Over 50 families and many visitors spent the Sabbath in the encampment, braving the cold and difficult conditions to make the statement that the planned expulsion/withdrawal will face tremendous grassroots opposition.
Hundreds of visitors – religious-Zionist, traditional, Belzer and other Hassidim, secular, hareidi yeshiva students – took part in various aspects of the Sabbath, whether it be meals, lectures, prayer services, or merely coming to chat and show support with the residents of Gush Katif and northern Shomron. One man, a pastor from Oklahoma, made a special trip to Israel for two weeks exclusively to take part in this demonstration and show his support.
Tomorrow (Monday), a family from Beit El will hold the brit milah (ritual circumcision) of their second-born son at the sit-in. The happy parents are a living symbol of the ongoing Ingathering of the Exiles, as they or their parents made Aliyah from India, Chile and the United States, respectively.
Following the joyous ceremony, a giant prayer ceremony will be held at the sit-in, led by former Chief Rabbis Avraham Shapira and Mordechai Eliyahu. The prayers will coincide with the day before Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new Hebrew month, which is traditionally accepted as a day for such events. Posters declaring the event quote the ultimate Jewish Code of Law, the Shulhan Arukh, as stating, "Fasting is done for other tribulations such as non-Jews who come to make war on Israel or to... take land from them; for these, we [fast and pray and blow shofar] until we are shown mercy [by G-d]." The prayers will begin at 3:30 pm. Transportation will be provided from Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Bat Yam, Haifa, Kfar Saba, Netanya, Petach Tikvah, Kiryat Malachi, Rehovot, Ramat Gan, Raanana, Tel Aviv and Yesha communities.
Two other large gatherings are planned for Monday evening. A rally will be held at Yad Eliyahu Stadium in Tel Aviv at 6 pm to protest the deteriorating state of public Sabbath observance in Israel. At issue specifically is the proliferation of commercial activity in malls, shopping centers and the like. The event will be overseen by Rabbi Rafael Halperin's Sabbath Task Force.
In addition, the monthly Walk Around the Temple Mount Gates will be held Monday evening, beginning at the end of the Damascus Gate entrance to the Western Wall.
Hundreds of visitors – religious-Zionist, traditional, Belzer and other Hassidim, secular, hareidi yeshiva students – took part in various aspects of the Sabbath, whether it be meals, lectures, prayer services, or merely coming to chat and show support with the residents of Gush Katif and northern Shomron. One man, a pastor from Oklahoma, made a special trip to Israel for two weeks exclusively to take part in this demonstration and show his support.
Tomorrow (Monday), a family from Beit El will hold the brit milah (ritual circumcision) of their second-born son at the sit-in. The happy parents are a living symbol of the ongoing Ingathering of the Exiles, as they or their parents made Aliyah from India, Chile and the United States, respectively.
Following the joyous ceremony, a giant prayer ceremony will be held at the sit-in, led by former Chief Rabbis Avraham Shapira and Mordechai Eliyahu. The prayers will coincide with the day before Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the new Hebrew month, which is traditionally accepted as a day for such events. Posters declaring the event quote the ultimate Jewish Code of Law, the Shulhan Arukh, as stating, "Fasting is done for other tribulations such as non-Jews who come to make war on Israel or to... take land from them; for these, we [fast and pray and blow shofar] until we are shown mercy [by G-d]." The prayers will begin at 3:30 pm. Transportation will be provided from Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Bat Yam, Haifa, Kfar Saba, Netanya, Petach Tikvah, Kiryat Malachi, Rehovot, Ramat Gan, Raanana, Tel Aviv and Yesha communities.
Two other large gatherings are planned for Monday evening. A rally will be held at Yad Eliyahu Stadium in Tel Aviv at 6 pm to protest the deteriorating state of public Sabbath observance in Israel. At issue specifically is the proliferation of commercial activity in malls, shopping centers and the like. The event will be overseen by Rabbi Rafael Halperin's Sabbath Task Force.
In addition, the monthly Walk Around the Temple Mount Gates will be held Monday evening, beginning at the end of the Damascus Gate entrance to the Western Wall.