Jew Hatred and Fear

Shalom Yishai,

Sorry I haven't written in a while as I was busy studying for my actuary exam. Which I failed twice.  I am going to give it one last change on May 21...

Yishai: I know you, and I know how smart you are. So your failure in this test can only mean one of two things: 1. This is not the career that Hashem has in mind for you - He may want you to be a great Rabbi, a great teacher, or a high-tech entrepreneur. Sometimes, when things don't go easily it is a sign that you need not push on this door. On the other hand, the common saying is 'if at first you don't succeed, try try again' and also 'three times a charm.' I wish you much success, but pray that Hashem will take you on a good direction - I think He is sending you a sign of some kind.

The only time I can really listen to you is when my real estate appraisal job is busy which it has been lately...I still really enjoy your show and get tremendous inspiration (and information)..but I must say stick to your old plan of encouraging Aliya because it is the right thing to do.  At least in America, I have not felt or heard anyone talk about the slightest uptick in Jew hatred (notice I am not calling it Anti-Semitism), not to say that couldn't change on a dime.  But the economy seems to be tanking and the Jews are suffering with the rest of them, but thank G-d Jew directed hatred hasn't changed.  You seem to be trying to scare Americans into making aliyah "or else" the baddies will come get you.  Stick to the positive message of choosing to move.

Yishai: I have been speaking of the positive reasons for making Aliyah for the last 10 years and I will always continue to do so. This is because the light of Israel is no propaganda tool. Living in in the Land of Israel is a great privilege, while building the State of Israel is the greatest project of the Jewish people in 2000 years. I have also refrained from talking about Israel-Jew-Hate for the last many years because I firmly believed that it was not palpable to most American Jews, and not even to most Jews of the Western Diaspora. However, things have changed, and Jew-hate has factually risen throughout the whole world including America. Talking about the rising levels of Jew-hate as a reason for Aliyah is not a propaganda tool or a PR tactic  - it is simply a reality. Believe me, I wish it weren't so, and that all Jews would come home because they too would see the light and choose to be close to G-d. But the way it has always worked for the Jews is simple: either by hook or by crook - either the Jews choose Israel because of a higher vision, or the Jew-haters will boot them out. As a commentator and a broadcaster it is my duty to warn of the dangers and the shifts in society. I will continue to talk-up the light of Israel, but a dark cloud looms and I will keep calling them as I see them.

On a personal note, I feel as though aliyah is further and further away from me as being an actuary looks like it may not happen.  I am stuck.  NBN says not to change careers and move to a new country at the same time as that is a recipe for disaster (besides my wife would never go for that, she needs me to at least have a plan of how I will provide for her). So the plan is to get a job here that I could support a family with over there first, then make aliyah. Good luck finding that... I would love to work in media and do what I can to push our shared agendas. But I have no resume, no formal training, no education for anything of that sort.  I get very frustrated hearing you say all I have to do is log on to ELAL with my credit card and fly to the land of milk and honey and all my problems will go away.  You make it sound so easy...One of my best friends just moved back with his wife and 3 kids from Tiberius to Fair Lawn after having moved there in 2004 ( though he never was a the Zionist type), but still no one wants to move 9000 miles with three young kids.. Not to mention all the Israeli's coming to my shul looking for handouts....

Yishai: Faith and stubbornness, patience and prayer - these are your weapons. The Land of Israel is acquired through hardships but they are surmountable. Yes, there are yordim (people who leave Israel) and people who do not make it and I am sure they do their best to discredit the Big Project - but... there are almost 6 million Jews here, immigrants, Israelis, and the rest, who are eeking out a living and making it. It is not a fairy tale, but it is living the dream. When I talk about logging on to ELAL with your credit card and flying to the land of milk and honey I am talking about the ease with which you can break out of the slavery of the Exile in your mind. Bottom line is that you know that Israel is home - you want to live a full Jewish life with proper Shabbat, holidays, and Jewish education that is affordable and on a high level - you want to be close to Jerusalem! 

You will make it here in the Land because you want it more than anything, because you will not leave this place no matter what, because America is not an option, because you are madly madly in love with this thing called Yiddishkyte, Torah, Hashem, EretzYisrael, and Mashiach. Clearly, the dark forces are trying to stop you from coming here  - you have a high soul and you will make Hashem very happy when you bring your family Home to Him. You will find a sustenance, because He Who makes money is the Ultimate Provider. Simply put - don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid! You may not have an immediate job waiting for you in Israel - but you certainly have a mission...

Keep up the good work and regards to your wife,
Y

Yishai: All the blessings on you dear brother. I am looking forward to seeing you get off the plane and greeting you with a big hug. I pray that day will come soon.

"Looking Good This Purim"

Well, good people, here we are – Purim Fest, 5769. The IsraelNN blog section is loaded with deep and meaningful articles – if you read them, you are guaranteed to have a holier Purim experience and a more passionate bond to the Land of Israel. So let me stray away from trying to compete with the righteous people who are featured here this week and talk about a lesser-discussed Purim theme: Being Pretty.

There are two interpretations of Queen Esther's appearance. The Megillah itself says that Esther was gorgeous, seemingly a no-brainer for Achashverosh's choice of Queen. However, some commentators say that Esther was distinctly unpretty, with a rather sickly green hue. Either way, she was chosen as Queen from among hundreds of candidates.

There are two lessons we can learn from this information, corresponding to the two interpretations. The first is that being Jewish is being pretty. There are some people who become upset when told that they "look Jewish" – you sad unfortunates have been duped by a vicious worldwide conspiracy. Jewish men and women are the best looking people on the planet.

The second lesson is that being pretty is being Jewish. There is something so attractive about a person who lets herself be complete and confident. It's mesmerizing, and we all want a part of people like that. All the more so when that fullness and aliveness come from absolute Truth with a capital "T" – Torah values instilled in the house of Mordechai the Jew. In even a very strangely pigmented body, a fervent and refined Jewish soul leaves an irreversible imprint on everyone it touches. King Achashverosh was putty in Esther's grassy green hands - she saved the entire Jewish race from destruction, facilitated their massive return to religion and ultimately enabled them to return to the Land of Israel.

So this Purim, don't forget that you're a beautiful Jew. Dress up in a nice costume, smile and chat with the other beautiful Jews, look pretty. But let most of that dazzle radiate from within – only G-d knows what will come from it.

In honor of the incredibly symbolic wine we will be drinking this Purim, take it to the next level:

Esther's Royal Beauty Treatment

Crush a grape or two on your face, and lie down for 15 minutes (on your back). Follow up with your moisturizer. With daily treatment, in two weeks you will likely see smoother skin and the disappearance of fine lines – you might as well be wearing a crown.

Malkah

Blog Report for March 5

Here are a few stories I found of late and haven't had time to put them up for you. So here is my 'blog report', a nice long list of interesting, unusual, and informative stuff - enjoy:

Only in Israel... an Acquittal   [via the Life in Israel blog by Rafi G.]

Here is a great story:

A guy was stopped by the police while driving for a random check (they do that a lot here in Israel). The law is that until age 21, you can only drive a maximum of 2 other people in the car. This guy had four passengers in the car, and it was two days he would turn 21.

The driver, Frankel, claimed that his Hebrew birthday had already passed two weeks earlier, hence he was allowed to drive with four passengers as he is already 21. The police did not accept the argument and gave him a ticket to come to court, where they request his license be suspended.

In court, Frankel's lawyer explained that in the haredi community they only use Hebrew dates, so Frankel really considered himself 21, and being that Israel is a Jewish country, "it is impossible to argue with the fact that he was already 21 at the time of the incident".

The judge accepted the argument, and let him off, saying Frankel clearly acted in good faith and considered himself 21 because of the Hebrew calendar.

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An email that is going around: Bad news from France ...REAL BAD! for French Jews...

Once again, the real news in France is conveniently not being reported as it should. To give you an idea of what's going on in that country where there are now between 5 and 6 million Muslims and about 600,000 Jews, here is an E-mail that came from a Jew living in France.

Please read! "Will the world say nothing - again - as it did in Hitler's time?" He writes: "I AM A JEW -- therefore I am forwarding this to everyone on all my e-mail lists. I will not sit back and do nothing. Nowhere have the flames of anti-Semitism burned more furiously than in France . In Lyon , a car was rammed into a synagogue and set on fire. In Montpellier , the Jewish religious center was firebombed; so were synagogues in Strasbourgand Marseilles ; so was a Jewish school in Creteil - all recently. A Jewish sports club in Toulouse was attacked with Molotov cocktails and on the statue of Alfred Dreyfus, in Paris , the words 'Dirty Jew' were painted. In Bondy, 15 men beat up members of a Jewish football team with sticks and metal bars. The bus that takes Jewish children to school in Aubervilliers has been attacked three times in the last 14 months. According to the Police, metropolitan Paris has seen 10 to 12 anti-Jewish incidents PER DAY in the past 30 days. Walls in Jewish neighborhoods have been defaced with slogans proclaiming 'Jews to the gas chambers' and 'Death to the Jews.' A gunman opened fire on a kosher butcher's shop (and, of course, the butcher) inToulouse, France. A Jewish couple in their 20's were beaten up by five men in Villeurbanne , France (the woman was pregnant). A Jewish school was broken into and vandalized in Sarcelles, France. This was just in the past week."

"So I ca ll on you, whether you are a fellow Jew, a friend, or merely a person with the capacity and desire to distinguish decency from depravity, to do - at least - these three simple things:

First, care enough to stay informed. Don't ever let yourself become deluded into thinking that this is not your fight. I remind you of what Pastor Neimoller said in World War II: 'First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.'

Second, boycott France and French products. Only the Arab countries are more toxically anti-Semitic and, unlike them, France exports more than just oil and hatred. So boycott their wines and their perfumes. Boycott their clothes and their foodstuffs. Boycott their movies. Definitely boycott their shores. If we are resolved we can exert amazing pressure and, whatever else we may know about the French, we most certainly know that they are like a cobweb in a hurricane in the face of well-directed pressure.

Third, send this along to your family, your friends, and your co-workers. Think of all of the people of good conscience that you know and let them know that you - and the people that you care - about need their help.

The number one bestselling book in France is....'September 11: The Frightening Fraud' which argues that no plane ever hit the Pentagon!

Please Pass This On, Let's not let history repeat itself, thank-you for your time and consideration."

Yishai's comment: umm... maybe you should consider ALIYAH? Maybe instead of us boycotting France, French Jews should boycott it instead...

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Arab men seek Israeli brides by Itamar Eichner [from YNET]

Dozens of residents of Arab countries appeal to Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem in search of 'smart and beautiful' women

"I'm asking for your help. I would like to meet an Israeli woman for marriage purposes," Abdullah, a resident of Saudi Arabia, said in a recent letter to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
 
"I have heard that the Israeli women are very smart and beautiful," he added. "I'm ready to pay a dowry of camels, herds or even money. Please help me."
 
Dozens of such appeals are received every year by the Foreign Ministry's department for Arab media. Emails have been arriving from people in Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
 
According to Foreign Ministry official Adel Hino, almost all men identify themselves by their full name and are not afraid to leave their telephone number and address as contact details.
 
The Foreign Ministry recently received a letter from a resident of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf, who introduced himself as a wealthy man with a fleet of automobiles, looking for a Jewish bride from Israel.
 
Many appeals have also been received from Iraqi men, who say their dream is to marry an Israeli woman. One of them, a Baghdad resident, even said he is married to four women and would like the Israeli Foreign Ministry to introduce him to another woman, this time an Israeli one.
 
"I promise you that she will fit in well with the rest of my wives," he wrote.
 
"The Israeli woman must have a remarkable image in the Arab world," says Hino. "The Arab men reiterate in their letters that the Israeli women are beautiful and smart, but we politely answer all of them that with all due respect, the Foreign Ministry is not a matchmaking agency."

Yishai's comment: Get a life.

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'Jewish Mark Twain' Shines In 'Wandering Stars' by Robert Siegel

Born to a poor Jewish family in imperial Russia, Sholem Rabinovich — also known as Sholem Aleichem — was a champion of the Yiddish language. His stories were adapted into the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof.

All Things Considered, March 2, 2009 · When Ukrainian-born writer Sholem Rabinovich died in New York City in 1916, throngs gathered in three boroughs to greet his funeral cortege. Rabinovich, who went by the pen name Sholem Aleichem ("peace be with you"), was a humorist and a champion of the Yiddish language — in the words of his New York Times obituary, a "Jewish Mark Twain."

Most people today are familiar with Aleichem's stories about Tevye the Dairyman, which were adapted into the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. But while the musical tends to sentimentalize Aleichem's version of life in the shtetls of Eastern Europe, the author's original work is often more complex.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the author's birth, translator Aliza Shevrin has published Wandering Stars, a new translation of Blundzhende Shtern, Aleichem's story of two lovers in the Yiddish theater as they wander around Eastern Europe, London's East End and Manhattan. Playwright Tony Kushner, who writes an introduction to the translation, says that readers may be surprised by the novel's edginess...  Read more on NPR 

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Dear Yishai,

I have been listening to your shows for more than two years. I really appreciate your work. Plus, you seem to be a very nice person. Thank you.

Some days ago you and your wife talked about a Portuguese cheese, Serra da Estrela (which, by the way, means "Mountain of the Star"). You referred to a nearby town, Belmonte, where a small community of Jews kept their faith in secret for centuries. They only came to daylight in the years following the Portuguese revolution of 1974. They were almost the only ones surviving the centuries-long persecution with the memory of who they were, as a community.

Remembering that I had been in Belmonte some days ago, I thought of sending you a photo of the inside of its Synagogue. The photo is not very good. I wasn't there as a tourist and taking photos was the least of my concerns. I only took 2 photos, which I am sending you now.

The synagogue is called "Beth Eliahu". I also enclose two photos of its exterior, taken in 2003. The street is very narrow and I didn't have a wide field lens; that's why they look so "constrained".

Can you show these photos to Tamar Yonah, Tovia Singer, Eve Harlow and any other member of the INR team that may have interest in these things?

Did you know that a recent genetics study showed that the Portuguese population keeps the highest rate of Sephardic genes in the whole Iberian Peninsula, particularly in the South of Portugal? The name Iberia comes from Ivria, meaning "land of Hebrews". An American investigator once said that by his estimations about 75% of the Portuguese population carry Hebrew blood.

You referred to the use of the word "marranos" (which in Castillian -- the language commonly known as "Spanish" -- means ping). The use of that term was never common in Portugal. Someone once said that it is a corrupted form of the Hebrew "mara anuss", meaning bitter and forced, "bitterly forced". Can you confirm this meaning (bitter) for a Hebrew word sounding like "mara"? As you surelly know, the lost Israelites here are known as Anussim. Tamar Yonah once made a show about them. (In fact, maybe I should say "about us".)Well, I would have too much to talk with you... Israel is in the hearts of many here and around the planet. Please be strong in the difficult times to come. This world may be against you but you will have many, many, to come to your support if necessary.

Shalom, my friend (let me call you this way, please)

From Portugal
Miguel

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Also, check out my audio hour with Caroline Glick and Moshe Feiglin:

Caroline Glick, noted columnist, warns world Jewry about the very real dangers of Jew-hatred and the seismic shift of US policy to a pro-Iran, pro-Hamas, pro-Hizbullah, anti-Israel position. Moshe Feiglin of Manhigut Yehudit predicts new elections in a year and sees Leiberman as pulling the plug on this round of coalition making.

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SHABBAT SHALOM!