I read the spirit of a people, and to me its clear that yes indeed it is a matter of time. A matter of time before the Goliaths rise up to the height of a huge wave that can only come crashing down upon the rock of Israel.

2004-05-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Rebbe Shimon
They say there is a kosher version of everything un-kosher. And so Hashem gave us Meron- a Charedi ‘Woodstock’. The sea of people dancing by the kever of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was so intense, it literally lifted me off of my feet and carried me like a wave.

As I approached I gazed at the moon; the same moon that shed its soft light on the hills where Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Akiva walked. Imagine the conversations between the author of the Zohar and the greatest scholar of the Talmud. The rolling hills surrounding Tzfat remember every word that was spoken and if you listen closely you can hear them.

Later a friend asked me if I said tehillim. I answered that there were so many people and so much music I actually forgot, but I did something on an even higher level. I ate schnitzel.

In the cafeteria where they were passing free food out all night I ate very well. When I noticed that they were serving soup with lots of kenaidels in them, I went back for some more food. I stuck my hand out among the five other empty bowls requesting soup, and after filling each one with soup and lots of kenaidels, he took my bowl and filled it with only soup.

I sat down and at that point realized that by visiting the tzaddik, Hashem had forgiven me for my sins. I could have easily asked for kenaidels, but this time I accepted what was given to me, and by doing so accepted the forgiveness that was being passed out like schnitzel.

[To understand the deeper significance, read my kenaidel story from Pesach.]

2004-04-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

When Will We Learn

I am always shocked when I realize that the majority of Jews outside of Israel and a large number inside Israel do not support Yehuda and Shomron. My visiting friends were surprised that I supported them 100%.

‘So you don’t think we have to give back some land? But come on these guys are sending kids out to be killed every day what do we have to hold on to this for?’ And their Israeli guide adds ‘This is my country and I love it, but we don’t need these places like Gush Katif these Jews from Brooklyn come there and they only provoke the Arabs by living there. Why do they need to live there, it’s a big country?

#1 – Do you think Arabs kill Jews because of the occupied lands of 1967? Do you think Arabs kill Jews because they build communities in Yehuda and Shomron?

Why then did they kill 500 Jews in Hevron in the 1930’s? Was it because of the occupied lands of 1967? Why did they make a war in the first place? Because of the occupied lands of ‘67 which didn’t yet exist?

Arabs kill Jews because Arabs have been at war with us ever since we returned to our home and giving back conquered land will not stop them, but only encourage them to murder more of their babies and ours, because instead of throwing them out as any normal country would do, we reward them for their mass murder. I will explain why we do this in a moment.

#2 – Why does the thought of throwing out Jews, from the homes they built and paid for, from cities and towns that they built, fathers, mothers and children, not abhorrent to us? Why is this acceptable, and yet the thought of uprooting the neighbors, who are the true instigators, for they are the criminals that throw the bombs and murder innocent Jews, why is that abhorrent and racist?

To answer these questions that unfortunately I even need to ask we need to ask an even deeper question. Is the Holocaust something we cannot explain? Or do we believe we have a G-d that controls every detail of creation and He punishes and rewards? If so, why did He punish us with the Holocaust and what lesson can we learn from this punishment? And how does it apply to us today?

Learning from Tragedy
Often when tragedy strikes it is accompanied by a moment of truth. In these tragic moments our life flashes before us and our hopes and dreams, and often ‘delusions’ are shattered. What we failed to pay attention to in ‘whispers’ is made clear before our eyes in ‘earthquakes’. Just like paper-training a dog one has to rub his nose into something he fails to grasp, unfortunately we too need to cry when it’s too late in order to understand what could have been prevented.

With this in mind, let us look at one of the most horrible scenes, of the many punishments we incurred. When one sees photos of life in the concentration camp, there is one photo that is particularly gruesome, the photo of the section where Jews were forced to place their brothers into the furnace. They were promised life, for the price of their brother’s death. And so it goes.

Because we are taught that there is no explanation for the Holocaust, and therefore, there was no sin, and G-d is cruel, and we are innocent lambs, we continue down the path of tragedy without learning, even when our noses are rubbed into the evil we did, and continue to do to our brothers. Long before the war Aliyah was possible and millions of Jews could have been saved, but along with the freedom to go to Israel, their was also the freedom to leave the age-old shtetle and be a ‘German’ or an ‘American’.

And once the two doorways were opened the multitudes went fleeing to emancipation and cut off their beards and their roots and their leaders, like the spies in the dessert, discouraged Aliyah, while the tiny group who tried to encourage Aliyah was persecuted by their own brothers, much like the Jews of Yehuda and Shomron are persecuted today. The storm clouds loomed over Europe for many years before the Holocaust and if one truly believes that G-d orchestrates every detail of creation, then one must study the punishments in order to rectify our mistakes and prevent tragedy and encourage blessing.

Instead of understanding that Arabs or Nazis or Jew-haters anywhere, need no reason to kill Jews and that our only protection comes from our return to our land and the protection given us by our G-d in conjunction with a Jewish army. Instead of understanding that the Lands of 67, are as legitimate a claim to kill Jews as blood-libels were in the past, or pogroms. Instead of learning and understanding these lessons we continue to act like mice, willing to hand over other mice, hoping that now the cats will like us and give us permission to live.

But of course the cats only laugh at these foolish Jews and for the moment say ‘thank-you’. On the day that we learn the lessons of the Holocaust and begin to be ashamed of our behavior, on that same day we will realize that not only are we bound together because of Jewish rituals, language, traditions, or nationality. But behind these Jewish rituals is a ‘real’ G-d, who punishes by giving us the free-choice to betray our brothers, but also rewards us many times over, when we return to Him by supporting our brothers and answering all the cats in the world.

‘Yes, we are mice and we are tiny, but if you think because you are cats that you can stop us from doing what we have been commanded to do, or to appease you with the flesh of our brothers, you better be careful. Because behind us is our G-d and He is a lion, who will swallow all of you.’ At that point the cats will answer ‘what can we do to help’ and Moshiach will arrive.

2004-04-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Yom Kippurim

It’s almost a year since I have made Aliyah, and there isn’t a day that has gone by that I haven’t thanked G-d for giving me a seat here. Of so many thousands and millions who are ‘occupied’ with other things, how is it that I have been so lucky as to be plucked out before the flood and given full membership in an unfolding prophecy called Israel.

I returned tonight to one of the places I had been to last year when I was still a visitor. Like every year on the eve of Yom Hazikaron, Rabin Square is filled with thousands of Israelis who remember the fallen. Top Israeli singers sing ballads and patriotic hymns inter-cut with videos of family members who recall a son or daughter that was murdered this year by our despicable enemies.

The music of this Nation is far superior to the shallow American music that I grew up with. The ballads that are sung, one after the other express the sadness and the glory of the Jewish soul reaching beyond death into something eternal. Although Israelis can be tough and abrasive and cloak themselves in all sorts of un-Jewish things that they embrace, this is one time when all the layers are set aside and the beauty of the soul of this Nation is revealed in all of its splendor.

This is the beauty I saw when I first arrived, and now a year later confirmed. There they sit, fathers holding their children and giving them tender kisses, boyfriends and girlfriends, the young and the old all of them brave soldiers, and all of them with tears in their eyes. This is more than a Nation it is a family, made up of members of every race and tongue. It is the essential family of mankind building the purpose of Creation.

I won’t dwell on the contrast of the religious version of Yom Hazikaron - Tisha B’av that mourns the loss of the temple and G-d’s presence. According to our Torah it is for this reason that all of the history of our nation is accompanied by tragedy. On that date rabbis give many musser speeches (speeches that inspire us to improve our character traits) but rarely does it conjure up the emotion and tears of the present day conquest of our land which is rebuilding the Temple before our eyes, in stages.

Yom Hazikaaron is not recognized by the religious world. Their observance focuses on the absence of G-d, and includes an abstract concept of a physical nation that once was, and will be again, while the other focuses on the absence of the dear ones we have lost in the building of this physical nation that exists before us in all of its glory, as it searches for it’s G-d.

They say that in the times of Moshiach, we will celebrate only one holiday – Purim. And even Yom Kippur will be a joyous holiday. Our rabbis say this is alluded to in the word Yom Kippur, which hints at Yom Ki Purim (a day like Purim). The thought occurred to me tonight, that the rabbis might not have meant literally Purim would be celebrated, but rather a holiday that was similar to Yom Kippur as well as Purim.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if the very holiday that is not recognized by the religious world today is in fact that final holiday that alone will be recognized. Yom Hazikaron is followed the next day by Yom Haatzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day. A day of sadness and remembrance, similar to Yom Kippur, followed by a day of the joy of liberation, similar to Purim. How awesome it is to see G-d’s hand shaping His Nation, and to be a part of this unfolding mystery, just by living here.

2004-04-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Yom Ha Shoa

Yesod Shel Gevurah
Yom Hashoah in Israel falls out on the sefirah of Yesod shel Gevurah. Yesod refers to the seed of a man, as well as the foundation of the world, while Gevurah means strength or strict justice . What is the connection? What is the seed of strength? What does ‘din’ strict justice give birth to?

The answer is catastrophes like the Shoa are born. And from this catastrophe, a Nation is born. Israel’s identity is rooted in the Shoa and the Warsaw ghetto uprising. A new Jewish religion was born based on the Jewish soldier. What appeared to be G-d’s representatives went quietly to their graves, while the fighters of the ghetto witnessed miracles as the whole German army was defeated for months by a handful of Jews.

In a way the birth of Israel was a rebellion against G-d to some. The Zionists had ‘enough’ of the pattern of Jewish history and would now change that pattern by taking destiny into their own hands and fighting back. Of course the problem arises, that if one takes the Shoa as a ‘last straw’ in a history of tragedy and beginning of the era of the ‘new Jew’ how does one come to terms with today’s battles. Don’t the Arabs give these ‘new Jews’ a déjà vu of the Warsaw ghetto? Are they too, not a handful fighting against a great army and succeeding?

It seems that Hashem has a sense of humor, or ‘irony’ as he forces these ‘new Jews’ to examine their ways and determine if indeed they have taken destiny into their own hands now, or if they were always part of His destiny that is shaped reflexively by the action of the Jewish people. If so, then of course we must answer the question of why the Almighty punished us so cruelly in the Shoa? The answer to this question lies in the same question as why Moshe hit the rock and the generation that might have entered the land, instead, died in the desert.

What would have been if those Tzadikim who represented G-d had not accused the people of being ‘rebels’ and understood that their thirst for water was legitimate? What would have been if they had joined the Zionists and told their flock to leave when they could have left, and seen the changing tides? Could they not see water coming from the rocks in Israel, and the desert turning into gardens? The rock was speaking to them, but did they see or hear? Imagine what influence they could have had on this generation? Instead modern history has been written parallel to our ancient history and only after the last of the desert generation dies out, will the truly ‘new Jew’ understand the mistakes of the past and be healed.

The Tabernacle had to be set up and taken down each day until the eight day when it finally stood. On that day the healing process began by the recognition of two great sins. Aaron brought a heifer representing the golden calf (the sins of the leadership), and a he-goat representing the sale of Yoseph (the sins of the Nation). The punishment of the rock was a culmination of previous sins where the leadership instead of sanctifying G-d's name as Chur did, appeased the angry crowd, and instead of giving a good report as Yehosua and Calev did where afraid to lose their ‘galut’ positions and lacked faith to enter the land. This culminated in the sin of the rock where there was even in the last moment a chance to mend this rift, but not seized.

The sins of the mob was the persecution of true leaders who in each generation selflessly tried to save their brothers from the approaching storm; like Chur and like Yehoshua and Calev. Instead they are hated, banned, persecuted and sold by them. And like Yoseph, in the end it will be understood upon whose shoulders the world stood. The chosen of the chosen who always kept the purest light burning and the completeness of Torah; a Torah which doesn’t exist without a soul nor without a body. The purest of the one fifth that left Egypt ‘armed’. Armed with Torah and mitzvoth, and also armed with weapons - a double-edged sword, not a single-edged sword.

The new Jewish religion of the Jewish soldier is missing its foundation and is therefore being undermined by an Arab mob that attacks the Jewish Achilles heel, making him feel guilty of his victories, and returning all the miracles because the faithless soldier feels small next to a world of giants. But the religious world should not pride themselves on his dilemma, for the ‘Jewish soldier’ is an important piece of the puzzle. It is not a complete piece, but a very important one. It is the religious world that could have elevated the generation and led them to safety, but instead where punished and to add salt to the wound, they refuse to do teshuva.

They who believe in punishment and reward say that this punishment cannot be understood and so they pat themselves on the back as they continue to wander through the dessert. There was one great luminary Rabbi Teichtal (z’tl) who lived through the times and understood them. He perished, but he left behind a book that should be in every yeshiva Em Habonim Somaycha.

The acquiring of the Land of Israel comes in stages. And so, on the sefirah of Yesod shel Gevurah, we witness Yom Hashoa day and are reminded of the process in which the land was originally acquired. First as a burial ground for Sarah (Yesod shel Gevurah) – from death came life, then as a heritage for Yoseph (Yesod shel Yesod) – from teshuva will come forgiveness, and finally by David (Yesod shel Malchut) to build the Beit Hamigdash – from completeness there is Geula. May the rifts be healed quickly and the Nation be united.

2004-04-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Kenaidle

There is a story in the Gemorah of a wealthy man who loses all his money and is forced to ask a rabbi for community funds to purchase food for Shabbat. The rabbi asks him what he is accustomed to eating, and he answers ‘fattened hens and old wine’. The rabbi remarks ‘don’t you think that’s quite a burden for the community?’ He answers that he is not asking anything from the community, ‘everything comes from G-d,’ he says. At this point the rabbi’s sister, who has not seen him in ten years, arrives with fattened hens and old wine. The rabbi turns to him and admits that he learned a lesson of faith from this man.

With this story in mind I contacted a Jewish outreach organization in the Old City to see if they could set me up for a Pesach Seder. This would be the first time in my life that I would not be with my family for Pesach. I thought if I can’t be with the ones I love, at least I will make my Seder meaningful by going to Yerushalayim like the olden days, and I will find a Seder full of Torah learning. Indeed, my friends in the Old City promised me not to worry, they would match me up with a family that wasn’t just having a dinner, but where there would be a lot of Torah.

I was comforted to know that I had arranged a good Seder, but then I thought ‘What about minhags (customs)? I called again to ask if I could be sent to an Ashkenazie family and not a Sephardic one (Sephardim eat rice on Pesach and we Ashkenazi’s do not). They reassured me that I would have an Ashkenazi family.

As the Seder drew closer I called one more time and told them I would also prefer to be set up not with a Chassidic family, because they don’t eat ‘Gebracht’s’. (Kenaidels, and Farfel). I was reassured one more time that they could fix me up with someone.

Pesach arrived with holiness and prayer at the kotel. I saw a good friend of mine who is a Chassid and likes to eat. I joked with him that it’s too bad he doesn’t eat Kenaidels. He looked back at me with his Kenaidel challenged face as I departed telling him I would have an extra one and have him in mind.

As the rabbi directed each one from our group to a different family, I reminded him once more that I would prefer the Ashkenazi non-Chassidic family. ‘That’s right’, he said as he changed my group. ‘Here’, you go with this family’.

I was led outside the city walls to a small family in a beautiful new condominium complex. Instead of the aged rabbi with a long white beard I had envisioned, I was placed with a young family who’s Seder was led mostly by the wife, who is also an author with a PHD. She made some interesting comments but there wasn’t much time for discussion for the lights, which were set on a timer, went out before eleven.

As I made my way back to the old city I reflected on the evening. The doors of the hostel wouldn’t be open for another three hours, for all the other Seders were not scheduled to end before 2am. Why had Hashem thrown me out of the old city and sent me to a Seder that ended earlier than any Seder I had ever been to? Didn’t He know how much I wanted to sit all night and taste the depths of the Hagadah? When I thought back to the dinner I realized the joke that He had played on me. When my host opened the lid of the soup, she served me the biggest, and most delicious Kenaidel I had ever had.

I heard Hashem’s voice reprimanding me. ‘So you think you are such a big tzaddik that you wanted to learn Torah all night? I know the thoughts of every man, and in your heart was not a desire to learn Torah, nor was there a desire to have complete faith in Me. Your overriding desire was for one thing – a Kenaidel. And ‘that’ is what I gave you.

As I walked the cold and empty streets of the Old City feeling abandoned, a Breslov Chassid who had stepped out for some air saw me and asked me if I had a Seder. I told him I was locked out for a few hours and he insisted that I join his intimate group of family and friends. Here was the Seder table I had envisioned, full of wonderful tales and inspiring thoughts. Three hours later I parted from good friends that I had shared a wonderful experience with.

Of the many ideas we discussed, one remained with me as I walked home. The word in Hebrew for ‘Faith’ the Chassid said, comes from the Hebrew root ‘omanut’ – ‘art or ‘craft’. Faith is something we craft and shape over the years. It is a relationship. Just like a father who pushes away his loved one in order to teach him something, and then quickly rewards him when he cries and realizes his mistake.

Tonight was a lesson for me in the crafting of faith. Next year, I hope I will have more faith and trust, and let Hashem arrange my dinner without me calling back to make certain. Who knows, maybe if I had trusted Him I might not have gotten a Kenaidel, but maybe he had arranged for me instead to meet a ‘Maidele? To be continued - Next year in Jerusalem.

2004-04-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

How Do You Know You Are In Israel?Shkia (Sunset)
I asked the bus driver if he went to the kotel. He told me he gets there, but not as fast as a different bus, however he was leaving now. ‘You want to make Mincha?’ He asked me. ‘Yes’ I replied. ‘Don’t worry, shkia is at 7:15 tonight. You have lots of time. ‘Are you sure?’ I questioned. ‘Positive’ he replied and proceeded to show me his shkia calender. Imagine here is a bus driver who doesn’t wear a kippa, but he knows the time of the Mincha prayer. Is there such a Nation?

The Grocery Line
As the cashier began to argue with the customer who wanted to pay for 20 items in a 10-item cue, I turned to the American/Israeli man next to me and said ‘Just my luck, I’m in a hurry’. We began to list all the simple things that seem so difficult here, but concluded it was still the best place in the world. He imparted some wise words to me. ‘We have waited 2000 years for our own country. We can wait another ten minutes.’

2004-02-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

Sparks Form Israel

The Sadness of Purim

Purim is approaching, the month of Adar, the month of Simcha, when we are supposed to increase our joy. But I remember one year my Rabbi telling me about the sadness of Purim. What sadness was he speaking of? He said to me, while the people were celebrating; imagine how Mordechai must have felt. His daughter (some say his wife) had been forcibly taken by a Gentile king who had his way with her.

Some would say, alas this is the vocation of the Tzadikim, to suffer and accept their own painful circumstances with the knowledge that their suffering is benefiting the rest of the nation. This principle of course is true and we see it in practice every day. Those who dwell in Yehuda and Shomron for example suffer more tragedies than the rest of the Nation, yet their very existence preserves the rest of the Nation. The Nation of Israel suffers more tragedy than the their brothers outside of Israel, yet the very existence of Israel preserves their brothers outside of Israel.

Although the rewards of self-sacrifice may give solace to the tzadikim who suffer, what solace is there for the people of this Nation who benefit from their suffering? Is Esther the best we can do? Should we be celebrating the forced marriage of the purest soul of Israel because it will gain us political advantage? Is this redemption?

Certainly much of the joy of Purim is predicated on the fact that those who sought our demise found only their own demise. It is the celebration of a war we were given permission to wage against those who planned our destruction. This part of the story is clear and hopeful, and reminds us that we have a real G-d who watches over us and is hidden in all historic events. But what a sad ending to such a hopeful story.

The book of Esther closes the books of Torah and Tanach. It is the last glow of Sinai as prophecy faded into the darkness of 2000 years of exile; a signpost that the best that we can expect of our leadership now is the glory of Esther which is a compromised and tarnished glory.

Today as the world saw the re-birth of our Nation from the ashes of darkness and we continue to witness the beginning stages of the revival of the dead, there are many who are unaware that the exile has ended. It is easier to take the Jew out of the exile than the exile out of the Jew.

The exile mentality remains with us, just as slavery remained within the hearts of the desert generation. The idea that some must be sacrificed for the benefit of us all and there is nothing we can do about it- is not a Jewish idea. This is the idol worship that died with the generation of the desert.

The generation of soldiers and farmers who entered the land then and who enter it now, will bring with them a new Purim and a complete redemption. No longer will we celebrate the provisions our queen provides for us from the bedchamber of a Gentile who abducted her. The sun is rising in the east upon a new generation of David’s who have no fear of the tidal wave of hatred that surrounds the lamb of G-d. They will not surrender an Esther and celebrate her accomplishments. They have pockets of pebbles to answer the Goliaths ’s who dare to stand between the Almighty and the one He desires.
This year let us celebrate a complete redemption and a truly happy Purim.

2004-02-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel
The Torah Is real

In Israel it rains Torah. One can look up to the sky and see it. One can talk to anyone and hear it. The Torah is heard in the marketplace and in the countryside. It descends like dew from the mountains. Mothers give their children a taste of Shabbat while its still cooking, and the Torah enters early to those who await her. At sunset all the paupers will become kings. The soldier grabs his gun and his guitar and tramps to Jerusalem. The bus driver with three hands talks to his wife on his cell phone, gives change to customers, and honks his horn at drivers who aren’t paying attention.

These are the people of the book. They are the book. They are the living Torah building the blueprint of creation under the clouds of glory. The Creators plan is unfolding in all of its mystery. Even in a generation that appears to be far removed from Holiness each one is writing himself into the book. In the synagogues they read the story of Exodus but the chapter is still open, and we are the subjects of the book.

In Egypt we are told that 8 million Israelites perished in the plague of darkness. They were quietly buried in the assimilation of Egypt. Only one fifth escaped. One fifth that left with trumpets and glory. One fifth that astonished the world by following their G-d, who destroyed empires for their sake. One fifth that left armed, ready for battle. One fifth that had the faith to jump into the unknown with a belief beyond reason, that there would be provisions for them. Among them were not only dreamers of Zion, but also villains and rebels and idol worshipers. The difference however, between them and their brothers in the Galut was that they chose to be written into the book. The others remain nameless.

Till this day many academies are filled with intellects who try to decipher this epic story but the Torah is not a story, and its not a history book. It begins before time and ends after it. The Torah is a knowledge beyond ones understanding that is given as a gift to the humble of heart.

How good it is to be part of this Nation of gifted people. Sometimes we appear to have a rougher exterior than most, but inside each one is a letter of this book. And here the book is being written and we can choose our part. A dome of clouds illuminated by the moon stands watch over the children of Israel. Shabbat has arrived, time is suspended, and a hand above unrolls a fresh new parchment.

2004-01-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

Spark From Israel #21

Imagine
Imagine that you had a time tunnel that took you back to your youth. Imagine that you were like a child again interested mostly in meeting new friends and playing. Just like a child, you said what you felt, and you always knew someone was watching over you. Imagine you could move forward to university age where your mind is being challenged with new thoughts and new languages. Imagine leaving school in a hurry but not being able to go more than two blocks in 20 minutes, because you keep bumping into good friends and you have much to say to each other. Imagine that the pastry lady, and the security guard and the grocery man, are not just workers, but also friends that you smile and joke with, and they notice when you are absent for a few weeks.

Imagine that your 38-year old professor is written up in the paper because during his annual 3-week army service, his unit managed to catch terrorists moments before they planned to ambush and murder innocent women and children. Imagine him back in his biology lab working on a cure for cancer, like other everyday heroes. Imagine streets with artists selling beautiful hand crafted pieces and street theatre and music festivals.

Now, imagine what lies on the other side of the door in the ‘real world’. Television sets full of Arab propaganda that portray murderers as lovers of peace. The veil of civility slowly being lifted allowing for the age-old hatred of the Jew to be expressed as hatred towards Israel – the number one obstacle to world peace. Imagine the Jews from the other side of this doorway trembling in fear of these scoundrels and warning their brothers to be prepared to evacuate for the betterment of us all.

I remember reading in the Talmud that living outside of Israel is like not having a G-d. I often wondered what that meant, but maybe I understand this concept a little bit better now. If one has no G-d and nations a hundred times our size threaten to destroy us unless we uproot Jewish homes, weaken Jewish defenses and strengthen our enemies what can he do but comply? What can he do but grasp for straws and frantically seek solutions and ways to appease a world that will never be satisfied? Because he doesn’t really believe that our protection comes from G-d, as well as the ominous situation we find ourselves in. This also comes from G-d.

And so he condemns his own brothers out of fear for his own crumbling world. The fearful Jew points his finger at his brother and says, ‘they are the problem’, without noticing his non-Jewish neighbor saying the same thing about him.

Imagine how good it feels to rush back through the magic doorway to the tiny village hated by the world but flourishing despite them. Imagine how good it is to know there is a G-d because one can see the King from the courtyard. How can one not see His clouds of Glory protecting His Nation? How can one not wonder why the multitudes of our enemies don’t simply hold hands and walk from all four directions, to crush us under their feet? How good it is to be with everyday heroes that have not become so corrupted as to sell their own brother, but rather ‘die’ for him.

How good it is to learn what ‘love’ is and ‘faith’, even from those who know little of religious ritual. How good it is to come home with the knowledge that even if the other children made a mess, and left the door open and lost the keys our father is close by and watching over us, and waiting for the time when we can walk without Him having to catch us. Imagine all the Jewish people proud of their Nation and their G-d returning to increase the building of this divinely inspired Nation. Imagine the rest of the world responding ‘Amen’. It’s not a dream. This is the future.

2003-12-12T02:08:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

Yacov’s Ladder
It’s amazing how the things that occur in my week, seem to be connected to the Parsha. Yacov meets Rachel and sees a ladder and angels. The same thing happened to me too, more or less. I met my friend Rachel and we went up and down escalators at the Disraeli Center looking for the restaurant on the top floor. The Disraeli Center looks like any other skyscraper but a Jewish skyscraper cannot help but fill my heart with pride. Look how far we have come, from turning deserts into gardens, to building the most modern metropolises in only 50 years. They say angels sit on top of high places, and that is part of the reason that people look up. But here at the top of the ladder in the land of Israel you can’t believe how many angels are sitting there waiting their turn to go down and come up again.

2003-12-12T02:07:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

How Do You Know You Are In Israel?

Addis Ababa Chicken Soup
I became friendly with the Ethiopian security guard I see every day. He asked me if I was Jewish. Me? Jewish? Of course, I answered. Funny, you don’t look Jewish, he replied.

Borekas
As I approached my regular morning boreka shop, I saw a man screaming at the top of his lungs at the owner. He was calling him (and his mother) terrible names. I thought they were going to kill each other. However, now that I am fully acclimatized to Israeli life, I just walked over and stood between them. ‘One cheese, and one plain, please’ I said as they suddenly stopped. I paid, he answered me ‘bevakasha’. As I walked away with my breakfast they continued to kill each other. The nice thing about Israel is that no one suffers from holding their feelings inside.

2003-12-05T04:41:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

The Formula

I have heard the concept of Moshiach explained in a very interesting way. Its not that one man will come like Santa Clause and save the Jewish people, but rather, he will discover the formula which will then spread like fire. As I walk the streets of our history this formula seems to be coming to light with the passage of time. Here is the formula as I see it now.

The Basics
The Creator created the world as an act of kindness. He placed man inside to recognize this kindness and thereby to benefit from it. He sought those who sought Him in order to reward them. Those who distinguished themselves in thier quest for His truth, He distinguished by promising them a progeny that would be called a Nation of Truth. The purpose of this Nation would be to build G-d's kingdom below to reflect what is above.

In order for this to suceed He gave them His blueprint of creation after testing them to see if they would accept something that was beyond their understanding. By studying this blueprint and putting it into practice, the world would be sustained and eventally built in the image the Creator had intended. As a further kindness to this nation who would endure suffering by maintaining the image of G-d in this world, He placed a part of Himself within the souls of each member of this Nation when He revealed Himself to the entire people.

Whether a Jew keeps this Torah, tries to extinguish its flame, or is indifferent, he cannot escape his destiny which is predicated upon this spark of the eternal that has been impregnated in his soul. Even though Jews have assimilated into Gentile cultures and have developed friendships and relations these relations may be severed very rapidly as times change. This was one of the lessons of Germany.

Though we may not see the spark of G-dliness inside of us, the nations do, and sub-conciously expect us to be different and the 'Light unto Nations'. The Hitlers and Hamas types who throughout the generations see the 'Jew' as someone who controls the world actually are not completely mad. There is some truth to their evil. As Resh Lakish of the Talmud puts it, 'If the Nations of the world understood that all the good in the world and all the bad in the world happens because of the Jew, they would send two soldiers to every Jew to make sure they kept the Torah'.

If one can say then that the Jewish people, the Torah, the Land of Israel and G-d, are part of one thing - the seed through which the creator evolves throughout history and will eventually be established. And all of this, in order for humanity to freely choose good and to support and 'establish' it then we can come to our final conclusion.

Conclusion
The Jewish people and their Torah sustain the world for their fulfilment of it is the purpose of creation. Israel sustains the Jewish people. Those who dwell in Yehuda and Shomron sustain Israel. Therefore it is really a handful of people that sustain Israel which sustains the Jewish people which sustains the world. The irony of course is that these very people are the ones that anger the world just by their existence and are the supposed reason for all the hate that is being vented at the Holy Nation.

The truth is however, G-d watches over His people, and I believe he is giving the world a final chance to stand up and be counted among people with integrity, or be left behind. The doors of the Ark are still open for those who wish to enter, as Jews by supporting Jewish causes, or by coming home, or by dwelling in the heartland. Or as gentiles by supporting this people which by doing so, demonstrated integrity. The world is not sustained by numbers and majorities, but only by quality.

Of course there are many sharks around the world who smell blood and expect the Jewish people to be finally weak enough to swallow. Of course there are unfortunately Jews who are afraid, and so they support the sharks, thinking that they will be saved by them. I pray that these Jews wake up soon, before the doors of the Ark are closed. For it is they who will be the sharks dinner, not us. But I suppose this takes a little faith to see and some understanding of formulas.

2003-11-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel
Tourist of the Underground

I remember in one of my favorite old movies ‘Les Enfant du Paradise’ a bar scene of the Paris underworld of 1800. A place where street beggars would meet and the blind man would take off his patch to appraise some hot jewels. In south Tel Aviv among the ‘amcha’ the ‘salt of the earth’ you can find some interesting meeting places that are not found on the UJA luncheon itinerary. Broken down synagogues that used to be filled 50 years ago with overflowing minyans have now been reduced to the eternal flame; that flicker of light consisting of ten souls. And what souls!

To look at the rag tag group one would think he was looking at a group of sailors and thugs, but among them are also men of refinement and a rabbi who hosts a Shabbat dinner. After discussing the weekly parsha, accompanied by the main course, the rabbi picks up his sleepy child and returns to his family leaving this family of stray cats to finish their dinner.

The evening is punctuated by the arrival of an assortment of those who appear to be beggars but after hearing the words they have to say about the Parsha, I think maybe they are hidden kabbalists. The best words were said by one that I recognized as the custodian of a more affluent synagogue. After closing the gates of the shule he joined our motley crew and spoke words of Torah that revealed who was really the rabbi, and who was the custodian.

As the night unfolded and each mans stories and words of Torah were followed by shots of vodka to the point where one man fell off his chair and had to be revived I thought to myself how lucky I am to be seated among kings. Im not sure which one of them was Eliyahu Hanavi, maybe all of them. The man in the long black coat was lifted back to his chair and started to sing leading the group in a Shabbat song. Then from his fiery breath came secrets of Torah that could only be unlocked with strong vodka.

I left as a fight was breaking out. What kind of fight was it? Were they throwing chairs and punching each other? Hardly. One was telling about the great miracles of one rabbi, and another talked about the miracles of a different rabbi. Like grandparents who like to show pictures of their grandchildren, they each tried to surpass the other one over which brachas they received by which rabbis. Of course the rabbis they spoke of are no longer among the living, but I am sure I saw them all seated among the ‘amcha’ of our people smiling and whispering to each other. Who is like your people Israel?

2003-11-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

Sparks From Israel

Dvar Torah - Vayera

In the Parsha Vaerya Avraham is visited by three men, who looked like idol worshipers, but were really angels. They tell him Sarah will give birth a year later (at age 90), and Sarah laughs, even though she sees with her eyes an open miracle. Rashi explains that at the moment they arrived her body became young again like a 20-year old woman. Still after witnessing this open miracle she says to herself how can an old man like Avraham give birth to a son, and who are these men, that I should believe them? Later Sarah is reprimanded by Hashem and by her husband for laughing out of disbelief. Ramban comments that Sarah should have disregarded the looks of these men and said ‘may it be so’.

I have heard many rabbis discuss this episode and conclude with the moral lesson that we should never scoff at the bearer of blessings but rather we should say ‘amen’. This may be a nice drasha for children, but do these events really mean?

As I sat on a bus on the way to Yerushalayim, I thought about these mysterious verses and tried to unravel the mystery hidden inside. Then it came to me, as I looked at the countryside unfolding before my eyes. As I gazed upon the skyline, and the cities, and the farms and the orchards that are once again fertile and full of life I was looking at an open miracle; like a 90 year old woman becoming 20 again. Now I understood the reprimand to Sarah. And I saw within it a reprimand to the secular Jews as well as the religious Jews.

How could a Jew witness the rebirth of Israel and see with his own eyes the ingathering of the exiles, the building up of the land, the protection of the clouds of glory, and yet not believe that there is a G-d and prophecy and Moshiach. How is it possible to see such open miracles and at the same time see the religion as old, outdated and disconnected from this?

On the other hand, how could religious Jews scoff at angels? The Zionists were considered idol worshippers just like our story and Sarah laughed. She scoffed at these idol worshippers and didn’t really believe in her heart what she saw with her own eyes. She believed in the promise that G-d had made to Avraham, but could not see what was happening in front of her.

If Hashem decided to bring the return to Zion from secular Zionists who demonstrated a love of the land, the religious world should have said ‘may it be so’ and gave them a blessing instead of scoffing. They could have had much more influence in the forming of the nation and could have saved many lives had they also encouraged Aliyah long before the war. To this day there are those who scoff at the Zionists while living in glatt kosher America waiting for a prophecy that is unfolding without them. It is this lack of faith within the heart of the faithful, and the lack of wonder from those who see open miracles that is laughable.

And so the birth of Isaac, whose name means ‘laughter’, is the product of this scoffing. Itzchak who is the ‘sacrifice’ and we who scoff at one side of a two sided story and wonder why we always suffer?

2003-11-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

Chaverim Kol Israel
There is a passage in the siddur that reads ‘Chaverim Kol Israel’ (All of Israel are friends). I thought I understood this passage as meaning that Jews often look out for one another but living in a Jewish country I have come to understand a different meaning to this passage. Not only do you see good friends walking hand in hand and arm in arm (something rarely seen in Canada), but there are other unexpected ways that ‘chaverim’ is expressed. Last night I overslept and missed Havdala, so I went to the corner store. I asked a kippa wearing clerk who I never saw before if I could make ‘kiddush’ on a grape drink. After looking at the ingredients the prognosis was negative. I asked if there was something small he could recommend as I didn’t want to spend money on a bottle of wine, just for one glass.

He told me to wait five minutes and he would take me to his home a block away, where he had wine and candles and all I need. And so, there I sat in a strangers room full of Torah books making kiddish and eating the cookies I bought for him as a small token of appreciation. I could see by his clothes and his accomodations that he didn’t have much money, but nevertheless he was rich enough to give.

In the land of wealth and prosperity that I came from where people live in isolated vaults of opulence, people die of loneliness. Here where there is hunger and need there are true friendships and people are humble. The rabbis here don’t have plush pulpits, they are often paupers during the week and kings on Shabbat. But the Torah that flows from their mouths is prophecy. Although it is a land of hardships, there is a feeling of kindness and blessing from the hand of G-d through His people to one and other. I know many torah scholars who live on a few sheckles a week, but none are beggars. Each one is a gentleman and all find something to give. This is what characterizes the nation ‘Chaverim Kol Israel’.

2003-11-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

Free Choice
The world was designed with free choice in mind. Never has it been easier to come to Israel. A free plane ride, money to get started and a nation with all the modern conveniences one might desire. Yet it appears that this choice is a difficult one to make, because there are also strong forces of gravity that can pull one in a different direction and make Israel feel like the ‘last’ place to be.

Every generation has their own level of free choice and the forces of destruction never come in the same guise. In the 1930’s there was sympathy for the brown shirted Germans who had been the victims of economic sanctions from the west. Today we know these brown shirts as Nazis and have no sympathy for them. There is no longer ‘free choice’.

Today, however, there is sympathy for a new underdog - the unfortunate Arabs who because of economic sanctions and nationalistic aspirations are compelled to terrorism, poor things. We understand when they cheer for a Malaysian Muslim leader who exposes the ‘Jew’ who runs the world and gets others to die for them that their ‘Jew hatred’ is only in connection to Israel and so the reality of their hatred and their preparation for Holy War in the cities we think are safe, is clouded from our eyes, just as the protection that Israel affords is also hidden.

All of this confusion is created simply for our benefit, so that we can make ‘free choices’ and earn a reward for them. Noah spent 120 years building an ark, simply for this reason, so that those who didn’t see the obvious would be startled by the work of this man and his family and question the future of a world where lawlessness is given the freedom to destroy. I suppose they felt that if this man was right, they too would jump on the ship in the last minute, but in the end they were not able to.

I imagine Canadian Jews must have felt a little nervous when in response to the threat of terrorism; they discussed canceling all El Al flights from Canada. I suppose in a world where it’s so easy to come to Israel, to balance this ‘free choice’ it can also be just as easy to remove this option. But who knows, maybe we too have another 120 years before that option is removed. Personally, I believe if one wanted to feel safe, secure, and cautious in these tumultuous times, I would make a reservation on Noah’s ark. Its really quite affordable and you can even get glatt kosher meals.

2003-11-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

The Laundromat
I woke up early and went to do some laundry on the way to the synagogue. As I unloaded my laundry I discovered a pair of Tzizit I thought I had lost. It was a going away present from my rabbi when I made Aliyah. I thought of him for a moment sleepily, then started the washing cycle, put my bags in a corner and ran off to pray. When I returned I saw the custodian cleaning the Laundromat. He looked like a middle-aged surfer, with a tattoo around his arm, and a small knitted kippa pinned inside his bushy hair.

I went to check my bags and detergent I hid behind the machines and pulled them out. The man saw me and began to scold me. I thought he was telling me that I should not leave my things there because he was going to throw them out and I was lucky he didn’t. But that’s something someone might say in Canada, not here in Israel.

When he said the word Tzizit, I understood the reason he was so angry with me. He noticed among my bags was the Tzizit and he reprimanded me for putting something holy in a dirty place. ‘This is not the way a Jew behaves.’ he went on. ‘ What is the world coming to when people throw Tzizit on the ground’, etc. I apologized profusely and explained to him that I was half asleep and forgot I had a pair of Tzizit between my bags. What a unique people that is never shy to give moral instruction to one another.

2003-11-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

The Alta Lena
This week was the yortzeit of Yitzchak Rabin. There are many memorials and gatherings. The yortziet of Rachel, mother of Yoseph also fell on the same date this year. I wondered if there was a connection. In Ulpan we discussed the Rabin memorial and translated the placards that read ‘we will always remember and we will not forgive.’

After class I went to swim in the waters of the Alta Lena. In the early days preceding the State of Israel, there was a ship called the Alta Lena that after passing through many obstacles finally arrived at the shores of Tel Aviv full of ammunition to help the Jewish army who desperately needed it. There was a conflict however, because it was an Irgun ship (a rival political party). And so David Ben Gurion gave orders to the ‘Holy Cannons’ as he called them to sink the ship and shoot to kill. And kill they did.

Many people think that Itzchak Rabin was the first Jew assassinated by another Jew. The truth is he was the officer who held the trigger of those ‘Holy Cannons’ many years ago and he himself assassinated the ‘first’ Jewish rivals.

It’s hard to believe that Jews would kill their fellow Jews as they tried to scramble to shore but this is history and in extreme situations and times, extreme things happen. And so as I swim through the waters of the Alta Lena I ask myself if there is a place in Israel where Jewish blood has not been shed? And I hear the tears of Rachel, the mother of the betrayed Yoseph praying that our suffering should not be self-inflicted.

2003-10-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

The Internet Cafe
Finally I discovered a place that is absolutely identical to any other North American city - The Internet Café. Here everything is quiet while people concentrate on their business, or write to their friends. Outside the streets are noisy and people converse in a term we call ‘yelling’ in Canada, but here it’s called conversation. In the Internet café, everything is peaceful and in fact if one’s cell phone rings the manager asks them to please talk softly for here in the Internet Café unlike other places, there is silence.

The people in the Internet café look almost like the people in Canada. They sit quietly and totally self-absorbed. The Internet world is a full-featured virtual world with friends and communities and emotional entanglements that all take place in the mind - virtual love affairs, virtual friendships, virtual happiness.

Could it be that just as Israeli’s love to speak English, and talk about American movies and TV shows, they also are becoming addicted to computer chat lines? Will they soon become dehumanized robots that just stare at computer screens and live totally self-absorbed lives? All of a sudden someone let out a loud sneeze and half of the computer store turned and said ‘Labri-oot’. Ahh, I comforted myself, there is still a difference here, Baruch Hashem.

2003-10-31T10:44:00.000-08:00

Sparks from Israel

The Bus Driver
In Canada when you ask a Greyhound Bus driver ‘What time do you get to Hamilton?’ They say ‘2:30’. But in Israel they reply ‘Bizrat Hashem well get there, come on, lets go’. What a great country. Everyone is a character and no one gives you a straight answer. Finally I feel at home in a normal place.

2003-10-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sparks from Israel

Rain
Today was the first day in six months that I saw a drop of rain. I was so happy to see the rain and went out to feel it falling gently on my face. Only in Israel can you really appreciate the prayers for rain we say each day. Outside of Israel nature seems to take its own course without need of man’s prayers. Two weeks ago we took out the Torah scroll and made a special prayer for rain. This week we read from the Torah about Noah and the flood. In other lands everyone talks about the weather, in Israel, we do something about it.

2003-10-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Israel Doesn’t Need You
There is a chassid in Yerushalayim. He wears a black coat and black hat, and he has a guitar strung over his back. I saw him jamming with an American hippie searching for his soul at the Kotel. This chassid has lived in Israel now for seven years. Before that he was a stockbroker in Manhattan who drove a Porsche and had it all. Now, he has invested in different stock. I know a number of successful people in Israel, some observant and some not so observant who have opted to live here not only to be immersed in Torah studies, but also to be part of a society bound by a common destiny – the building of the Jewish Nation.

There are seventy different nationalities of Jews here, and each one brought the best of their cultures here. Each one is an expert in their own field bringing all that is essential from the four corners of the world. They are the holy sparks scattered around the world and now gathered once again to their source.

The most comforting feeling about being here is the knowledge that one has finally arrived home, to the family he loved from afar but never knew. Like a lion born in captivity and released for the first time into the wilderness he instinctively knows. But actually quite the opposite, for this is far from a wilderness. Israel is not only a home to its people but the cradle of all civilization. This is the source of morality and enlightenment and wisdom that inspired poets and explorers from every nation.

These are the children of prophets in their natural habitat where the penetration of foreign cultures look ridiculous, mismatched and beneath this Holy people. This is a land where the nobility and character of the Israelite Nation can fully express itself. All the souls assembled here are like beautiful puzzle pieces fitting together to form a simple and profound picture. Israel is tiny yet indestructible. Israel is pure despite attempts to sully it. Israel is part of G-d and eternal; a rock formed by the crashing waves, but made of a far superior substance.

The rest of the world is a temporary place that compared to the energy of the people here, seems dead. Although the angel of death has a greater jurisdiction here in this land, there is also the clear perception of a G-d that also maintains this country that couldn’t be maintained without Him. A celestial hand that helps people to meet and connect despite phones that don’t work and streets that have no numbers. There is a different system of communication and networking here that others cannot understand for it is based upon Divine intervention, which is an everyday occurrence here.

Outside things operate smoothly, and competently, however there is a threat of much greater destruction than here. For when it comes to competence in guarding each other and being guarded from above there is less Divine intervention. More people were killed in one day on September 11th than in all of the Intifada we suffered for the last 15 years.

Israel will continue to grow and prosper despite enemies within or without. Outside of Israel however, there is no guarantee. Eventually the souls outside will either return or be lost. Bodies too will return or be denied entry. There is only a certain time limit for those who wish to have a seat here. Not everyone gets in to enjoy the fruits of this garden that exists here in our time. Not all will see it.

Israel doesn’t need any more Jews. We will survive and prosper just as we are. We don’t need America, or Europe or any other empire to protect us. G-d lives here, and those who live here see Him every day. Israel doesn’t need you, but if you feel unsettled, unhappy, afraid or empty come home and you will understand what happiness is. There is a blessing waiting for those who see it and desire it. This is for certain.

2003-10-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Faith and Courage
From the beginning of Elul to the end of the High Holidays there is an additional Psalm added to the prayers and highlighted throughout these ‘days of awe.’ The subject of this Psalm is also repeated many times by Moshe to Yehoshua as the journey of the Israelites draws to a close - Be Strong and of Good Faith, Hope to G-d and He will strengthen you. These are Moshe’s final commands to the children of Israel.

Today as our journey through the Diaspora draws to a close and we are approaching the climax of our spiritual history, we must understand the last lesson from this ancient book, where the generation of dessert wanderers and the generation of young conquerors overlap. The final lessons of the Torah and the era that dons on us today couldn’t be more fitting.

‘Be Strong and of Good Faith, Hope to G-d and you will be strengthened.’ There are two ideas joined in these passages which if read separately pose a problem. A problem that defines our generation today – ‘Faith without courage or courage without faith.’

Imagine the young David visiting the capitol and seeing Goliath insulting and taunting an army of brave soldiers that seemed helpless to do anything. Imagine the embarrassment of these great warriors as a young boy armed with a slingshot does their work for them. What kept these soldiers from defending their honor? Was it not the same thing that emasculates the army today? - Fear of world reaction. What will the world say and do? And so morality is twisted so that we reward the cruel by doing nothing and punish the kind who suffer from our indifference.

Soldiers who compete to be astronauts and to join in elite fighting forces and who each day prove their courage by defending their brothers cannot squash a rebellion of suicide bombers? The missing piece in their armour is lack of faith. It is this lack that makes them say they are weary and tired and unable to fight for a cause that they no longer see as just. Or if they do see the justice of their cause they say there is nothing they can do about it.

And what about those who have faith and lack courage? Those who sit in Yeshivas all around the world and justify their inaction by calling it the action of ‘Prayer, Torah and Good Deeds’ thinking that this alone will bring Moshiach. Is it faith that makes one believe that Moshiach will arrive like a superman flying from heaven with the temple already built? Or is it a convenient alibi to mask ones lack of faith with piety. Those who have faith but lack the courage to really ‘live’ their faith are like the generation of the dessert who preferred to stay in the comfort of the dessert yeshiva, even if it meant digging their own graves each year.*

This was the curse that was given to them as punishment for their lack of faith and for thinking of themselves as small against giants much greater than them. Those who have faith lack courage, and those who have courage lack faith. If only we could fix this flaw in our nation that runs equally through both camps, then we could stand up to our enemies without fear and with conviction of faith. On that day the battle will be won in less than six days. And what will the world do? Stand in awe, and then applaude.

The Midrash tells us that because of the sin of the spies, the Israelites were punished by wandering for 40 years in the dessert until that entire generation died out. Each year on Tisha B’Av, they would dig their own graves and lie in them. In the morning if they were still alive, they knew that they would have another year (unfortunately, this sounds too familiar).

2003-10-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Rashi and Rambam
There is a dispute between Rashi and Rambam on the creation of the third temple. According to Rashi, it will fall from the sky intact. According to Rambam it will be built in a natural manner. Those who hold by Rashi feel comfortable to spend their days immersed in the Gemora in the Galut waiting for the day that they will be miraculously transported to Jerusalem with the third temple. Some, on the other hand, reconcile these two views as reflexive of our teshuva. If we merit it, the temple will fall from heaven, and if we don’t, it will come through toil and pain and by natural means. To me it seems quite clear that both opinions work together at the same time.

When you look around at modern Israel it’s really hard to imagine that only 50 years ago there were desserts, where today are beautiful towns and cities with fountains and playgrounds full of children playing. But this 3rd temple principle is the basis of modern day Israel. So much has happened in so short a time, it is as if it fell from the sky. And it continues to fall reflexive of our actions below.

Israel grows at such a rapid pace, from the ashes to blossoms, from one concept to another, rediscovering itself like a child learning new words each day. The irony is that those who sit in purity, waiting for miracles won’t see them by waiting in the isolated shopping malls of the exile. But those who participate in the natural building of the nation, (which leads to the building of the temple), will be privileged to see it fall from above, every day.

This concept is not new. In the days of the Beis Hamigdash one would bring his sacrifice and slaughter it and place it upon the fire. Only then, would a heavenly fire come down from above and consume it. But without making that sacrifice, there is no fire from above. Even a maidservant here, who plants a seed, cannot help but notice the abundance that it produces, or notice the pace of how things change here in the land of the living G-d. These concepts are not abstract philosophical ideas, but practical results that one sees in the modern history of this nation, as well as the divine providence that guides him each day in this land. From the inside looking out, it seems obvious to me that each moment in this land is built in both a natural and miraculous fashion.

2003-09-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Sparks from Israel

The Second Aliyah
There are two Aliyah’s. The first Aliyah is to come over the ocean and make your home in Israel. This can begin at sea level in Tel Aviv. From there one can travel to the lowest point on earth next to Sodom, or one can continue to trek upward towards the hills of Yerushalayim and further still to the mountains of Hebron.

Certainly the first Aliyah is a huge step. To leave ones family, friends and comforts, to forge ones ideological path in a foreign culture alone, is a difficult step to take. However, in modern day Israel, the culture shock does not have to be as dramatic as it was 70 years ago when people drained swamps and fought malaria to make Israel their home.

Today, everything one has in the west, he has more or less here. Of course there is a silent war going on as well, and the local dissidents rather than protest as they do in the west, have a tendency to blow themselves up, taking innocents with them. There are some risks in living here, but of course the quality of life, the friendships, the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to the future of the Jewish Nation far outweighs any thoughts of danger, and in fact only strengthens ones faith and purpose.

Having said that, one can still live their lives here, more or less like the way they lived them in America or France or Canada. The same creature comforts can be found and the transition of culture is not too difficult if one has the desire to adapt to it. This is the first Aliyah – to take part in the building of the Jewish Nation and live among your brethren.

There is a second Aliyah however, one that takes even more determination and ideology. One that requires moving deeper into the homeland of our people and settling new territory both geographically and spiritually. The price one pays is higher but so are the benefits. The danger is greater but so is the resolve to defend our homeland.

Physically speaking one can acquire land and housing much cheaper there, but spiritually one acquires a greater vision of eternity and each footstep has purpose. So much so, that a friend of mine simply moved into a new flat in this region, and this action became an international incident that the United Nations had to meet about. Imagine that, Jews prospering and developing beautiful new neighborhoods makes the world meet in a frenzy to stop this spread of light.

Twice a year the inhabitants of these new development towns, and friends of the Yishuv movement meet in Hebron for a two-day music festival. Thousands of Israeli’s flock there to pay their respects to the founders of this great Nation, Avraham, Itzchak, and Yacov, buried next to the founders of all humanity – Adam and Eve.

Unlike some Israelis who graft a mismatched American culture on themselves to the point of parody, the builders of the frontier resemble the ancient Hebrews in modern hippie attire. Seeing thousands of these charismatic souls dancing and singing by the tombs of their ancestors is a sight to see.

Here the appetite for Western fads is non-existent. The same thirsty souls that take idolatry past the limit of its inventors can take letters of Torah from parchment to pavement as they rebuild the ruins into beacons of light. The Jewish soul distinguished among the Nations finds the source of its distinction here in the land of its origin – from the sea level to the mountaintop.

These same Jewish souls that are tolerated in the West, condemned in Israel and despised in the re-settlements of its ancient glory reflect a glow that darkness dreads. The greater the light, the greater the animosity, for the manifestation of this light will uncover all the lies that empires and religions are built upon.

The first Aliyah brings one home to Israel and to the fact that despite all the attempts of history Israel remains and prospers. The second Aliyah brings one deeper into the source of that light. The faces that most resemble the glow of the original Hebrews are found here among the hills of Judea and Samaria. Faces that are fearless and devoted to furthering the purpose of creation.

2003-09-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Final Revolution

Like the Dharma Bums of another generation the truth seekers of today tramp from yishuv to yishuv with a book of Tehillim in their bag and a Dhjarbuka drum slung over their shoulder. These are the new generation of ‘revolutionaries’ and poets that have dropped out of the western world, to join the Final Revolution - the oldest one of all. What is the battle? What is the protest? Where is the war? How big is the revolutionary army, and what are the forces that seek to crush it?

Well, on one side is the whole world, the United Nations, 100 armies ready to destroy once and for all that tiny little nation that refused to be baptised. And on the other side is a Jewish shepherd playing his lute, putting on his tefillin, and building his house. Although there are no neighbors for miles and thousands of dunams of open fields bequeathed to this tiny Nation as an inheiritance, a shepperd building a small home is cause for the United Nations to have an emergency meeting and for the army of mice to come with handcuffs to prove to the cats that they too are against this mans hammer. But all the kings horses and all the kings men cannot stop the tide from turning under them, and the tide is indeed turning and Israel continues to be built.

Just as Israel came into being despite the abandonment of the world, and the betrayal of many good Jews by our own mixed multitudes, so too do the hills of Judea and Shomron nurture the future kings and scholars that wander from town to town without any fear. These kind and simple souls who have returned to till the land of their forefathers, are oblivious to the ranting and ravings of a world that despises their existence. They hitch a ride to a spring in the mountain where many meet and camp, or to a festival where thousands dance and beat their drums until they fall asleep under the stars.

This is a quiet revolution of the children of prophets sitting on hilltops and studying the books their fathers left them. This is the final evolution of the Jew, who resembles the original Jew surviving each day by manna falling from heaven. Whether one observes the laws of the Torah or not, all have a connection to this Holy Land, and all can see the Hand of G-d in whatever they do. These young men and women who are building the Nation are the hero’s and the spirit that is keeping the Zionist dream alive. The original Zion, that shone forth from Mount Zion.

2003-09-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Sparks from Israel

Bone Yerushalayim

What interesting times we live in here in Israel. On one hand we see the Zionist dream rotting away and losing all its basis and foundation, and on the other hand we see a new Zionism rising from the ashes like a Phoenix. Just as angels climb up and down the ladder, so are some Jews driven out of Israel and others beckoned from far away.

Who are those leaving and those returning? Who are the men of simple faith who quietly build the Jewish Nation despite all odds? Who are the newcomers who hardly speak the language yet forge ahead undaunted by adversity? Who are these strangers in a familiar land? They are all dreamers and lovers of Zion.

They come in all colors and all religious persuasions. From those who work on Yom Kippur to those who wear the crown of Torah, and walk the streets with Eliyahu Hanavi. They all have one thing in common, which is a love of this Land and its people. They are poets and writers and businessmen and scholars, each one aware that he is being brought here by reasons beyond their understanding.

While those who lost the dream are troubled and worried and desperate for solutions, the men of simple faith sow and till and reap their fields. To those obsessed with the news and world opinion, the incongruity of Zionism and Democracy can no longer be plastered over. The flaw in this man-made ideology has been exposed and they are falling apart. To the man of simple faith this is a good sign.

One can even see this social evolution reflected in the buildings. The old buildings were built in haste with little workmanship and you can see them crumbling alongside the secular Zionism that built them. The new buildings are made of Jerusalem stone, and each one has beauty and uniqueness and is built to last for generations. Even in the architecture one can see a new Israel emerging, one that is learning from its past as it builds its future.

The gap between the religious and the secular is hardly as wide as it was years ago. Both are learning from their mistakes. The devout have had a lesson in faith by the non-observant who left everything to settle the Land of Israel, and those who believed Israel was conquered without G-d have learned that all their victories can be taken away if He so chooses.

The small group that is vocally ‘anti-religious’ is usually made up of individuals from religious backgrounds that have some personal ax to grind. But the majority of the people, even though they have a love affair with the west, are basically traditional at home and even if religion plays no part in their life, they all fulfill the mitzvah of defending their brothers, and this national self-sacrifice equals all the other rituals. To those who defend their Jewish country each day the ‘theory’ of spiritual concepts are easy to understand because they put them into practice each day even if they don’t’ yet know why we eat matzos on Pesach.

Those who still think that Israel is too divided and impure to participate in its evolution are behind the times. There is a new Jew that is coming of age in Israel. A two legged Jew that has both a country and a G-d. A new generation is emerging from the body of Israel, giving birth to its soul. Whatever divisions exist within this nation pales in comparison to that which connects us as brothers isolated by our genius and opposed by a violent world jealous of our light.

2003-08-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

The Love Parade

At the close of each summer is the city sponsored Love Parade. This festival gives the youth a chance to dance wildly all night and day and express their hedonism openly. But just like the inmates of Auschwitz who after concluding that G-d was dead broke off their discussions to pray Mincha (the afternoon prayer), so too, the city made sure that the party was over in time for many of these weekend Hedonists to be home for Shabbat. Oxymorons? Maybe.

Unlike the west where one’s Jewishness is expressed mostly by religious practice, here one’s bond to the Jewish people is national. The level of ones religious observance is not the determining factor of ones acceptance here, but rather ones choice to be part of the Jewish Nation, and to share in its destiny. Just as the Land beckons to love sick Jews from around the world to return, it also spits out those who don’t desire her, both religious and secular.

Those who dwell here, on the other hand, may fall into religion, or out of religion, or back again, but whatever point they are in, they are influencing the destiny of the Jewish Nation. There is a feeling of unity here that is not felt in the exile were everyone is completely free, and isolated, and to themselves. Here we are all traveling together and many worlds collide and overlap. For example the acid jazz beats and the psychedelic projection screens typical of a western ‘rave’ (dance party), are not so typical when the stage is also shared with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, blending Vivaldi with two live tribal drummers and electronics. The sound is spectacular and even more spectacular is the lack of a generation gap.

The high security surrounding the fenced in festivities are also unique. At each entrance there are heavily armed soldiers as well as small squads that patrol the grounds. The soldiers and the young people inside are roughly the same ages 18-21. Outside of Israel, 18 year old hippies dancing to trance music and soldiers with guns and ammunition, are not from the same society. What is unique here however, is that many of those dancing and grooving all night, will don their uniforms the next day and report for duty. I watched one girl ask a policeman to let her ride with him on his motorcycle, so he took her for a spin and came back. The lack of separation between uniforms, roles, ages, kippas, no kippas, is something unique to Israel. A nation that dwells alone, yet always together.

2003-08-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sparks from Israel

The Guard

There is a guard at the bank I frequent. The guard sits at the entrance and like every guard has a gun and just like every other guard checks bags and belongings before entering the bank. In all public places like shopping centers, post offices, wherever people gather, there are guards. The guards or ‘shomrim’ as they are called, are the unsung heroes of Israel. They are on the front lines, and often when death comes calling, they are the first victims. It is they who often shield others at the expense of their own lives.

You would think this work was very highly paid, but actually, they don’t really get paid too much. You can see on the faces of many guards, apprehension and attentiveness and I can imagine sometimes what they must think about. And so my favorite unsung hero at the bank does a good job as all other guards do. But there is something quite different about this guard.

In Canada, guards and policemen are a certain breed. But as I approach this one you can tell right away you are in Israel. My favorite guard is a sweet little Russian lady in her fifties. She sits and draws on her pad, and she is a very good artist. I say hello and ask to see her latest masterpiece. She gives me a big smile and tells me she is not so inspired yet, maybe later in the day. If she had to use her gun, I’m sure she would be a good shot and she’s not afraid. Nor is anyone else who comes in and out of the bank. There is no fear in Israel, only outside Israel. Here people watch over each other, while
they make paintings.

2003-08-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Sparks from Israel

Fulfillment
If I was too critical of the Galut last week, I apologize. I’m sure it isn’t easy to leave everything and travel into a dessert when you have a family and business and many securities that keep you. I luckily was one of those who was not so entrenched in the galut as most, and even for me who had little, the most difficult task was to leave my possessions and part from material ‘acquisitions’. Eventually everyone comes to Israel anyway. The midrash tells us that every Jewish neshama after it is buried will roll underground across the ocean to the land of Israel. I suppose our only choice is if we wish to experience Israel alive or dead.

Being currently alive, I must admit that the quality of life here is much better than anywhere I have been. And to me it seems that if our lives are so short its best to maximize every breath. But what is this quality of life? Is it sterling toilets and glatt kosher vacation cruises? To me, it seems clear that quality of life is dependent upon feeling that you are fulfilling the role you were created for. It’s not about what I have or have acquired for myself, but rather what I have acquired for the benefit of Israel, which benefits me as well. What I can now bring and give to something much greater than myself.

When I go to my Ulpan class, I feel like my new friends are all stars. Not Hollywood stars distinguished by fame and fortune, but rather Hashem’s stars, distinguished by their integrity. Most of the thirty students are not shomer mitzvot, yet they have the integrity and love of their land and people to leave their homes from all over the world and come now, in troubled times to add their spirit to our nation. Only recently at a going away party for a teacher, did I discover who these people were and what they left behind.

One classmate holds the highest-level black belt (by a Jew) in the world. Another was a famous attorney in France who fought Nazi hunters and now at 29 has left fame and fortune to join the Israeli army. At the retirement party the teacher cried, and said in all of her 20 years of teaching she never saw such a class. Every student arrives early eager to learn. They are all friends and are all-equal regardless of their positions in society. I told the teacher that the reason is partly the students, but also the times we live in.

There are many Israeli’s who want to leave Israel and go to America; they cannot understand olim chadashim who come at this time. But on the face of each Oleh, is hope and a dream and optimism. It is a time of such stark contrast, between the bewildered and the believers. I stand in awe and in wonder as I see blessings unfold before me and it seems that the confidence of these new dreamers of Zion is a breath of fresh air to those who forgot why they came and are suddenly reminded. To be part of something greater than yourself is the greatest achievement we can make.

2003-08-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel

Mystical Sfat

I was in Sfat playing at the Klezmer festival, which was just packed with people, as are so many festivals that happen here each summer. Sfat is truly a mystic city and everyone you meet and all that occurs seems to be written from a movie script, the synchronicity is unbelievable. You think of someone and they appear, you pray for someone and they see you in their dreams. The current of life is threaded together by an unmistakingly divine hand.

The young generation of hippie shepherds, wanderers, and idealists that fall asleep on the grass after all night jam sessions, and the children who laugh and play in the morning, are all part of a Jewish world in its essence, unadulterated and pure. The thought of anyone wishing harm to these angelic beings seems so far from reality and so absurd. Who could wish to destroy the greatest good ever known?

Being in the city of dreams I thought I would share one with you. A friend I met here, shared an old dream from the exile, similar to dreams and thoughts I had before coming here. It was a dream about New York City being suddenly burned down in a few moments in an atomic attack. At the same time the Arabs attacked Israel, and under the circumstances Israel was able to finally fight back with the mighty hand they usually suppress. They bombed the dome of the rock, the Arabs ran away and we rebuilt the temple. In my friends dream, the gates opened and she was the first marriage to take place in the temple.

It was a nice dream with all the overtures of impending doom that used to obsess me when I lived outside of Israel. From the other side of the propaganda fence one would think that no one ventures out in the street in Israel, or goes on buses, or hitchhikes, or goes to clubs. This is far from the truth. The streets are crowded, like the clubs, and the festivals of music and theatre and people travel everyday on buses, trains and cars. When she told me her dream, it reminded me, of the way it was, not too long ago in the exile.

I used to read the paper religiously, turning right away to Israel to see what is happening there, because I felt emotionally tied to it and was worried and concerned and upset at the politics and the threats against her each day. I also was aware of what was happening in the world today as the Arabs become bolder and take up residence all over the free world, waiting for the terrible day of Jihad. And so I escaped to Israel from fear that I would be caught on the wrong side of the line on the day all airports are closed, no matter how much money you have (like September 11th). As it stands there is talk that in another six months there will no longer be benefits for those who wish to make Aliyah.

But all these fears, I had forgotten, and her dream reminded me. Maybe I should send a letter back to my friends and remind them that they are not safe. But like the ship of fools sailing off into the rocky falls, they are worried about me, who has reached a safe harbor. My friend concurred with me. We came to Israel out of fear, but now we are here to stay out of love. I was pulled out with a strong arm but now I gladly walk through the sea and know without a doubt there is a great G-d that makes miracles each day and protects this nation no matter if there were 6 million or 1 million Jews.

Since I have been here I hardly have looked at the news. Now I just live here, in a world without fear. Israel perish? Perish the thought. Israel is indestructible, not only because we are holier, sweeter, and kinder than the other nations. Not only because we are a part of Hashem’s essence, regardless of the exterior. But rather, because G-d has decided to bring us back, for the sake of His Holy name and His promise to our forefathers. Right now the window of opportunity is still open, but it’s closing fast. He will take all who want to come, the same policy as Israel. But soon, it will be much harder im afraid.

Here is a much safer and brighter world, where there is no fear, only precaution. Strange, I was late sending this letter before Shabbat, but later I found out that even if I had gotten to the computer store in time, it would not have helped. There was a power shortage that closed down the biggest cities that were thought to be immune to such things. I’m sure many were frightened not only about the precedent, but the warning it contained in the ‘plague of darkness’.

Here in Israel sometimes the power goes out here and there, but that’s normal. Nothing is completely reliable but everything is certain. The western world you think is the safest place to be may not be so. And the land you think is so dangerous may protect you and bless you and make you a much happier person.

I hope my friends come home soon, not only for their own safety, but also for the tremendous reward that awaits them. We made every empire rich from Egypt to America, and yet we cant see the great opportunities that are waiting here in this young country. The greatest wealth is yet to come when we return from the last of our exiles. The world is thirsty for the light of this Nation in every aspect. Come home now and be a part of it. Don’t lose your place.

2003-07-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Sparks From Israel
The Land of Opportuinity

What a land, what a people, what a priveledge it is to be here. There is a gemora that says ‘Better to live in the Land of Israel in a town of idol worshippers than in a Frum community outside of Israel’. Now I understand what this gemora means. Who would think that the tattooed, black leather coated leader of a motor-cycle gang would smile and say ‘sure I’ll be the tenth’ for our minyan. Who would think that the beautiful young people who look like models, are also soldiers who guard their brothers each day around the country. Every store you enter, every bus you ride, every one you meet on the street are all Jews. What still amazes me each day is that this is a Jewish country. Our own country and practically everyone is Jewish. The bank tellers are Jewish, the men in line are discussing the Parsha are Jewish, even the Nanny from the Phillipines sitting in the Laundromat can help you with your Hebrew homework (even though she’s not Jewish). They all wish you well when you say that you are an Oleh Chadash and ask why did you come now? I can’t really explain why I came now, just like I can’t explain why millions are not coming. What do I see that others don’t? I see opportunities, growth, a young country, a safe place guarded by Jewish soldiers, where everyone is a soldier and a policeman/woman, where kids run wild and shoot people with water guns, and life is simple and normal and no one is lonely and just living a life in Israel is a fulfillment in itself. A place where every day has significance and art and literature and music and torah is everywhere. Strange how to some elements in the religious world this is not the ‘pure ideal’ of Israel and so they find excuses not to come, and to others they fear enemies that live much closer to them where there is no protection from Jewish soldiers nor from a G-d that neither slumber nor sleeps.