One More Problem with Government Currency

Ynet (via Esser Agaroth):

Two new shekel bills in the Bank of Israel’s poets’ series will be entering circulation in the coming weeks, depicting poetesses Rachel (Bluwstein) and Leah Goldberg… joining the two bills from the series already on the market: a NIS 50 bill featuring Shaul Tchernichovsky and an NIS 200 bill featuring Nathan Alterman.

Economic officials have estimated this would be the last series of paper bills issued in Israel, as paper money is only changed once every few decades, as has been the case in this instance, and in 10-20 years payments are more likely to be made using smart phones, computers and credit cards, all but nullifying the need for cash.

I just hope they are moderately modest. And since these are unlikely to be the last bills, government wishes to the contrary, I can only foresee this issue getting worse worldwide. In the name of “Art”, there is no limit on what we will yet be exposed to. What did we do about the Golda Meir Lira? Nothing. But she was modest, and there were no Charedi strictures against images of modest women yet.

Are the Charedim in Knesset or zealots even looking into this?

Wait. In the time of Chazal, too, they had lewd statues in bathhouses, as in the Mishna of Rabban Gamliel, Roman statues of a בעל גבר (the filter’s blocking my research), and so on. And the coin images weren’t Mishnas Chassidim.

Ever hear of Chanukah?

The Zohar’s Guide for Pranksters

Bamidbar 13:26 – 29:

וילכו ויבאו אל משה ואל אהרן ואל כל עדת בני ישראל אל מדבר פארן קדשה וישיבו אתם דבר ואת כל העדה ויראום את פרי הארץ.
ויספרו לו ויאמרו באנו אל הארץ אשר שלחתנו וגם זבת חלב ודבש הוא וזה פריה.
אפס כי עז העם הישב בארץ והערים בצרות גדלת מאד וגם ילדי הענק ראינו שם.
עמלק יושב בארץ הנגב והחתי והיבוסי והאמרי יושב בהר והכנעני יושב על הים ועל יד הירדן.

Zohar part three 161a:

אמר רבי יוסי, כל מה דאמרי, בלישנא בישא אמרו, וקשיא מכלהו דכתיב, עמלק יושב בארץ הנגב, לבר נש דנשכיה חויה, כד בעאן לאגזמא ליה, אמרי הא חויא הכא.

Said Rabbi Yosei, everything they said was said with an evil tongue (Lashon Hara). Worst of it all is what is written: “Amalek sits in the south”. This may be compared to a man who was bitten by a snake. When they want to prank him, they say: Behold, here’s a snake!”