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Los Angeles Is for Standing Still, Israel Is for Growing

Growing In Ruchniyus? There’s No Better Place.

Haaretz Hatovah

Real Life Stories and Experiences of Yidden Settling in Eretz Yisroel.

Rabbi Yosef Younger’s story

It was fifteen years ago when I was finishing 4th-year beis medrash. I had spent a wonderful 5 years in Yeshivas Ohr Hameir of Peekskill, and it was time to move on. Most bochurim were going to Eretz Yisroel, and that was my destination as well. The only thing that was out of the ordinary in my situation was that my parents and seven of my younger siblings were planning to move from Los Angeles to Eretz Yisroel at the same time! This was something they had been planning and talking about for a while; most of us did not think it would ever really happen. But as the years passed, and three older siblings were already living in EY, they decided to join them. So instead of leaving everyone behind, which is what happens with most bochurim, I actually joined my family when I came to the Brisker Kollel in Yerushalayim.

Although my year of learning in Eretz Yisroel coincided with my parents Aliyah, I was not planning to stay. I thought I would learn for one year and then go to Lakewood and settle there; that was the normal pattern. The first thing that happened that set me rethinking was the psak I received. We came to Eretz Yisroel after Pesach, and soon it would be Shavuos. I called my Rav with my predictable shaila: Do I keep one day or two? He told me that since my family was in Eretz Yisroel, I should keep one day. I was surprised and explained again that I was most likely heading back to the USA, but he repeated, your family is there, keep one day. It is said that a Talmid Chochom is better than a Navi, he was right. Although I did not think I was going to stay here, I did.

When an excellent shidduch was redt, an American Israeli girl from a wonderful home, although I was interested I had to be honest. I told them I was not committing to staying here at all, if I need to go back to the USA, I will. They accepted this condition, as they already had two sons living there. Being under no pressure, I married and began Israeli Kollel life. I very much appreciated the Torah and kedusha here; B”H, my learning went well, my wife ran a successful Gan program and our family grew. Transportation, shopping and other such minor adjustments didn’t bother me; I found them quite doable, challenging in an entertaining way.

The longer we lived here, the less interest I had in leaving. Certainly, the fact that my parents, in-laws and most of our siblings (I also have 2 in America) were here made it most pleasant and helpful. I also knew that if I moved to the USA, there would be a lot of adjustment for my children, and they were doing well here in school. And most importantly, I was not attracted to the ‘American Dream’.

Overall, I did not have any big adjustments, although even until today I’m not sure how to do homework with my children. Math in Hebrew? I was actually quite good at math, but the Hebrew terms and the system in general, I don’t get.

After learning in Kollel for 13 years, I saw I was among the oldest there – I was outgrowing that environment and wanted to do more. I was very fortunate to get a position as a Shoel Meishiv in Imrei Binah in Har Nof, initially half a day, then after a year a full day. It’s a wonderful place to learn and teach, guiding American bochurim. Recently, as there was a need for greater parnassah, I found my place in writing/translating/transcribing. With a computer – no internet access needed – an American can find such work here, locally and from chutz laaretz. There are many jobs available; of course, the ability to be able to work in English is a big plus.

An interesting conversation I once had on the bus sums up my feelings. I was reviewing the Parsha while traveling, and the fellow sitting near me, without a head covering, asked if I could learn with him. I happily obliged, but soon enough we were shmoozing; really, he wanted to talk. He was quite shocked to hear that I had chosen to move here from Los Angeles. That’s where he and his chevra are dying to go! I easily explained my hashkafa to him – LA is great for pursuing materialism, but for growing in Ruchniyus, there’s no place like Eretz Yisroel!

This article is part of our Haaretz Hatovah series featuring Yidden living in, settling, and building up Eretz Yisroel. For more info please contact info@naavakodesh.org or visit naavakodesh.org/haaretz-hatovah

From Naava Kodesh, here.

דחה אדמון – שיר

חשוף – יעקב שוואקי

מילים: מתוך הפיוט מעוז צור לחנוכה בית אחרון

חשוף זרוע קדשך
וקרב קץ הישועה
נקום נקמת דך עבדיך
מאומה הרשעה

כי ארכה לנו השעה
ואין קץ לימי הרעה
דחה אדמון
בצל צלמון
הקם לנו רועה שבעה

מאתר יוטיוב, כאן.

Dear Modern Orthodox Parents: Time to Reevaluate Your Commitment to College

How Today’s American College Experience Imperils All Efforts Invested by Modern Orthodox Parents

BY  · PUBLISHED  · UPDATED 

or: Today’s Colleges Are Not What They Were When We Parents Attended, and We Need to Know That

Shmuel Sackett: Aliyah Is Now Easier Than Ever!

The One Lost Tribe: By Shmuel Sackett

As I read these Torah portions, I cannot help but think about the 12 Tribes. We have read about their birth and many of the challenges they faced. They confronted Esav, battled with Shechem and now they are in the midst of the major story with Yosef; his dreams, their response and ultimately their encounter with him in Egypt.

The tale of these 12 men are not just some bedtime story… they are the foundation of Am Yisrael! Yet, as tragic as it sounds, as the pages of Jewish history were being written, 10 of these 12 tribes disappeared into thin air. They were exiled from Israel (about 2,600 years ago) and never seen or heard from again. Yes, there are Rabbis and historians today who make various claims about certain people around the world – and these must be verified – but, by and large, the 10 tribes are gone.

I recently attended a shiur about the missing tribes and what might have happened to them, but during the entire presentation, I kept thinking about one thing; What’s with the missing tribe of today? With all the pain about losing 10 of our 12 brothers, let’s be honest… there’s not much we can do about. This event happened 2,600 years ago – during the reign of King Hoshea ben Ela – when they were driven from the land. It’s sad and it’s tragic but it was a very long time ago and is completely out of our control. There is, however, one thing that is in our control – the one missing tribe of today. The Jewish tribe of here and now that is simply missing from the greatest stage world history has given the Jewish nation. I am referring to the Jewish tribe of American Jewry.

(Note: In reality, the tribes of British, French, Canadian, South African and Australian Jewry are also missing but I will limit this article to American Jewry, since that is what I am familiar with. Most of what I will be writing below applies to these Jews as well.)

Dearest American Jews; I will be direct in my words and not politically correct. What are you still doing there? Years ago, when the modern State of Israel was declared, life was indeed very difficult. For several decades, most people lived in cramped apartments, didn’t have a telephone, car, television or even an air conditioner. Very few people spoke English, medical care was not what someone from America was used to and milk came in weird bags. The economy was a mess, inflation was out of control and the Lira changed to the Shekel and then the Shekel changed to the New Shekel!

However, for the last 30 years, Israel has become the most modern country imaginable. Street parking is via an app on a smart-phone, shopping malls are everywhere, medical centers are in every city and most Israeli’s have large plasma tv’s in every room! Today, you can speak English anywhere you go, take the light rail all over Jerusalem, eat in the fanciest restaurants on the planet, swim in the cleanest beaches and enjoy free Wi-fi in most cities. Our milk is now in boxes, our economy is in better shape than the USA and most people who made Aliyah live in nicer and newer homes than what they had in America!

All of the above is on the physical and material side of things but there’s much more than that. Today’s Israel is heading in the direction of becoming the proud Jewish state we all dream about. Although you won’t read about this in the “fake news”, let me tell you what’s really happening. The shuls on Friday night – across Israel – are packed! Many people, wearing jeans and t-shirts, come to shul to welcome the Shabbat Queen and they sing “Kabbalat Shabbat” next to Jews wearing white shirts. It’s a display of Jewish unity that is growing more unbelievable every week. In addition to that, there are more Yeshivas today in Israel than ever before in Jewish history! But wait… there’s also more Ba’alei Teshuva today in Israel than ever before as well! People across the country are coming closer to Torah and Mitzvot by the thousands.

Do you remember visiting Israel in the 70’s and 80’s? Outside of Jerusalem, you could barely find a kosher place to eat. Today, most of the restaurants in Tel Aviv, Herziliya, Ashkelon and Netanya are kosher while most of the restaurants in Eilat are Mehadrin!! (I’m not joking – I was there 3 weeks ago and couldn’t believe my eyes!!) Do you know why there are so many kosher places to eat? Very simple… because millions of Israelis want kosher food! In addition to that, there are shuls in every major shopping mall, in every Ikea and 9 shuls – yes, 9 – in Ben Gurion airport!

I know what you are going to say; what about the gay parade in Tel Aviv and even Jerusalem? And how about the movement to begin public transportation on Shabbat? Believe me, I know about all those things and yes, they are true, but that is exactly what happens in the days before Moshiach! On one hand, people come closer to Hashem and strive to be better and stronger in their devotion to our King. Yet, on the other hand, during these exact days, the forces of evil are strengthened, and they work overtime to spread hate, dissension and anti-Torah values.

This is why I can’t understand why Jews in America – and the other countries listed above – stay away at this time. Jewish history is being written every hour in Jerusalem. How can you still live in New York and Chicago? After 2,000 years of exile, Hashem returned us to our land. We have an army – Baruch Hashem! – a government (well, not really… but you know what I mean…) and we are building the land. We are farming, building houses and establishing communities. We are starting businesses that compete on an international level and we are world leaders in medicine and technology. How can you stay away during these times?

I promise you – yes, I believe this to the bottom of my soul – that in 100 years, nobody will be able to explain how Jews stayed in Miami and Baltimore during these days. Our national dream is being fulfilled… our prayers are being answered… what more will it take??? (Note: For those who still need a push, I am happy to inform you that Amazon now ships to Israel so there’s really no excuse!!)

Dearest friends; please don’t make Aliyah because of a shooting in Jersey City or a vandalized shul in Beverly Hills. Come here for the positive reasons, not the negative ones. Move to Israel simply because you are Jewish and your neshama can’t live outside the land. This is your home, your nation and your destiny! Help us build this country, fight the forces of evil and make Israel the strong and proud Jewish State it was destined to be. We are so close, but we need your help to finish the job. Don’t be another Jewish tribe that disappears… come home now. We’re waiting for you.

Am Yisrael Chai!

From Queens Jewish Link, here.

Ron Paul: The ‘Afghanistan Papers’ Won’t Bring Justice, Either!

Afghanistan War – The Crime of the Century

By 

Ron Paul Institute

December 17, 2019

“We were devoid of a fundamental understanding of Afghanistan. We didn’t know what we were doing.” So said Gen. Douglas Lute, who oversaw the US war on Afghanistan under Presidents Bush and Obama. Eighteen years into the longest war in US history, we are finally finding out, thanks to thousands of pages of classified interviews on the war published by the Washington Post last week, that General Lute’s cluelessness was shared by virtually everyone involved in the war.

What we learned in what is rightly being called the “Pentagon Papers” of our time, is that hundreds of US Administration officials – including three US Presidents – knowingly lied to the American people about the Afghanistan war for years. This wasn’t just a matter of omitting some unflattering facts. This was about bald-faced lying about a war they knew was a disaster from almost day one.

Remember President Bush’s Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld? Remember how supremely confident he was at those press conferences, acting like the master of the universe? Here’s what he told the Pentagon’s special inspector general who compiled these thousands of interviews on Afghanistan: “I have no visibility into who the bad guys are.”

It is not only members of the Bush, Obama, and Trump Administrations who are guilty of this massive fraud. Falsely selling the Afghanistan war as a great success was a bipartisan activity on Capitol Hill. In the dozens of hearings I attended in the House International Relations Committee, I do not recall a single “expert” witness called who told us the truth. Instead, both Republican and Democrat-controlled Congresses called a steady stream of neocon war cheerleaders to lie to us about how wonderfully the war was going. Victory was just around the corner, they all promised. Just a few more massive appropriations and we’d be celebrating the end of the war.

Congress and especially Congressional leadership of both parties are all as guilty as the three lying Administrations. They were part of the big lie, falsely presenting to the American people as “expert” witnesses only those bought-and-paid-for Beltway neocon think tankers.

What is even more shocking than the release of this “smoking gun” evidence that the US government wasted two trillion dollars and killed more than three thousand Americans and more than 150,000 Afghans while lying through its teeth about the war is that you could hear a pin drop in the mainstream media about it. Aside from the initial publication in the Washington Post, which has itself been a major cheerleader for the war in Afghanistan, the mainstream media has shown literally no interest in what should be the story of the century.

We’ve wasted at least half a year on the Donald Trump impeachment charade – a conviction desperately in search of a crime. Meanwhile one of the greatest crimes in US history will go unpunished. Not one of the liars in the “Afghanistan Papers” will ever be brought to justice for their crimes. None of the three presidents involved will be brought to trial for these actual high crimes. Rumsfeld and Lute and the others will never have to fear justice. Because both parties are in on it. There is no justice.

Just days after the “Afghanistan Papers” were published, only 48 Members of Congress voted against the massive military spending of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. They continue as if nothing happened. They will continue lying to us and ripping us off if we let them.

From LRC, here.