By Rabbi Zalman B. Melamed
Rosh Yeshiva of the Bet El Yeshiva Center

Every year when the Tisha B’av Fast Day ends and mashiach (the messiah) doesn’t come, a feeling of intense mourning settles in with no consolation in sight.

But, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook of blessed memory, Israel’s first Chief Rabbi and the father of religious-Zionist thought, shows us a way to consolation: Tisha B’av is a day of mourning and great sorrow over the destruction, but we know also that on Tisha B’av, the mashiach is born.

Rabbi Avraham Yitzkah HaCohen Kook

On the one hand, we are mourning and pained over the continuing state of destruction, as it says, “Anyone who during his days the Temple is not rebuilt, it’s as though the Temple was destroyed in his days.” The continuation of the state of destruction means that the sins of past generations haven’t been rectified, or at least not fully amended.

On the other hand, we can definitely be consoled by the droplets of consolation, as Hashem shows us the first illuminations of the light of mashiach.

Many generations of Jews saw no change for the good whatsoever.

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Yasser Arafat, also known as Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, posthumously made headlines earlier this month after his widow, Suha, produced a bag of her late husband’s belongings on which were found traces of radioactive polonium, a deadly poison.

Officially, we were told in October 2004 that Arafat had a bad flu after he vomited during a meeting. His situation deteriorated and Israel allowed him to be flown to the Percy Military Hospital in a Paris suburb. According to the Associated Press, doctors announced a month later at his November death that he suffered from a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, "although it is inconclusive what brought about the condition.”

But now, seven and a half years later, Suha’s findings have led to demands that his remains be examined to determine if it was the Zionist regime that poisoned him.

Click here to discover the "missing link" in deciphering the cause of Arafat's death.

Israeli paratrooper Yaniv Blumenfeld, 25, from Greater Tel Aviv recently wrote the following reflections after finishing IDF reserve duty in the region. The article appeared in the Iyar 5772 edition of Yesha Shelanu.

Thoughts from My Reserve Duty in Yesha

Last week, I returned from my month-long stint of reserve duty in Yesha (Judea and Samaria), also known as the West Bank. It was my first time back in the region since my regular service in my late teens.

A person has to rejoice on the Chag (holiday). So here we go. My father is an accomplished tax attorney and takes care of income tax for my brother Robert and myself. The letter below represents what is, in my opinion, one of his most creative and hilarious responses to the IRS in the wake of an outrageously absurd letter sent to my brother. No further commentary is necessary.

Click here to enjoy the holiday laugh.  And while you're on the page, sign up on the right side for the Bet El Rocks Newsletter. Happy Passover.

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Some of the best stories in the Jewish World are the stories told by and about Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach of blessed memory. Here is one from the highly recommended "The Carlebach Haggadah." 

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