sRepliesHTML = "";iReplies = 59;mReplies = iReplies;iDiv = 3160
AddReply(366632,"To SK #14","Malka","upstate NY","12/01/08","See, this is why I respect you (hopefully you\'re reading the tbs even if not posting here anymore).\n\nI wouldn\'t embarass any Jew based on his sexual orientation; nor would I embarass someone and hurt their feelings by calling them a shicksa, especially considering that there are no doubt female converts or those studying to convert posting on this site.\n\nI\'m not a Torah or Talmud scholar but I am pretty sure that there is something in Judaism about not causing embarassment or shame.\n\nIn fact my pocket siddur is dedicated to the memory of Reb Shimon Krok. It lists some of the things he taught, including this: \"Nothing justifies inflicting shame on another human being.\"\n\nAnd in the the siddur bedtime Shema above the Hamapil there is a lovely saying which ends with, \"I forgive every Jew.\"\n\nNot great sources I am quoting and very simple but truthful.\n\n");
AddReply(364663,"More judgmental than xtains","Rob","usa","11/24/08","I must admit I think very highly of Sk.\nHe is very intelligent, and adds a higher standard to the conversation.\n\n\nI do find his general sympathy for the dati a bit puzzling considering the abuse he has recieved.\n\nI do not care that Sk is a \"homo\". He is still a Jew, and a human being, and deserves to be treated as such.\n\nMe? I\'m going to a certain west African nation in 2 weeks to lend my expertise.. \n\nLater!");
AddReply(364640,"Malka, Roger, Joey etc.","Larry","TA","11/24/08","I miss as to how SK is making great contributions to the discussion. I agree Tsvi goes overboard, but he is openly pedantic. Tsvi is honest - he wants all Jews to live in Israel, and presents his arguments why. While I don\'t agree with him that all Jews need live in Israel, the trend is generally right. The direction is right. The Golah will not suffer if the number of olim were to double or triple. Assimilation would continue. Most Galut Jews would continue to pursue money, career, profession, hobbies. Tsvi\'s point and ferocity comes from his belief, which is obviously sincere, that none of this is authentically Jewish. He\'s basically right. And as for the oft-heard argument that the Diaspora needs the best adnd the brightest to \'keep\' the remaining Jews Jewish, I have given up on this. It\'s usually an argument for job security at Day Schools, etc. The best and brightest hardly stop assimilation, but in the end simply justify and promote \'dual identity\' and the rest. SK, for his part, has permanently condemned Israel and Israelis. He has justified this with Mike\'s arguments, and while the logic is often compelling, it is vacuum-pure. The reality of Israeli life and identity is a whole lot more complicated than SK makes it out to be. How could it be otherwise. Neither he, you, Yvonne, etc., live in Israel. While A Sheva gives a valuable POV and many stinging and accurate critiques of gov\'t actions, it has the effect of demonizing the middle and making it all look black. This is partly justified outrage by \'settlers\' and their supporters and partly a bit too much self-righteousness. Want to make change? Believe that the system is rotten? Then step out and take the risks. Most people just want to post, including those in Israel.\n\nRoger, you\'re a childish fool.\n\nJoey, good on you mate, but in the end you\'re arguing for assimilation. Australia is turning again against Israel with the current gov\'t, and the presence of Indonesia and the influx of Asian immigrants - and the presence of Lebanese Shiites - can turn your world upside down as well. That\'s the honey spots of the Golah from a Jewish perspective - they are until they\'re not, and often when they change they do so quickly.");
AddReply(364581,"Mike’s wife #44, you should be given a very special medal","Liad","Jerusalem","11/24/08","...for having to put up with a strong headed person like Mike.  \n\nConcerning what you said about Mike having taken the latest barrage of INN talkbacks to heart and then suffered one of his reoccurring psychological relapses, all I can say is that it might be due to the fact that Mike has not taken to heart all of the previous INN talkbacks thereby carrying his points to the extreme and beyond the level of Jewish religious concepts.  You might suggest to Mike to consult with his internet friend Velvel to ask him what those concepts are so as to get his thinking back on track…as a Diasporah Jew.  Otherwise, if you really want to get Mike back on the right track spiritually, psychologically and physically, have him enroll in Jerusalem\'s Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva then he will know the relation between the Torah, the Holy Land, the present status and what to do about it.  After a few years, Mike might want to run for office to help rebuild this country in an intelligent and proper spiritual manner and not with only with guns, threats, cussing and belittlements.\n");
AddReply(364565,"What?!  Mikey\'s bubble is broken? Then, you Dr. Frank Phillips","Liad","Jerusalem","11/24/08","have a professional obligation to obtain help for him suitable to his life, religion and aspirations.  In short, find Mike an Orthodox Jewish psychotherapist so that Mike can rebuild his life as a Jew and not as a gentile who have \"acceptable\" illusions of grandeur.  In other words, your gentile perceptions of reality is very erroneous compared to the Jewish perceptions of reality and to impose these on Mike will create a perpetual conflict for the rest of his life.  \n\nActually, come to think of it, I posted the same type of psychological information about Mike several months ago; so, I think you are fake.  If not give us the name of your hospital, department and administrator\'s name and address with phone number.\n\n\n");
AddReply(364521,"Dear Mr Fishman","Joey","Australia","11/24/08","You quote-\n\"What I can’t figure out is - now that Israel is back in our hands, why don’t these Jews rush to come home? Maybe some child can tell me.\"\n\nThe reason is simple, Israelis do not represent us! We are Australian Jews. I was born here in Australia, married a lovely (Israeli) Jewish girl and plan to live a fully Jewish life here in Melbourne.(Melbourne has a vibrant Jewish community!)\n\nAlso, why should I run to Israel when life here is good b\'h. Our kids are Israeli according to Israeli Law, but I don\'t want my kids to join an army which doesn\'t know what they are fighting for. My children are not pawns in some twisted game!\n\nEveryone in Israel acts as if they have a firecracker up their (censored)! Here in Australia everyone is calm and relaxed- no worries!");
AddReply(364506,"Re: #49","Michael Berg","Toronto","11/24/08","There are plenty of Black Jews in Israel. Most of them, if you trace them back a few generations, came from Ethiopia. If your ancestors are not from Ethiopia, then I hope that one of them along the line had a valid conversion.\n\nAnyway, I just wanted to ask, how come you go by \"Moses,\" and not \"Moshe?\" (With the dagesh on the end.) If you\'re living in the land of Israel, you should want to go by your Hebrew name. When I\'m in Israel, I go by îéëàì. It\'s up to you in the end, I just thought I\'d bring it up...");
AddReply(364479,"Correction","Dr. Frank Phillips","Veterans Hospital","11/23/08","Mike is not schizophrenic. He suffers from a bipolar manic depression with illusions of grandeur, exacerbated by severe shell shock during  military encounter. Relapses occur when his illusions are sharply rejected. Besides heavy dosages of lithium, we have found that humoring him helps to maintain his fragile psychic equilibrium.");
AddReply(364476,"#1","Yonaton","Brooklyn","11/23/08","See Rashi");
AddReply(364473,"Thanks!","Shira M.","Petach Tikva","11/23/08","The talkbacks on this blog are the funniest thing in the world! No other blog has such rich and compelling characters. I think a movie should be made from it! Keep those replies coming, you make my day!");
AddReply(364472,"Enough is Enough!","Moses Brown","from Dimona","11/23/08","How many times do I have to say that I am JEWISH, man? My mammy Bertha Brown is JEWISH and so was my grandnanny Bella, so stop with that Black Hebrew crap! I\'m more Jewish then you are, Fishman! Just because I live in Dimona don\'t mean a dam thing! There are BLACK JEWS in this land, and I\'m proud to be one of them! Now, I accept your apology, but accept me for who I am -- Jewish Moses Brown from Dimona! P.S. Sorry for my cousin Roscoe\'s outburst -- he get\'s a little jacked-up sometimes.");
AddReply(364449,"Sk/Tzvi","Malka","upstate NY","11/23/08","Sk-I hate to see you go. While I don\'t always agree (or to be honest, comprehend your arguments, I respect your intelligence and the way your questions and statements are...stated. Your level of discourse is consistently higher than many of the people posting here.\n\nPlease reconsider and stay).\n\nTo Tzvi--you\'re a professional writer. Have you ever written at a newspaper? Can\'t you find a way to play the ball and not the pitcher? In other words, deal with the questions and disagreements with your readers without resorting to personal attacks.\n\nA challenge to Tzvi--make a case for aliyah on purely secular grounds. What do you love about Israeli life? Do it as a Top Ten list or in narrative form.\n\nAnd please--refrain from all the sexual inuendo--photographic and otherwise.\n\nI agree with everything the A Voice of Reason wrote in her tb to Baruch Gordon.\n\nThank you.");
AddReply(364422,"to Baruch Gordon, INN Editor ","The Voice of Reason","LA","11/23/08","A blog may be a blog, enjoying independence from the sponsoring body, but things here have gotten out of hand and it is time for someone to step in and put an end to all of the haggling and lashon hara. Obvious, Mike\'s wife is an impersonation. If it is Fishman, it is a despicable lack of journalistic etiquette. If it is one of the talkbackers, it is simple nastiness. We expect higher standards from INN. Please do something about it.");
AddReply(364418,"To Fishman\'s Morons ","Roger","Manchester","11/23/08","Since the average IQ of talkbackers on this blog is in the teens, I do not deign to participate in the discussions. In my brand of Judaism, a Jew can live wherever he likes and have sex however he pleases. Period.");
AddReply(364415,"fishman is honky white trash","Roscoe Brown","also from Dimona","11/23/08","We\'s with you nefew. I\'m calling for all the Black Hebrews in the pool hall to boykot Arutz 7 and from there the word is gonna spred like hot cakes to all a Dimona. ");
AddReply(364408,"Mike isn\'t feeling well","Mike\'s Wife","","11/23/08","I think he took the latest barrage of INN talkbacks to heart and suffered one of his reoccurring paranoid schizophrenic relapses. He is presently recovering in the psychiatric ward of the nearby Veteran\'s Hospital. The doctor\'s won\'t let him use his laptop - which is kind of hard anyway since his hands are strapped down to the bed. We hope he will be back home soon.  ");
AddReply(364406,"Dear Moses Brown","Tzvi Fishman","Yerushalayim","11/23/08","My talkback to sk had nothing to do with you whatsoever. Having said that, I have to add that I appreciate your loyalty over the years, but if you were really serious, you would convert to Judaism and give up your ridiculous Black Hebrew charade.");
AddReply(364388,"Sorry to See You Go??????","(a hurt) Moses Brown","from Dimona","11/23/08","Sorry to see you go??? Man, I can\'t believe my eyes! I thought you was a friend, bro. After that Sodomite wrote what he wrote against me, you go ahead and say \"sorry to see you go\"? Man, I am let down! I expect an apology -- FAST! This is not the way to treat one of your loyalist fans. I\'ve been with you even back when you had your radio show on Arutz 7! Do you remember? I won a contest of yours and got a pizza with CORN on it! Man, I am HURT!");
AddReply(364372,"sk, with him gone, we\'ll have serious Torah learning/exchange here.","Joseph","Jerusalem","11/23/08","");
AddReply(364354,"sk - sorry to see you go","Tzvi Fishman","Yerushalayim","11/23/08","I certainly never had anything personal against you. I am all in favor of a free exchange of ideas, even when they are as screwed up as yours. Mike is a different story, because he takes his positions to extremes that put a stumbling block before the blind and bring people to sin against Hashem and His Torah, most especially in his diatribes against aliyah and against the brave and holy settlers in Israel..As for homosexuality, it doesn\'t threaten me. I believe it is an addiction like any other that can be cured with repentance and hard work, but as they say - you can lead a horse to water but you can\'t make him drink. It pains me that a fellow Jew is imprisoned in such a terrible and dangerous darkness, that\'s all. It is my prayer that you find the will within you to honestly confront the error of your ways and that you return to your Maker in the joy that awaits every baal tshuva. In the meantime, watch out for sexual diseases in Thailand and Cambodia.   ");
AddReply(364353,"another one bits the dust!","Yehuda","Kiryat Arba","11/23/08","We\'ve gotten rid o Shmuelik from Monsey, Roger the Dodger from Manchester, Daniel from Kyota, and now sk bites the dust. Good job everyone. But for a clean and kosher Internet, we still have to get rid of Vienna Mike.");
AddReply(364352,"Eye Guard is Fishman for sure","Eli","Michigan","11/23/08","");
AddReply(364349,"For those Struggling","eyeGuard","","11/23/08","For those Struggling with moral purity, see www.guardureyes.com");
AddReply(364332,"Moses Brown of Dimona has said","Liad","Jerusalem","11/23/08","53. Where Are You, Mikey Boy?\nMan, did you notice how Big Mike didn\'t respond to my Talk Back? Cat got your tounge, Mike? I\'m on to this dude, and he knows it! \nMoses Brown, from Dimona (18/11/08)\n\nAnd what did Moses Brown say to get Mikey\'s Boy\'s tongue to stop wagging like a dog\'s tail?\n\n37. Mike\'s A Fake\nMan, I confess too. I met Mike on the Golan Heights on the Volunteers for Israel program. He\'s blond and blue eyed and as white as Casper the friendly ghost! But he said his great grandmammy was Jewish. Right! Man, this guy is a real mercenary -- straight out of the movies! He fought in all the wars like Viet Nam and Cambodia, and he taught us to take apart and put together an M16 BLINDFOLDED within a minute! He\'s a weird DUDE! He wouldn\'t join us in startin\' a new settlement \'cause he said it was against the United States law! He\'s as American as Uncle Sam and apple pie! Yo Mike, whatcha gonna do with a BLACK president? \nMoses Brown, from Dimona (17/11/08)\n\nMoses Brown, this son of Uncle Sam is not going to be reading anything against the country he loves and has been brain washed in, America, no matter what the facts are.  So, it was a waste of my time to suggest him reading the book The Secret War Against the Jews.\n\nI will be reviewing it and post some of it here from time to time.  It just might be a fence to protect this blog from others like my-country-right-or-wrong-Mikey Boy.\n\n\n\n");
AddReply(364329,"#30 sk (was 14. Rebuttal to Sk by Moses Brown from Dimona ","Liad","Jerusalem","11/23/08","14. Rebuttal to Sk\nsk -- which probably stands for \"sick kid\" -- I didn\'t wanna answer you, not because I\'m not Jewish, but because you\'re a homo, and I don\'t deal with your types! Moses Brown is as Jewish as gefilte fish, bagels and lox, and Sammy Davis Jr. all rolled together! Sk -- don\'t be gettin\' on my case \'cause your boyfriend from Virginia hasn\'t had the nerve to admit that the sheet has been pulled off his face! I\'m livin\' in Dimona and puttin my tuchus on the line for my holy country, so don\'t give none of your garbage!\nMoses Brown, from Dimona (20/11/08)");
AddReply(364326,"Goodbye Sk!","Esther Perlman","Beit Shemesh","11/23/08","Thank G-d, Sk is finally gone! There is no room for homosexuals on this forum -- let him go find a forum of his own ilk. I do find it interesting, though, that Mike has not answered Moses Brown\'s claim. Could there be some truth to what he said? Just thinking.");
AddReply(364274,"to Fishman","sk","USA","11/23/08","Fish, feel free to delete my last TB.  I find I do not care enough to have posted it.");
AddReply(364272,"My absolutely last comment, this time to Tel Aviv Larry.","sk","USA","11/23/08","Larry, have you finally decided that I am not Vienna Mike?\n\nLook, I don\'t care one way or another about being insulted, except that it does cause my contempt to increase, which means I have the burdensome task of reducing it again later on.  My mockery doesn\'t come close to that of the blogger or his minions.  So please.\n\nI also don\'t come here to be insulted--that\'s just what you people do naturally.\n\n\"If you felt really American and were truly disgusted with what you read here - unless you are a complete masochist - you would have stopped reading Fishman\'s blog or A-Sheva.\"\n\nIn fact, I swear I haven\'t read Fishman\'s essays for a long time, and the only reason I came here was to read some things by Mike.  You are right, though.  I erred in sticking up for Mike here.  If he feels compelled to help you, that is his problem.  I\'m not Orthodox, so I\'m actually puzzed why I give a damn about y\'all.  Kurtzer doesn\'t care.  Why should I?\n\n\"Most Gentiles have a beef with us, and that won\'t change no matter how much you caricature Olim and native-born Israelis based on the word-food fights here.\"\n\nWell, despite beliefs to the contrary, I disagree with Vienna Mike on certain issues, including this one.  I don\'t think gentiles (except Muslims) in America have much of a beef with Jews.  I know you believe otherwise, but I have better data than either you or Mike.\n\nTime to plan my next vacation:  to Japan, Tailand, and Cambodia, I think.\n\nLater!");
AddReply(364251,"JG, did you make a mistake?","yvonne","cary","11/23/08","You say most American jews feel more American than jewish. Did you mean to say Israeli? Wherever we live, or stay, we are, and feel, jewish. And if we forget it, we will know it soon enough. As the last responder stated, most christians have a beef with us, and they will retaliate, just when we are least expecting it. By the way, that applies also to those who are not regarded as jews by a number responding or writing on this website, because they have no *jewish mother*. If you have a jewish name, look like a jew, smell like a jew, and *deny Jesus*, you may be in for a few surprises which will remind you what you are. Now, if the christians will remember that Jesus was a jewish Rabbi, and stop denying that....:-)");
AddReply(364232,"So yby and the perverted Liad disagree on Halacha.","sk","USA","11/22/08","\"yby, #21 according to Halacha,\nwe are not to believe the perpetrators of public chillul Hashem even though they may be right because their view point is tainted and it ends up being completely against HaShem anyway.\"\n\nLiad, pretend that your IQ > 80.  Now, a certain rabbi and a certain Lithuanian rabbi have been known to hop into bed with politicos who give land to Bnei Amalek (Muslims) while expelling Jews from Gaza, beating teenage girls in Amona, razing Jewish structures, etc.  This is supposed to gets funds for \"pure education,\" which I take to mean \"education that validates what the rabbis have done to get the funds for it.\"\n\nNow, these rabbis are sought after by their own communities and develop and interpret Halacha.  Are they the ones that you take guidance from?  I\'d consider their actions chillul Hashem on stilts, but that\'s just me.  I\'d even be sympathetic to those calling such actions \"perverted.\"  And yet, you never seem to find your voice regarding them.\n\nWhat\'s more, are you saying that your transgressions are not chillul Hashem?  What transgressions qualify, then?  Do smaller ones add up?  What of the person who constantly harps on someone else\'s transgression, bringing it up and thus making it public, simply in order to dismiss that person\'s opinion?  The only reason people are talking about my sexual orientation here is that Mike brought it up in the first place, and you guys seem to think that it\'s all that I\'m about.  On its face, this is ludicrous, since if it were true, I\'d be foursquare behind Peace Now and the Meretz party (or whatever it has morphed into lately).\n\n\"I could cite the source ...\"\n\nYes, but there will be other sources that disagree, or conditionally agree, given that there is any chillul Hashem in this instance or based on how it became \"public.\"\n\nThen there will be the rabbis who think that your penchant for not asking questions makes you poor in your practice, and your tendency to deceive others by adopting multiple screen names for the purpose of supporting your own arguments with a fake crowd to be sinful.\n\nCatholics have a concept known as \"invincible ignorance,\" relating to knowledge that could not be attained because their favorate crazy rabbi handn\'t died for their sins yet.  Your ignorance does not depend on this mechanism.");
AddReply(364205,"SK","Larry","TA","11/22/08","I am not particularly a fan of Liad\'s. He is too personal with you, IMO. Still, you basically appear here in order to feel insulted. That is, you take no responsibility for the consistently mocking, derisive tone you take towards the concept of Zionism or Aliyah. This is apparently justified because (insert Mike\'s theology here)...It is not. Come to Israel; don\'t come to Israel. If you felt really American and were truly disgusted with what you read here - unless you are a complete masochist - you would have stopped reading Fishman\'s blog or A-Sheva. As I have noted before, I was raised in the most assimilated environment possible, and found out that anti-Semitism is eternal, profound and can grow like wildfire out of nowhere. Most Gentiles have a beef with us, and that won\'t change no matter how much you caricature Olim and native-born Israelis based on the word-food fights here.");
AddReply(364191,"American Jews","JG","Israel","11/22/08","Most American Jews today feel more American than Jewish.");
AddReply(364178,"If Mike wants to contribute, he can go to Hevron NOW!!!","Liad","Jerusalem","11/22/08","");
AddReply(364177,"yby, #21 according to Halacha,","Liad","Jerusalem","11/22/08","we are not to believe the perpetrators of public chillul Hashem even though they may be right because their view point is tainted and it ends up being completely against HaShem anyway.  I could cite the source but I don’t even want to spend time on this perverted individual anymore because he doesn’t want to change.");
AddReply(364139,"my favorite maritan","hanina","","11/22/08","I think that\'s a better title than to refer to the movie guess who\'s coming to dinner.\nReally fishman, \nyou insult me terribly.\n");
AddReply(364044,"Dear yby","sk","USA","11/21/08","I planned to say no more, but I wouldn\'t never be so rude as not to respond to your polite comment.\n\nIf every violation of proper Jewish behavior resulted in chillul HaShem, everybody here (I\'d guess) would be in the dog house.  If you doubt this, just consider what the Haredim think of your practice.\n\nThe issue here isn\'t \"niceness,\" but singling out a transgression and then considering a fellow Jew whom you consider guilty of it to be beneath notice overall.  I would think this goes double when the \"public\" aspect of the transgression derives from a practice of regular broadcasting by the same people who complain about it.\n\nIt\'s not that I\'m thin skinned. However, every time some event like this happens, it takes real effort for me to purge myself of the scorn and loathing for my fellow Jew that develops.  In this particular, I do follow Halacha.\n\nThanks again for your kind note.");
AddReply(363982,"Harry #10 As every child knows","Liad","Jerusalem","11/21/08","For the points you mentioned as negative reasons to not make Aliyah to Israel, here are my answers.\n\nGood life in the galut = life of materialism to trade for a life close to HaShem.\n\nLearn new language = the Holy language is one worth learning.\n\nCut in salary = bigger rewards are received in Israel than money\n\nRisk getting hurt = risks are higher on the roads than in wars in both countries.  Risks are less when doing HaShem’s commandment of living in Israel.\n\nServe in the army = the best and most advanced Army in the world looking to match your skills with their needs.\n\nAdjust to a new culture = the most cosmopolitan culture based on a mix of the peoples of all over the world.\n\nStart all over = over 75% of the people in Israel can claim the same thing of being a personal witness of HaShem gathering in the Jews to Israel from all over the world.\n.\nLeave family behind = bring them with you to be part of one of the largest families on earth.  If you need help, there is always someone in the family to help you…even if you think you don’t think that you need help.  If you are walking your child out in the sun without proper covering for shade, you’re going to hear from us.\n");
AddReply(363946,"Liad #16, you warm the cockles of my heart. carry on mate","Moses","Haifa","11/21/08","");
AddReply(363932,"Dear Sk","yby","","11/21/08","According to Halacha we do not have to be \"nice\" to perpetrators of public chillul HaShem. Just thought you should know. If youre interested in matters of halacha its best to consult the sources, real rabbis, and not rely on one (viennese) man\'s opinion. Have a lovely day.");
AddReply(363897,"I agree, Yehuda, Kiryat Arba","sk","USA","11/21/08","I will resume my absence from this blog after this TB.\n\nThe point of all these ad hominem attacks is to divert attention from hard questions that you Israelis will not face.  I suppose I will want to smirk when Hevron and Kiryat Arba are finally given to Muslims.  After all, the people in these places are probably much like you--it couldn\'t happen to nicer guys.  But I will not smirk at all.  I won\'t send you any money, though.\n\n\"please take your over-acted, liberache [sic], screaming [Overacted Liberace?] and whining elsewhere.\"\n\nDo you have even a high school education?  The fellow from Durango does a better job, as does Svietka.\n\nBelieve me, there have been times when I wished I fit the Liberace stereotype, particularly when I get unwanted female attention at Jewish events.  If I ever visit, PLEASE keep your wife from staring at me. Thanks.");
AddReply(363895,"www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/156207","Anon.","Toronto","11/21/08","They should ban it in more places! If they would ban it here (in Toronto) then my family and many of my friends would end up moving to Israel. I think that one of the main obstacles is the fear of learning Hebrew. It\'s not that hard! You just need to get the right resources, and to be in Israel. The 501 Hebrew Verbs dictionary is essential. You can get it on Amazon.");
AddReply(363894,"Re: #11 There is no decisive halachic \"law.\"","Michael","Toronto","11/21/08","Although, Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that the mitzvah of living in the land is an optional positive mitzvah, like tzitzit?. But, don\'t most observant Jews wear tzitzit?\n\nThere are also those that think that living or settling Eretz Yisrael is not a mitzvah, because it is fundamental to the fulfillment of most of the Torah. We currently do not observe Rosh HaShanna, Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot, and Succot in even close to a fashion as was originally intended by the Torah. We also do not observe Shmittah or Yovel. To do all these we need to be in the land. For many of these we also need the Beit HaMikdash, which will come when the land of Israel is filled with knowledgable, observant, Torah-true, Jews with strong connections to Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu (who is responsible for the first two.)\n\n(Rambam excludes a number of mitzvot of the Torah from his enumeration of the 613 mitzvot, because they are either general, far-reaching and/or inclusive of many other things.)");
AddReply(363866,"Who is coming to dinner..????","yvonne","cary","11/21/08","Which one, Tzvi, Mr. Cheney or the Obama family? If someone comes to your home for dinner, you have invited him, and you are in charge of the menu, as well as who is invited. A jew, keeping strictly kosher, can not eat with a non-jew, in or out, often can not even eat with a jew with another cultural background. However, he can eat with a muslim. What are you babbling about, Tzvi?That putting the hand on the thigh is probably a tribal custom. You know, Tzvi, how tribes are, they have all those strange things going on, initiating festivities for young men, and so on. There is nothing holy about sex. Procreation keeps the tribe going, Tzvi. But, dinner, procreation AND  aliyah all in one confused hutspot? Hutspot is a dutch dish of carrots, onions and potatoes cooked with some beef. It appears, Tzvi, that you have a racial beef. The Obamas are pleasant and educated people who do not insult others. Some jews make a living off insulting others. I might divorce the tribe. Yes, and the German Reich was creating the ARIAN race. You are in very bad company.");
AddReply(363862,"Jacobs, N.J. #7 it is NOT wishful thinking but rather activated faith","Liad","Jerusalem","11/21/08","While in the states, I tried to sell my house for many years without success.  As my wife was pregnant (8th month starting the 9th month) I decided to go to Israel.  There was also a hospital strike in Israel at that time.  I gave power of attorney to a friend in the states and packed up and left.  After being in Israel for a few days, I got a phone call from my friend in the states who said that my house was sold.  In fact it was signed over for sale the very day that I was climbing on the plane to go to Israel.\n\nThere are people without faith, without normalcy of any kind in their lives and chose to live by the gun in a foreign country (USA) and chose to live abnormal sexual lives in a country that encourages it (USA), and list goes on.  They should stay away from the Holy Land so as not to pollute it; however, with T’suva and faith in HaShem, HE can turn everything around for the better.  \n\nYour comfort in your business and profession seems to be a reason of so many in this world for not making Aliyah to Israel that they only will make this move to Israel only if their business, professions and lives are threatened.  9/11 was not enough for you, the low economy in the states is not enough for, your new Muslim president is not enough for you and the failed wars that are ongoing with America is not enough for you.  Well, what can I say….let’s hope that you will be able to get out of the USA alive.\n");
AddReply(363829,"didn\'t sk quit this blog?","Yehuda","Kiryat Arba","11/21/08","please take your over-acted, liberache, screaming and whining elsewhere.");
AddReply(363824,"Moses Brown, you are dumb enough to think the same TB needs reposting?","sk","USA","11/20/08","I have already responded to you with the contempt you deserve.  I also pointed out why I do not think you are Jewish.  And, even if you are Halachically Jewish, you seem to identify primarily by your skin color.\n\nI don\'t remember you ever saying anything either interesting or amusing, except in a vulgar \"hood\" sort of way that some others seem to enjoy by way of slumming.  Ha ha.\n\nIncidentally, you might ask some rabbi (if you convert to Judaism) about using a fellow Jew\'s sexual orientation as a basis for treating him like dirt overall, as opposed to objecting to his transgression.  Not that I am even slightly hurt, mind you.  I just point to this as another piece of evidence regarding your failure to understand the religion you pretend is yours.");
AddReply(363778,"#11 - you are mistaken","Yehuda","Kiryat Arba","11/20/08","Abraham was born outside of Israel and Hashem commanded him to come here. Also, in the time of Moshe, all the Jews born in Egypt were liberated in order to come to Israel. Your reasoning is just another feeble excuse for remaining in the galut.");
AddReply(363777,"I enjoy the interaction on this blog","M. Wasserman","Greater Chicago","11/20/08","but I find the talkbacks too personal and offensive - why doesn\'t everyone try to clean up his act?");
AddReply(363771,"This is the actual law","Noah Jewison","Los Angeles","11/20/08","Only Jews born in Israel have to live there. Jews born outside of the land of Israel are not obligated to live there.");
AddReply(363767,"As ever child knows","Harry","KGHills","11/20/08","We don\'t rush home to Israel because we don\'t want to give up the good life in the golus. Why bother to learn a new language, take a big cut in salary, put yourself in a missile zone with suicide bombers, have to serve in the army, get used to a new culture, start all over, leave family behind....????????\nThat\'s why.");
AddReply(363742,"To (almost) everyone","Yitzi","USA","11/20/08","To Mr. Fishman: There are sources linking the fact that Yitzhak could not leave Eretz Yisrael to the Akedah, which made him like an Olah T\'mimah.  So while there is no question that Jews belong in Eretz Yisrael (as for me, familial connections prevent), our parsha cannot be used as a proof of that-even Avraham and Ya\'akov went to Mitzrayim, which Yitzhak was prevented to do.\nTo #1: See Rashi on the relevant pasuk in our parsha (24:2)\nTo #2: I\'m guessing he\'s mainly referring to sh\'ficas zera l\'vatalah, considering that\'s what he focuses on the most (probably because those discussed in Vayikra 18 and 20 aren\'t so common, and neither is the prohibition of k\'deshah)\nTo #5: Depends what you mean.  If you mean \"how can having homosexual urges be a sin\", the answer is that it isn\'t; if you mean how can the act be a sin if some people are born with the urge, then the answer is that people sometimes have involuntary urges for other sins too, part of being human is not giving in to your urges.");
AddReply(363730,"Babies are not born homosexuals","Orthodox Therapist","","11/20/08","A person male have tendencies in that direction, but he or she has free will to choose which path to take.");
AddReply(363728,"wishful thinking","Jacobs","New Jersey","11/20/08","Mr. Fishman - I think you are right in pointed out that Jews should live in Israel.I think most of us realize that. But the reality on the ground isn\'t so simple. You cannot expect people with families and businesses and professions just to sell the house and hop on the plane.For single people, certainly it is easier, and congregations in the diaspora should encourage their young people to come. But for us tired and hard working adults with familes, INN is the next best thing to living there.");
AddReply(363726,"Interesting....!","yvonne","cary","11/20/08","So, we all have to live in Israel. I have no problem with this at all. I will not be coming over, because I am much too old. But I have a few questions for Tzvi, such as, what, exactly are the borders of Israel, where does it begin and end? Can someone in the Israeli government, say Olmert, or even someone in a foreign government, such as Bush and Rice, change those borders? If not, why are you, Tzvi, not vocal on political issues? How are you voting? How have you voted? What political party in Israel would you go with? Then there is another blog today, with extensive ideas for terrorists on how to attack the U.S. Of course, the same ideas might be useful for terrorists  in Israel. Any ideas on that? Tamar Jonah has a blog on scams. Very useful, not only for innocent readers, but also for those who wish to do harm. It is too extensive and full of *instructions*, such as how to set up a kidnap. There are all sorts of reasons why *these jews* do not rush to come home. One of those reasons might be that some jews already there, are very restrictive as to who are jews and who are not jews. Not jews might include jews of paternal jewish descent who have already orthodoxly converted. Other jews might not come because, like me, they are too old, too sick, and not useful. There are numerous jews who will not come because they see who gets elected, time and time again, and how that (does not) work(s), Other jews in the diaspora meet Israelis, working in fast food places, who are disillusioned about Israel. You name it, there is a very, very long list.");
AddReply(363725,"If a baby is born a homosexual how can it be considered a sin?","Joe","North Tel Aviv","11/20/08","");
AddReply(363721,"Give me 1 hour with Obama ","Moses Brown","from Dimona","11/20/08","and he will want to be a Black Hebrew too.\nIf not, you jewboys best git you whites @$$@$ over here fast!");
AddReply(363717,"not so fast, Mr. Fish","Moses Brown","from Dimona","11/20/08","you\'s runnin from one blog to the next that I dont want noone to miss my letter to sk so I\'m sendin it in agin right now -\nsk -- which probably stands for \"sick kid\" -- I didn\'t wanna answer you, not because I\'m not Jewish, but because you\'re a homo, and I don\'t deal with your types! Moses Brown is as Jewish as gefilte fish, bagels and lox, and Sammy Davis Jr. all rolled together! Sk -- don\'t be gettin\' on my case \'cause your boyfriend from Virginia hasn\'t had the nerve to admit that the sheet has been pulled off his face! I\'m livin\' in Dimona and puttin my tuchus on the line for my holy country, so don\'t give none of your garbage!");
AddReply(363714,"What sexual transgressions are you talking about? ","Jack Rabbit","","11/20/08","");
AddReply(363709,"Preposterous","Torah student","","11/20/08","I never heard this business about swearing by the brit. Where do you get this from? You can\'t make things up in Torah. State your source.");

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