What it means to be a Jew in Israel. . .

A May 24th AP photo shows Zaka volunteers praying at sunrise in a dedication ceremony of a Torah scroll in the ancient synagogue at Masada.

A wonderful chain e-mail has been circulating around over the past couple of months. All we know about the author is that it says it was written by an Israeli woman. (Malkah?) The e-mail also says Send this letter to as many people as you can. The Truth is the best means to counter misinformation. Misinformation? I think they mean LIES...

I am not the least afraid to go any place,
By bus or to a mall.
I didn't change or stop doing anything
I used to do before this mess began!

People tend to forget that twice the casualties
From terror get killed on the roads!
More people still die
From heart attack, cancer,
And other things,
They just don't show them on TV.

Don't misunderstand me,
There is a war going on,
It's not pleasant,
But, lets face it:

WE HAVE NEVER BEEN BETTER OFF!!!!

It's only TV and the media
That make people think
That the end of the world is coming.

Only 60 years ago,
They were leading Jews to their death
Like sheep to the slaughter!

No Country, No Army. 55 years ago!!
Seven Arab countries declared war
On the small Jewish State,
Only a few hours old!!

We were then 650,000 Jews!
Against the rest of the Arab world!
No IDF [Israel Defense Force].
No mighty Air Force,
Just tough people
With nowhere to go.

Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt,
Libya, Saudi Arabia, attacked all at once.
The country the UN "gave us"
Was 65% desert.

The country started from scratch!
35 years ago!! We fought
The three strongest armies in the Middle East,
And wiped them out in six days.

We fought against
Different coalitions of Arab countries,
With modern armies,
And masses of Soviet Russian weapons,
And we still won!!!

We have today
A country,
An army,
A strong Air Force,
A Hi-Tech Economy, exporting millions.

Intel - Microsoft - IBM develop their stuff here.
Our doctors win world prizes
For medical developments.

We made the desert flourish,
Selling oranges and vegetables to the world.

Israel has sent its own satellite into Space!!
Three satellites all together!!.

We sit proudly,
With the US, with 250 million people,
With Russia, with 200 million people,
With China, with 1.1 billion people,
With the Europeans -- France, England, Germany,
with 350 million people,
The only countries in the world
To shoot something into space!!

Israel is today
In the world nuclear power family
With the US, Russia, China, India, France, and England.
[We don't admit it, but every one knows...]
To think that only 60 years ago,
We were led,
Shameful,
With no hope,
To our death!!

We crawled out of the burning ashes of Europe,
We won our wars here with less than nothing
in our hands,
We built an "empire" out of nothing.

Who the hell is Mr. Arafat
To make me Scared?
To make me be Terrified?

You make me laugh!
Passover was celebrated;
Let's not forget what the story is all about.
We overcame Pharaoh,
We overcame the Greeks,
We overcame the Romans,
We overcame the Inquisition in Spain,
We overcame the Pogroms in Russia,
We overcame Hitler,
We overcame the Germans,
We overcame the Holocaust,
We overcame the armies of the seven Arab countries,
We overcame Saddam.

Take it easy, folks,
We will overcome
The present enemies too.

No matter
Which part of human history you try!
Think of it,
For us,
The Jewish people,
Our situation has never been better!!!

So,
Let's Lift our Heads High,
Let's Remember:

Any nation or culture
That tried to mess around with us
Was destroyed - while we kept going!!!

Egypt?
Anyone know where their empire disappeared to?
The Greeks?
Alexander of Macedonia?
The Romans?
Does anyone today speak Latin?
The Third Reich?
Anyone heard any news about it lately?

And look at us,
The Nation from the Bible,
From Slavery in Egypt,
We are still here,
Speaking the same language!!
Right here, right now.

The Arabs don't know it yet,
But, they will learn that there is one God.

As long as we keep our identity,
We are eternal.

So, sorry for not worrying,
Not bitching,
Not crying,
Not being scared.
Things are O.K. here.

They surely can be better,
But still:

Don't fall for the media junk,
They won't tell you
That there are
Festivals going on,
That people keep on living,
That people are going out,
That people are seeing friends.

Yes, our morale is low,
So what?
It's only because we weep for our dead
While they enjoy the blood.

This is the same reason why,
We will win, after all.

You can forward this e-mail
If you choose.
To the whole Jewish community,
And to people throughout the world.

They are part of our strength.
It might help some of them
To keep their heads up high.

Tell them
That there is nothing to worry about.
Tell them to think BIG, and
To see the whole picture.

"See You Next Year in Jerusalem."

- posted by Pinchas @ 12:10 AM Permalink Home

"THE ALIYA EXCUSE"

Endthemadness.org is a website dedicated to dealing with Jewish dating related issues. Today a poster named Sammy started a thread entitled "THE ALIYA EXCUSE." This sparked several rebuttals including my own. I feel this is an extremely important issue to discuss. G-d knows how many Jews give up their dream because they were pressured into thinking Aliyah was a ridiculous requirement for marriage.

Sammy posts (reprinted exactly as it appeared there):
I notice lately, especially with the younger girls usually 22, and under there is this "i want to do aliya or we're not compatible" excuse. This is the biggest madness & the most ludicrous thing going on as of late. These girls are very immature, and just not ready to get married, so they use this excuse as to why they don't want to get married & are afraid of commitment. They dont realize the most important thing to look for a partner is someone that will make a good husband, a good good father, sholom bayis & a good provider, not where you live. That is the most rediculous thing to focus on. The only very important thing about where you live is that you should be able to support your family based on it by the job you have & if you dont want to be so far away from your family. They are here living in NYC expecting to find a guy here that is willing to quit his job, his culture, language & family to move 8000 miles away from everything. I have to say this if a girl ever mentions anything about aliya and is very serious about it, being a condition as to whether she will go out with you just end it right there, because the girl is not serious. If they are really that serious let them move there & find a guy there.

Oh boy! Where to begin? Why don't I start with the minuscule portion of this posting that I agree with. If the girl wants to make Aliyah and if the guy - who apparently is simply paying lip service when he Benches and Davens everyday - specifically cringes at the very thought of returning Home to the land of his ancestors, to his People's Heritage - then yes, the two of them should never date to begin with!

But to say making Aliyah "is the most ridiculous thing to focus on" is the true most ridiculous thing. Is it so ridiculous that she wants to raise her family in a country where December 25th is just December 25th? Is it so ridiculous that she wants her children's native tongue to be "Loshon Hakodesh?" Is it so ridiculous that she wants to live in a land where they give more emphasis to Ruchnius and less to Gashmius? Is it so ridiculous that she would prefer her children to be brought up looking at Jewish expiration dates on Milk cartons (or bags)? Is it so ridiculous that she wants to be part of her Nation in every sense? Is it so ridiculous she wants to fulfill the Mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael? Is it so ridiculous that she wants to finally come Home?

Now wait. I have long debated this issue and am fully aware the many counter arguments. These are flawed. This is a popular one: "I know so many people that wanted Aliyah when they got married but are still living in New York anyway - it's a pipe dream! Is it worth limiting your choices?" Now let's be realistic. Aliayh is a privilege and yes, while physically it may only be a short 10 hour hop-on-a-plane to get there - you accurately identified some hardships. Yes, leaving family behind is hard. Yes, learning a "foreign" language is hard. Yes, adapting to a "foreign" culture is hard. Yes, finding a job and earning a fraction of what you would is the States is hard. Guess what? Aliyah is hard!

But it is doable. It is done.

This summer, as over the past two summers, over a thousand Olim - including lots of FULL families will be coming Home with the Nefesh B?Nefesh organization.

But as Mazal would have it, not everyone who wants to come Home is privileged to return.

The Chofetz Chaim historically attempted Aliyah several times - even had a house built in Eretz Yisrael - but time after time Hashem did not permit him to reach our Homeland successfully. But he did his part. Indeed Moshe Rabbanu himself was denied this privilege as well. But not because he didn't try to get Home.

And guess what else? Sharing common interests is a very important part of compatibility. It may not be the most important thing in a marriage but it's certainly something singles are entitled to look for in a spouse. Sharing a common goal - whether or not that goal is realized, sounds to me like it could only add a lot to a union. And if your dream is to make Aliyah why would you compromise that for anything in the world? Yes I say! Date only guys or girls that are like-minded! I'll tell you another secret, call it what you want - the "biggest madness," "the most ludicrous thing going on as of late," or "the Aliyah Revolution," - Aliyah is getting more popular! And continues to grow! There is simply no longer a reason to fear you can't find a spouse in the States that also wants Aliyah!

As for making Aliyah right away single - that's not always the most responsible thing to do. This is a question that must be answered on a-case-by-case bases as personal situations vary. But Aliyah experts agree - and I've spoken to many of them (e-mail me for names) - the most important thing for making a successful Aliyah is to prepare. That may mean getting a college degree first. That may mean working a few years to pay off debts and save up money. And yes, that may mean finding a Shidduch! But if your circumstances allow you to make Aliyah single - great! Go for it! And if not don't give up!

As for those girls "expecting to find a guy here that is willing to quit his job, his culture, language & family to move 8000 miles away from everything" - well, here's one: yours truly.

p.s. And if by "everything" you mean Brooklyn - it's 6000 miles.

- posted by Pinchas @ 7:20 PM Permalink Home

To Racheli

On May 16, I wrote a satirical blog about the Arabs desire to live in peace with the Jews here in the Middle East. Following that article, there was a little comments war between Ezra, myself, and a woman named Racheli. Here's what Racheli wrote:

"...but you know there are heightened risks associated with life in the West Bank and Gaza. I'm not saying leave- live your lives in peace and prosperity whether the political authority is Palestinian or Israeli. But don't kid yourselves that what you're doing is worth state protection or that it is good for the State of Israel or the Holy Land. If you could live with your Arab neighbors I might feel differently, but to plant yourselves among them and spew invectives and create further division creates an impossible situation."

And here's what I wrote:

"...Thanks for posting regarding my blog. It's a shame to see a seemingly intelligent mind utterly warped by blatant rhetorical garbage. If you think that it is we Jews, who occupy a place the size of New Jersey, who can't live with the Arabs whose dictatorial empire comprises 10% of the world's land mass, well, I don't know what to say to you. Try and get some historical and cultural perspective. Read their newspapers and don't pay lipservice to respecting them - ACTUALLY respect who they are by believing what they say and stop treating them like children or puppies who don't know any better. And get off your duff, come over here, and actually see how we "settlers" live, who we are, and what we're up to, instead of regurgitating CNN's agendified swill."

Now, upon a lot of reflection, and some discussion with my husband, I have determined that I was too harsh on Racheli. RACHELI, I'M SORRY.

But just so you can understand why I wrote what I did, albeit too offensively, let's hit the points, one by one.

"but you know there are heightened risks associated with life in the West Bank and Gaza".

Well, sort of. On the one hand, yes, we live amongst Arabs (not because we move near to them, Racheli, but because they move near to us. For example, look at Beit El - word from residents here is that the overwhelming majority of Arab homes surrounding our yishuv didn't exist here just 10 years ago...), but on the other hand, so do Yerushalmis... and Jews in Ramle, etc. (these are places which can not be considered Yehudah or Shomron). And (G-d forbid!), the bombs aren't blowing up out here, they're blowing up in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. So you might say that there are heightened risks living in Tel Aviv as well. Facts are facts.

"I'm not saying leave- live your lives in peace and prosperity whether the political authority is Palestinian or Israeli."

If only. The day I'm handed a Palestinian residency card is the day I jump out of a huge baklava in a belly dancing costume singing "Habibi" for Yassir at the Mukata. The Arabs just aren't into the Jewish dhihimi thing anymore. If there's one thing that couldn't be anymore clear, from all of their speeches and all of their press articles and all of their hundreds of murderous terror attempts thwarted EVERY SINGLE DAY by the Israel Defense Forces, it's that WE'RE NOT WELCOME HERE. If we were, we'd have peace already. Why not suggest such a philosophy to the Arabs? Live here, dear cousins, whether the political authority is Palestinian or Israeli... what, don't you think it'll work?

"But don't kid yourselves that what you're doing is worth state protection or that it is good for the State of Israel or the Holy Land."

Now just one minute there. As for the Holy Land, I'm going to have to pull the Bible card on you. There's no discussion on this one. If you're going to be talking Holy Land, talk informed. There's no dispute amongst Torah authorities. The Holy Land loves the Jewish presence. End of story. As for my life being worth state protection, well, if mine isn't, yours isn't. And if it isn't the state's job to protect Jews in Israel, exactly what IS their job? Mill around Netanya with their AK-47s? Any Jewish soldier who is defending a Jewish home anywhere in the Land of Israel should be proud of himself and understand that every moment of his time is engaged in mitzvah. I can't think of anything that's worth MORE state protection than a Jewish village.

"If you could live with your Arab neighbors I might feel differently, but to plant yourselves among them and spew invectives and create further division creates an impossible situation"

Please see the land ratios I supplied in my initial comment. This is kind of like wanting to take away Tribal Land in Oklahoma because the Native Americans "can't get along" with the United States. Furthermore, the "plant yourselves among them and spew invectives" thing could just as easily apply to the whole State of Israel as it could to Yehudah and Shomron. What I mean is that teeny weeny Israel was also transplanted into a sea of Arabs. And we fought a few bloody battles with them. That being the case, it would have to be said that our Jewish existence here creates an "impossible situation". If that's so, in order to "right the wrong," we have to leave.... What about Arab "invectives," by the way? Somehow more acceptable? Why?

Anyway, Racheli, I'm sorry about the meanness. I shouldn't have spoken to a sister like that. I hope you'll forgive me.

I hope you'll come out to our neck of the woods for a visit. I'll make some baklava.

- posted by Malkah @ 4:44 PM Permalink Home