Monday, October 10, 2005

LESSONS IN TANYA: Tuesday, October 11, 2005

B"H

Tishrei 8, 5766 * October 11, 2005

===============================
L E S S O N S I N T A N Y A
===============================

Today's Lesson:

Iggeret HaKodesh
(Middle of Epistle Twenty)
-------------------------

The Alter Rebbe now goes on to say that when the radiation descends in the third manner, it is manifest only in creatures of the lowest order, those deriving from the Element of Earth, this Element being lower than the other Elements of Fire, Air and Water. And it is mainly within the physical earth that the Divine power of creating yesh from ayin is revealed. This power derives from the essence of the Ein Sof- light; it is primarily found in the encompassing light, and is revealed through the Kav, the inner light.

This becomes apparent in the ability of the earth to make things grow: the physical growth of vegetative matter from the spiritual power of growth found in the earth is a clear demonstration of yesh resulting from ayin. Furthermore, the earth reveals this power constantly: it constantly produces vegetation as yesh from ayin. In this it differs from all living things that were created during the Six Days of Creation. Unlike all living things which, once created, simply reproduce, the earth consistently continues to reveal its creative power of yesh from ayin.

Thus, though the radiation within the earth is merely a "radiation of a radiation of a radiation," it nevertheless demonstrates G-d's creative power - because it comprises both the encompassing light, and the light of the Kav which activates the power of the encompassing light to create and animate created beings.

The Alter Rebbe also explains that the distinctive power described above was revealed specifically within the earth, because Earth is the lowest Element of all. For, as explained above, it is specifically at the lowliest level of creation that the "rebounding light" manifests the essence of the original illumination with superior intensity.

Furthermore, in addition to all that was mentioned above, (49) the radiation of the radiation of the radiation, [which descends into a created being utterly concealed, being then neither the mahut nor the metziut of Divinity, and nevertheless containing both the inner illumination of the Kav and the encompassing light,] and all the above, [i.e., the manner in which both these levels of illumination ultimately radiate within created beings], demonstrates its power and ability, [inasmuch as it is a G-dly radiation descending from Malchut of Atzilut], in the Element of the physical Earth in an immense manifestation surpassing [that of] the elements [viz., Fire, Air and Water] that transcend it, and even the heavenly hosts.

For they do not have it in their power and ability to constantly bring forth something from nothing (yesh me-ayin), like the Element of Earth that constantly makes something (yesh) sprout from nothing (ayin), namely the herbs and trees [that constantly grow from the earth's vegetative power. Even those plants that result from sowing and planting are produced in a manner that resembles yesh me-ayin, for the seed or seedling disintegrates, and serves merely to arouse the vegetative power.]

(50) (As for the mazal, the individual angel of destiny, "that strikes [each herb] and says, `Grow!'" - [Our Sages teach that (51) "There is no blade of grass below that does not have a mazal above that strikes it and says to it, `Grow!'" Would it not seem, then, that in addition to the earth's vegetative power there is another factor in growth?]

This takes place [only] after the plant has already sprouted. [Once the plant exists as a created entity, it merely has to grow taller, the tree has to produce fruit with a certain taste, and so on - and these stages relate to the mazal.]

The mazal does not tell it to sprout ex-nihilo into substantiality, but only to grow from being small to being large, or to bear fruit of its own particular species.

[In Or HaTorah, (52) the Tzemach Tzedek explains that the mazal sends forth an arousal to the power of growth that is found within the grass or tree, causing it to grow. The basic cause of growth, however, lies in the above-mentioned vegetative power. Elsewhere, (53) the Tzemach Tzedek explains that the above-quoted "smiting" means that the mazal illumines the particular tree or grass with which it is connected, causing it to be drawn to its source and hence to grow ever larger.] For before it sprouts, to whom would the individual mazal of each particular herb ordain all its details?)

[The above-mentioned plants of the earth grow, then,] from the vegetative property within it, which is insubstantial and spiritual, while they are physical. [What we have here, then, is yesh from ayin, which, as explained above, derives from the essence of the Ein Sof and finds expression in the Element of Earth. Why specifically there?]

This is so only because the "feet" of Adam Kadmon culminate at the lowest level of Asiyah; [The "feet" i.e., the last and lowliest levels of Adam Kadmon, the Primordial Thought that encompasses all the levels of creation, concludes in the lowest degrees of the nethermost world, the World of Asiyah, and specifically, in the lowly Element of Earth within it.]

And "below His feet," [i.e., below the lowest levels of Adam Kadmon,] radiates the [infinite] Ein Sof-light which encircles [i.e., transcends] all worlds; [At the very "place" at which there ceases the indwelling Divine illumination that permeates all the worlds, there begins the "encompassing" degree of Divine light that transcends all the worlds.] without any great interruption between them, except for the Iggulim of Adam Kadmon alone.

[The Primordial Thought of Adam Kadmon consists of two modes of illumination - Yosher (lit., "straightness", i.e., a permeating mode) and Iggulim (lit., "circles", i.e., a transcendent mode). Where the former mode ceases and there remains only the latter (which is not absolute infinity like the Ein-Sof light that transcends all worlds), there is found the absolutely infinite illumination of the Ein-Sof light that transcends all worlds equally.]

Also, the Kav of the Ein Sof-light, culminating at the end of the "feet" of Adam Kadmon, radiates from below upwards, in a mode of Or Chozer, a reflected light.

[As mentioned above, this is a light that rebounds upward with increased intensity from a surface which blocks its further downward progress. Hence, for example, the atmosphere closest to the earth's surface is warmer than the atmosphere in altitudes which are nearer to the sun. In the same way, when the beam of the Kav, whose function is to infuse the inner reaches of all created beings with Divine light, reaches the furthest stages of the Divine thought that encompasses all worlds and created beings, it bounces back with sharper impetus: it is now an Or Chozer.]

This is like the investment [of the Kav] in Arich Anpin, Abba and Imma, and Za and Nukva of Atzilut, which radiates as an Or Chozer from Malchut of Atzilut, and Malchut of Atzilut, [if the Sefirot are considered] from below upwards, is [thus] a category of Keter, [as mentioned earlier in this Epistle], and "their beginning is wedged in their end."

With regard to Malchut this means that the "beginning" of Keter which is loftier than Chochmah is to be found within Malchut. With regard to the Kav it means that the "beginning" of the Kav is wedged in the culmination of the "feet of Adam Kadmon" which ends in the nethermost levels of the World of Asiyah, in the Element of Earth.

Since the purpose of the Kav is to reveal Divinity, the Element of Earth best reveals that aspect of G-d's infinity which expresses itself in creating yesh from ayin, as the Alter Rebbe now concludes.]

It is likewise at the culmination of the Kav of the Ein Sof-light, culminating at the ending of the Yosher of the "feet" of Adam Kadmon: [I.e., when the "feet" of the lowest levels of Adam Kadmon descend into the interior of the various levels all the way down to the very lowest level, the Element of Earth at the lowest level of Asiyah,] - it [i.e., the Kav, then] radiates from below upwards, [from the glimmer of a glimmer of a glimmer that is found within the physical earth], to the category of the light of the Neshamah of the Malchut of the Malchut of Asiyah, which is actual Divinity;

[This light, the Or HaNeshamah, is in fact the lowest level of spirituality within Asiyah. For Asiyah is the lowest of the worlds; Malchut is the final Sefirah within Asiyah; and of the ten component Sefirot that comprise Malchut, "Malchut of Malchut" is the lowest. Nevertheless, since it is, after all, the "light of the Neshamah," it is actual Divinity, as the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say.]

[Which is actual Divinity], originating in the chitzoniyut [the exterior aspect] of the kelim of Malchut of Atzilut, [which, as said above, becomes the "light of the Neshamah of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah." In this lowest level of "light of the Neshamah," that which is in Asiyah, there is found the illumination of the final degrees of Asiyah (i.e., that which in created beings is the final level), and this "enables" the Ein Sof to reveal its capacity for creating yesh from ayin as demonstrated in the above-described constant power of growth.]

Footnotes:

49. Note of the Rebbe in his Glosses and Emendations: Both
the language and the intent [of the seemingly repetitious Hebrew
introductory phrases] invite attention.
50. Parentheses are in the original text.
51. Bereishit Rabbah 10:6.
52. On Bamidbar, p. 196.
53. Op. cit., p. 786.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you prepared for Yom Kippur?

Our extensive Jewish New Year website has how-to’s, stories, lessons and much more! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful! All this at:

http://www.chabad.org/highholidays

PLUS:

Find-a-service:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/calendar_events.asp

Send an E-Shanah Tovah Greeting Card:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/greetingcards

Wishing you and your family a happy, sweet new year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

© Copyright
Kehot Publication Society
770 Eastern Parkway / Brooklyn, New York 11213
(718) 774-4000 / FAX (718) 774-2718
http://www.kehotonline.com

Brought to you by Chabad.org

To listen to an audio version of today's lesson, please click one of the following links:

MP3: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=10/11/2005&format=m3u
Real: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=10/11/2005&format=rm

To view this lesson online with Hebrew text and formatting plus many features, please visit: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp

For more daily Torah study, please visit: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

** Enjoyed this email? Please help us continue sharing the
study of Torah and Jewish traditions:

Dedicate or sponsor an email to mark your special occasion!
Please click here: http://www.chabad.org/dedications

Please click here to make a donation to Chabad.org:
http://www.chabad.org/donate

** To subscribe to more Chabad.org email lists please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/subscribe

** To be removed from this email list please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/unsub.asp?UserID=268334,13,261645,0,217
If you would just like your email suspended and resumed at a later
date, please let us know here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=vacation_request&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

** You are subscribed as: moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com. If your e-mail address is changing
please send us your new email address here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=address_change&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chabad.org
Part of the Chabad Online Network

A division of Chabad Lubavitch Media Center
770 Eastern Parkway * Brooklyn, NY * 11213
Web: http://www.chabad.org
Feedback: http://www.chabad.org/tools/feedback.asp

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

DAILY MITZVAH (Maimonides): Tuesday, October 11, 2005

B"H

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dedicated in loving memory of Avraham ben Yaacov - Alfred Allen Schaffer of blessed memory.
(Dedicate an email: http://www.chabad.org/161795)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tishrei 8, 5766 * October 11, 2005

==================================================
D A I L Y M I T Z V A H (M A I M O N I D E S )
==================================================

Today's Mitzvah (Day 39 of 339):

Negative Mitzvah 320
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Negative Mitzvah 320: It is forbidden to work on Shabbat

-Exodus 20:10 "You shall not do any manner of work"

Before the first Shabbat of the world, HaShem completed His work
of creation.

Everything had been created during the first six days and He
declared Shabbat a holy day of rest.

HaShem wants us to rest from our weekday work, too.

He commanded us to keep the Shabbat holy and not do any work.

What work is forbidden?

What one person may find a fun hobby, another may view as a
tedious job.

What does HaShem define as work?

The Torah defines thirty-nine forbidden activities which are
called "Melachah" - work - and which may not done on the Shabbat.

Using those rules as a base, our Rabbis have taught us a code
of laws instructing us how to keep Shabbat.

We are not allowed to do any of those activities which the
Torah considers to be Melachah on Shabbat.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you prepared for Yom Kippur?

Our extensive Jewish New Year website has how-to’s, stories, lessons and much more! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful! All this at:

http://www.chabad.org/highholidays

PLUS:

Find-a-service:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/calendar_events.asp

Send an E-Shanah Tovah Greeting Card:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/greetingcards

Wishing you and your family a happy, sweet new year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Brought to you by Chabad.org

To listen to an audio version of today's lesson, please click one of the following links:

MP3: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=seferhamitzvot&tDate=10/11/2005&format=m3u
Real: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=seferhamitzvot&tDate=10/11/2005&format=rm

To view this lesson online with its many features please visit: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/seferHamitzvos.asp

For more daily Torah study, please visit: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

** Enjoyed this email? Please help us continue sharing the
study of Torah and Jewish traditions:

Dedicate or sponsor an email to mark your special occasion!
Please click here: http://www.chabad.org/dedications

Please click here to make a donation to Chabad.org:
http://www.chabad.org/donate

** To subscribe to more Chabad.org email lists please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/subscribe

** To be removed from this email list please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/unsub.asp?UserID=268334,15,261645,0,217
If you would just like your email suspended and resumed at a later
date, please let us know here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=vacation_request&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

** You are subscribed as: moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com. If your e-mail address is changing
please send us your new email address here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=address_change&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chabad.org
Part of the Chabad Online Network

A division of Chabad Lubavitch Media Center
770 Eastern Parkway * Brooklyn, NY * 11213
Web: http://www.chabad.org
Feedback: http://www.chabad.org/tools/feedback.asp

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"TODAY'S DAY": Tuesday, October 11, 2005

B"H

Tishrei 8, 5766 * October 11, 2005

=======================
"T O D A Y ' S D A Y"
=======================

Thursday, Tishrei 8 5704

Torah lessons: Chumash: B'racha, Chamishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 44-48. Also 109-111.
Tanya: Furthermore, (in addition (p.507)..malchut of
Atzilut) (p509).

A resume of the fifth method:

H - Hatznei'a..., "Walk discreetly with your G-d," (1).

One must take care not to be conspicuous or ostentatious in
the slightest.

It is said "Man should always be artful in piety." (2)

The artfulness lies in seeing that his piety not be noticed at all.

We know that a number of the early Chassidim concealed their true selves, and when discovered were sincerely distressed.

This is the Avoda of Teshuva that comes from Hatznei'a Lechet, being discreet.

Footnotes: 1. Micha 6:8.
2. Brachot 17a.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you prepared for Yom Kippur?

Our extensive Jewish New Year website has how-to’s, stories, lessons and much more! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful! All this at:

http://www.chabad.org/highholidays

PLUS:

Find-a-service:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/calendar_events.asp

Send an E-Shanah Tovah Greeting Card:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/greetingcards

Wishing you and your family a happy, sweet new year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe. Note: day of week and Torah lessons indicated are from 5703 (1943).

For a glossary of terms used in "Today's Day" please click here:
http://chabad.org/article.asp?AID=95867

© Copyright
Kehot Publication Society
770 Eastern Parkway / Brooklyn, New York 11213
(718) 774-4000 / FAX (718) 774-2718
http://www.kehotonline.com

Brought to you by Chabad.org

To view this lesson online with its many features please visit: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/hayomyom.asp

For more daily Torah study, please visit: http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

** Enjoyed this email? Please help us continue sharing the
study of Torah and Jewish traditions:

Dedicate or sponsor an email to mark your special occasion!
Please click here: http://www.chabad.org/dedications

Please click here to make a donation to Chabad.org:
http://www.chabad.org/donate

** To subscribe to more Chabad.org email lists please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/subscribe

** To be removed from this email list please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/unsub.asp?UserID=268334,21,261645,0,217
If you would just like your email suspended and resumed at a later
date, please let us know here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=vacation_request&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

** You are subscribed as: moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com. If your e-mail address is changing
please send us your new email address here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=address_change&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chabad.org
Part of the Chabad Online Network

A division of Chabad Lubavitch Media Center
770 Eastern Parkway * Brooklyn, NY * 11213
Web: http://www.chabad.org
Feedback: http://www.chabad.org/tools/feedback.asp

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

TODAY IN JUDAISM: Tuesday, October 11, 2005

B"H

Tishrei 8, 5766 * October 11, 2005

=================================
T O D A Y I N J U D A I S M
=================================

* Laws * Customs * Jewish History * Daily Quote * Daily Study *

Today is: Tuesday, Tishrei 8, 5766

=======================
Today in Jewish History
=======================

• Temple Dedicated (826 BCE)

The 14-day dedication festivities, celebrating the completion of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon, commenced on the 8th of Tishrei of the year 2935 from creation (826 BCE). The First Temple served as the epicenter of Jewish national and spiritual life for 410 year, until its destruction by the Babylonians in 423 BCE.

Links: The Holy Temple: an Anthology [http://www.chabad.org/52754]

• Passing of R. Baruch (1791)

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Baruch, father of the founder of Chabad, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi [http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=100].

===========
Daily Quote
===========

And the shipmaster approached [Jonah] and said to him: "Why do you sleep? Arise, and call upon your G-d!"

- Jonah 1:6

===========
Daily Study
===========

Chitas and Rambam for today:

Chumash: Ha'Azinu, 3rd Portion Devarim 32:13-32:18 with Rashi
• English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/rashi/default.asp?tDate=10/11/2005&src=ds

Tehillim: Chapters 44 - 48
• Hebrew text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tehillim.asp?tDate=10/11/2005&Lang=HEB
• English text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tehillim.asp?tDate=10/11/2005

Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 20
• Lesson in Tanya:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tDate=10/11/2005
• RealAudio:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=10/11/2005&format=rm
• Windows Media:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/audio.asp?what=tanya&tDate=10/11/2005&format=m3u

Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/seferHamitzvos.asp?tDate=10/11/2005
• 1 Chapter: Mikvot Chap. 4
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/rambam.asp?tDate=10/11/2005&rambamChapters=1
• 3 Chapters: Shabbat Chap. 6, 7, 8
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/rambam.asp?tDate=10/11/2005&rambamChapters=3

Hayom Yom:
• English Text:
http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/hayomyom.asp?tDate=10/11/2005

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you prepared for Yom Kippur?

Our extensive Jewish New Year website has how-to’s, stories, lessons and much more! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful! All this at:

http://www.chabad.org/highholidays

PLUS:

Find-a-service:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/calendar_events.asp

Send an E-Shanah Tovah Greeting Card:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/greetingcards

Wishing you and your family a happy, sweet new year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Check out our other Calendar Tools:

Candle Lighting anywhere: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6226
Zmanim - Halachic Times: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=143790
Jewish/Civil Date Converter: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6225
Jewish Birthday Calculator: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6228
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Calculator: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6227
Yahrtzeit Calculator: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6229

Copyright © Chabad.org, 2005

For more Torah study and inspiring articles, please visit:
http://www.chabad.org/magazine

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

** Enjoyed this email? Please help us continue sharing the
study of Torah and Jewish traditions:

Dedicate or sponsor an email to mark your special occasion!
Please click here: http://www.chabad.org/dedications

Please click here to make a donation to Chabad.org:
http://www.chabad.org/donate

** To subscribe to more Chabad.org email lists please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/subscribe

** To be removed from this email list please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/unsub.asp?UserID=268334,52,261645,0,217
If you would just like your email suspended and resumed at a later
date, please let us know here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=vacation_request&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

** You are subscribed as: moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com. If your e-mail address is changing
please send us your new email address here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=address_change&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chabad.org
Part of the Chabad Online Network

A division of Chabad Lubavitch Media Center
770 Eastern Parkway * Brooklyn, NY * 11213
Web: http://www.chabad.org
Feedback: http://www.chabad.org/tools/feedback.asp

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

CHASSIDIC STORY: Holy Day

B"H

Tishrei 7, 5766 * October 10, 2005

=============================
C H A S S I D I C S T O R Y
=============================

Holy Day
By: Chana Heilbrun
------------------

It began like any one of the indistinguishable, mechanical days which had followed one another in monotonous succession. By now time--hours, days, weeks--had lost their individual marks; the calendar with its neat little boxes of dates and holidays seemed like some foreign relic of another age. Even Shabbat had merged, unnoted, unsanctified, into the large mass of minutes pushed behind: that many minutes lived, that many minutes yet free. In our windowless subterranean shelter there was no hint of the chang­ing light outside, and day and night became mere formalities which we ad­hered to by the clock. The unshaded electric bulbs hanging from the low, sloping ceiling were the only sun we had seen in weeks, months--no one remembered just how long.

We, that is my mother, my two sisters and I, lived as Christians--Catholics--like the scores of families which surrounded us on all sides: we shared the pavement floor of their bomb shelter, we ate their food, we shared their trembling at the ceaseless roar and crash of Budapest above us; we shared their prayers and knelt side by side with them. Our society of maybe a hundred women, children and disabled men--the others were out fighting--became the whole world for us; only very rarely did anyone venture out into the death-infested streets to bring us news of the war-crazed world outside, and then, most of our people did not care to hear it. Thus day followed day till we had lost the will to count them.

Yet, as soon as I woke up, I knew that there was something different about this day; I opened my eyes, looked around, and felt that empty place inside which reminded me that something very familiar, something very important was missing. Turning on my straw mattress I surveyed the floor around me: there lay the sleeping forms of my mother and sisters breathing heavily under their thin blankets. They were all here. My father was "outside" somewhere, working for the underground escape system and my brother was in hiding somewhere else: he looked too Jewish to risk being with us. But they hadn't been with us for months--it wasn't either of them. Suddenly I remembered: it was Max--Max had not come back since the day before yesterday, and no one knew where he was, or, at least that's what they told me. He was much older than I--Max--perhaps even as old as my father, but he was my only friend in this place full of strange faces and fear. Where could he be? And he, who always kept his word, why didn't he keep his promise to me?

Quietly, so as not to rouse the others, I crept to the edge of the curtain that my mother had hung up to give us a little corner of privacy, and tiptoed outside. Most of the people in the shelter were still asleep and the lights, except for the center one which burned through the night, were not yet lit. The place was dark and full of shadows and the thick air was very hard to breathe. But Max was not puttering around, up before everyone else the way he always used to be. I waited and waited but still he did not come.

My mother hated Max--she told me time and again not to go with him on our "promenades" around the shelter, but she never said it in front of him and I went anyway. Max was wonderful. He'd come at any odd time of day with his big laugh, grab me, hoist me in the air unto his shoulders and say, with his big laugh:

"Well, my queen, where shall we promenade today? In the forest primeval? By the babbling brook? Or shall we just roam through the fields of laughing daisies?" I'd hang unto the dusty, blue beret which he wore for all our excursions as we climbed into our coach-of-eight or stepped into an idly gliding gondola. Then each broken chair and bed and old box in the dingy cellar turned into trees and rocks and flowers; the sun shone or there were sudden violent storms, according to his mood; there were animals and people to watch; and then there were stories, countless stories to tell. Somewhere in the "fields" we would find a spot for our picnic and through some magic power which I have never figured out to this day, Max would produce, from deep down in his cavernous pockets, a much coveted candy for dessert.

When Max was around the days passed like minutes; people watched us and laughed and sometimes forgot that they no longer cared.

But there was another side to Max, too: on some days a dark and gloomy look used to come on his face. In the middle of a promenade he dropped me, suddenly, as if I were no longer there. He would begin to mutter to himself and pace the shelter, his head thrust before him and his hands behind his back, fiercely, like a caged animal. After a while he'd get so worked up that he talked louder and louder and paced faster and faster till, finally, he grabbed a box from somewhere, jumped on it and tearing off his beret, began on one of his interminable tirades about G-d and people and war. At the time of course I didn't understand most of what he said but the words which he used again and again were sharply imprinted on my child's mind:

"Sheep, sheep--that's what we are--we're not people--we're sheep that walk right into the wolf's fangs. We deserve what's happening to us, we deserve the war and the death and the torture and let me tell you there's more yet to come, things unimaginable--hell on earth--before they will have done with us. Yes, hell--the hell you're all so afraid of after your puny little lives are over--hell is here on earth and you, you have created it in the name of G-d! We deserve to live like animals because we are ani­mals! For centuries and centuries we cowered and served and knelt like animals. We are not men--to men this truly could not happen--only to the shells of men who were taught to walk on all fours and not think. In the name of G-d! Always in the name of G-d! Well look around, you worshippers of graven images, where is your G-d now? Why is He hiding? Where is His justice to those who have served Him faithfully? Is this His world or isn't it? And the one that spits on His name rides in glory. What a laugh, what a joke!" He looked around, eyes spitting fire, hands outstretched. "I'll tell you why. Because," and his voice fell to a sudden whispered hiss, "because He isn't, that's why. Your G-d isn't. There is no G-d up there--only blue and infinite space and that's what you're praying to." Slowly, the women and children and crippled and old men turned from him; the nuns--there were three in our shelter--knelt quickly and crossed themselves.

"Look at me," Max continued, jabbing at his breast, "look at me. I am safe because I have no religion--no one will touch me for I am a man, nothing less and nothing more than a man. There are no Christians, no Jews, no Moslems--there are only men; there is only this!" Suddenly his wild hands found me and hoisted me high up into the air, "This is my god! The child, the man, the human being--that's my god and there is no other!" My mother came then and looked at him with tears in her eyes. She took my hand and led me quietly away. But he would go on for hours, until, completely spent, he threw himself down somewhere and slept. When he woke it was as if a storm had passed and the sun shone with a washed brightness.

But now Max was gone--gone since the day before yesterday--and there was nothing to do, no one to talk to, no one to romp with. Listlessly I walked back to our little, curtained-off corner.

Slowly the shelter came to life. My mother got up and prepared breakfast--a few crackers with some jam we still had left, but neither of my two sisters nor my mother touched the food.

"Don't be foolish, Anna, you must eat. Whatever we have left we must use for our strength." My sister just looked at the floor and didn't answer.

"But why aren't you eating, Mommy? Why isn't anyone eating?" My mother looked away, too.

"I'm not hungry this morning, but you just eat--you eat my portion also. I'll eat later." There was that solemn look on her face and she watched me sadly as she used to on special days before we moved out of our house and stopped being Jews. Suddenly, she put her two hands on my head and said a few words quietly the way my father often did. And then I started to cry.

"Where is Max, Mommy? Why doesn't he come back? You know where he is, don't you?"

"Shh--don't talk about him. You mustn't talk about him anymore or mention his name. It's dangerous." The special tone of that last word was very familiar to me and usually it answered everything, but today I perversely persisted.

"Why? Are you still angry at him for what happened with that--"

"With nothing," my mother broke in quickly, "nothing happened. Do you understand? Nothing at all happened. You must not forget that--it's very, very important." Now her tone was very serious, very intense. I nodded, slowly, and kept quiet. But after a while I went off by myself and sat down to think about what I knew had happened.

It was the night before last, the night when Max left.

He had barged in on us after the curtain was already up, while my mother and sisters were out talking to some of our neighbors. Left to ourselves, we began to rummage through all our belongings, just for the fun of it. Suddenly his hands found a little black book hidden under piles of clothing. He looked into it curiously and then slapped his thigh and laughed louder and louder till he was almost shrieking. My mother ran in and seeing the thing in his hands she stopped short and looked at him.

"Are you completely crazy? Watch yourself!" She whispered. But he just went on rolling on the floor and laughing.

"Of all the insane things in the world! A siddur, a siddur!" he was spluttering, choking, "not a gun, not a pill, not even food to save themselves with. A siddur!" As suddenly as it came the laughter went and he was in a rage. He grabbed my mother and shook her, "Why did you keep this? What do you think this magic object will do for you, huh? Can't you understand that you really are not a Jew? That I'm not a Jew, that there is no such thing as a Jew?"

Now my mother just looked at him and her eyes said nothing.

"I don't know what you're talking about or where you got that thing from. Take it and leave, we would like to go to sleep." Then, she looked steadily in his eyes and crossed herself solemnly, while he stared, with the siddur in his hands. But he didn't leave right away. First he tore out all the pages of the siddur, shredded them, spit on them and stamped on them wildly with his feet. A cold shiver ran down my spine and I made a move forward but my mother's eyes were on me and I froze. Then Max took my hands and looked at me.

"At least you--at least the young and uncorrupted should know. There is no G-d up there my child; there is no magic power in these pages. Everything that you could ever do or be is in here," and he jabbed my hand with his finger, "there is nothing, noth­ing up there. Remember that." With that he turned and he walked out quietly; he walked right out through the door of the shelter. Seeing the dark, angry look on his face, I ran after him "Max, Max, where are you going?" But gently he pushed me back. "No, my child, not now. Now I must go by myself. But I'll be back for you--I promise. I will be back before you are up tomorrow morning."

And that was the last I saw of him. My mother swept up the torn pages of the siddur. For a moment she hesitated, then she wrapped them up in an old newspaper and gave them to my sister.

"It's the only way. It will have to go out with the garbage."

And now my mother said that nothing had happened. I knew better, but I understood: it was dangerous.

* * * *

The day dragged on. I wandered about the shelter trying to work up the magic by myself but it was no good without Max. At lunch I ate alone again; my mother said she had already eaten. Then I just sat in a corner and sulked most of the afternoon. From time to time I looked up hopefully, but no one ducked under the low archway into the shelter.

It was towards evening when I sensed a sudden commotion: someone had come in, someone new. I ran out to look--maybe it was Max. But, then I stopped, frozen. The man who was hurrying forward with his head bent and his hands pressed close to his sides was not Max--it was my father, whom I hadn't seen in months. As soon as he reached our corner he sat on one of the beds with his back to the rest of the shelter. His face was deathly white and I noticed a steady trickle of red dripping from his fingers. My mother hadn't moved all this while and then my father spoke quickly but quietly.

"I am a friend of your late husband's who died recently in action. This is the first you hear of it. His last request was that I see you. I am wounded and in need of rest. You think up the details. Put up the curtain." As soon as the curtain was up and my sister had gone out to tell my father's tale to our closest neighbors, we saw my father's hands. The skin was in shreds and the bones of his fingers were exposed. His legs, too, under the tattered trousers, were bruised and bloody. My mother bandaged him with strips of a sheet and in a few words his story, which I understood only much much later, was told.

Someone had denounced him to the Gestapo as a Jew and worker for the underground. They came looking for him in his hiding place. He jumped two flights out of a window, scaled one concrete garden wall after another with his bare hands and knees and with guns shooting behind him; he outran and outwitted a detachment of blood­hound-trained SS men and now he was here.

"But soon I must go," he said, "I can't endanger the rest of you. You will hear from me as soon as I am safe. With the help of G-d our passports to Switzerland should be coming through soon."

My mother was pulling out our little kerosene stove. "I will make you something warm to drink and then, at least, sleep a while before you go." My father looked for his watch, but it was gone.

"No, it isn't time, yet. But, it's almost night." My mother just stared at him.

"Do you know what you're doing? How can you go on like this? You must eat something--you must have strength, I tell you!"

"And since when does our food give us strength?" My father asked softly. "And who knows whether fasting does not give more strength than food? This is a time when each man's deepest nature is uncovered and each man sees what he wants to see. Some see a mad, senseless chaos and some see in the chaos the Hand of G-d on each individual human being. Oh, if only we could understand! Baruch Dayan Emes." Then my father lay down and slept and a little while later he left us again.

It was only later, after the war, that I heard what else my mother found out that day. It was about Max. He had been found the day before, thrown into a doorway near our shelter. He had been shot through the head--maybe by Nazis who found him, maybe by Jews who feared him--nobody knew. But on him, tacked onto his clothing, they found a piece of paper with the word "Jude" scrawled in big letters. There it lay on his breast.

I had been sitting, idly playing with a flashlight, when my father left. Now my mother turned on me in fierce anger.

"Put that down." But I was bored and rebellious and did not obey.

"Put that down, I say."

"But why?" Then my mother's anger faded and she leaned close and whispered in my ear.

"Silly, because it's Yom Kippur and that's mukzah."

My hand dropped the flashlight almost of its own accord. It was Yom Kippur--that's why nobody had wanted to eat! Blurred images of another Yom Kippur flitted through my mind--the look on my mother's face, my father's hands on my head, people all in white, and the whole day in shul--but it was all so far away.

Now I wanted to think about Max. Somehow I had a sad, empty feeling that he wouldn't come back, and I was angry at him, for he, who always kept his word, had broken his promise to me.

- Originally published in Di Yiddishe Heim Journal.

(To view this story online, or to post a comment, please click here: http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=316771)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you prepared for Yom Kippur?

Our extensive Jewish New Year website has how-to’s, stories, lessons and much more! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful! All this at:

http://www.chabad.org/highholidays

PLUS:

Find-a-service:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/calendar_events.asp

Send an E-Shanah Tovah Greeting Card:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/greetingcards

Wishing you and your family a happy, sweet new year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright © Chabad.org, 2005

For more Torah study and inspiring articles, please visit:
http://www.chabad.org/magazine

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

** Enjoyed this email? Please help us continue sharing the
study of Torah and Jewish traditions:

Dedicate or sponsor an email to mark your special occasion!
Please click here: http://www.chabad.org/dedications

Please click here to make a donation to Chabad.org:
http://www.chabad.org/donate

** To subscribe to more Chabad.org email lists please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/subscribe

** To be removed from this email list please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/unsub.asp?UserID=268334,4,261645,0,217
If you would just like your email suspended and resumed at a later
date, please let us know here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=vacation_request&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

** You are subscribed as: moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com. If your e-mail address is changing
please send us your new email address here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=address_change&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chabad.org
Part of the Chabad Online Network

A division of Chabad Lubavitch Media Center
770 Eastern Parkway * Brooklyn, NY * 11213
Web: http://www.chabad.org
Feedback: http://www.chabad.org/tools/feedback.asp

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

DAILY DOSE: Exploiting a Setback

B"H

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dedicated in memory of Dr. Harold Galena of blessed memory.
(Dedicate an email: http://www.chabad.org/161795)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Exploiting a Setback
--------------------

Failure is wasted if you return only to the place you fell.

If your plans fails, think bigger, aim higher.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe
-words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Tishrei 7, 5766 * October 10, 2005

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you prepared for Yom Kippur?

Our extensive Jewish New Year website has how-to’s, stories, lessons and much more! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful! All this at:

http://www.chabad.org/highholidays

PLUS:

Find-a-service:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/calendar_events.asp

Send an E-Shanah Tovah Greeting Card:

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/greetingcards

Wishing you and your family a happy, sweet new year!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Brought to you by Chabad.org

To purchase a copy of "Bringing Heaven Down to Earth: Meditations and Everyday Wisdom from the Teachings of the Rebbe", or other books by Tzvi Freeman, click here:

http://www.chabad.org/240099

Makes a great gift!

Include the Daily Dose on your own website! Click here:

http://www.chabad.org/141897

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

** Enjoyed this email? Please help us continue sharing the
study of Torah and Jewish traditions:

Dedicate or sponsor an email to mark your special occasion!
Please click here: http://www.chabad.org/dedications

Please click here to make a donation to Chabad.org:
http://www.chabad.org/donate

** To subscribe to more Chabad.org email lists please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/subscribe

** To be removed from this email list please click here:
http://www.chabad.org/unsub.asp?UserID=268334,5,261645,0,217
If you would just like your email suspended and resumed at a later
date, please let us know here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=vacation_request&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

** You are subscribed as: moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com. If your e-mail address is changing
please send us your new email address here:
http://www.chabad.org/go.asp?p=address_change&email=moshiachtv.maildrop@blogger.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chabad.org
Part of the Chabad Online Network

A division of Chabad Lubavitch Media Center
770 Eastern Parkway * Brooklyn, NY * 11213
Web: http://www.chabad.org
Feedback: http://www.chabad.org/tools/feedback.asp

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A7news: Al-Qaeda Bases in Sinai

If you can not see this email properly, please click here
Al-Qaeda Bases in Sinai
Al-Qaeda has built at least one base in Sinai, from where terrorists are sent to Gaza and from there to Israel. Egypt has done nothing to stop it, says IDF Intelligence Chief Gen. Ze'evi-Farkash.
more

Headlines:
 1. Al-Qaeda Bases in Sinai
 2. Sharon-Abbas Meeting Postponed Due to Lack of Concessions
 3. Israel´s Prof. Aumann Wins Nobel Prize in Economics
 4. Lulav Shortage
 5. NRP to Join the Government?
 6. Rice Favors Diplomatic Isolation Over Attacking Syria
 7. First Steps Towards Solving Major Problems
 8. On A7 Radio: 50,000 Jewish Babies Aborted Yearly in Israel
 9. Sharon National Park

Visiting Israel for Sukkot?
Talk'n'Save - Enjoy the ease of being connected throughout the country. Immediate family Members of current long-term customers can Talk'n'Save too! We slash our regular rental rates for parents too. Delivery of your equipment before you land in Israel!
Click Here

Rent a Cellphone from Arutz Sheva
Don't miss any calls when you visit Israel! Arutz Sheva will provide you with an Israeli cellphone at the best price! Delivery in USA and Israel. Call 1-646-432-4542 in the USA and 02-652-2353 in Israel.
More Details
Monday, October 10, 2005
7 Tishrei 5766

 

1. Al-Qaeda Bases in Sinai
By Hillel Fendel

Al-Qaeda has built at least one base in Sinai, from where terrorists are sent to Gaza and from there to Israel. Egypt has done nothing to stop it, says IDF Intelligence Chief Gen. Ze'evi-Farkash.


Gen. Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash told the Cabinet ministers at their weekly meeting on Sunday that a gang of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda recently took over a large area in the Sinai Peninsula. After banishing the residents, they placed mines around their new base - signaling Egyptian police and army forces not to come near.

Activities at the base include the training of terrorists and preparations for sending them to Gaza, from where they can more easily enter Israel to perpetrate attacks.

Almost a month ago, Mahmoud A-Zahar, regional head of Hamas, told the Italian newspaper "Corriere de La Sierra" that several Al-Qaeda terrorists had already crossed into Gaza.

Ze'evi-Farkash said that in the days and weeks following Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, Al-Qaeda sent large amounts of weapons and many terrorists into Gaza, with the purpose of strengthening the terrorist infrastructure there. Among the weapons smuggled in are shoulder-launched missiles, long-range Katyusha rockets, and tremendous amounts of automatic rifles and bullets. It is even reported that a new Kassam rocket has been introduced into the Gaza arsenal, one that explodes in mid-air, releasing lethal falling shrapnel even if it misses its essential target.

The Intelligence Chief said that Egypt is refraining from taking action against the new terrorists. He said Egypt fears that a direct clash with Al-Qaeda will lead to terror attacks against Egypt itself. Other reports are that Egypt cannot take massive military action in the demilitarized desert without Israeli permission - something it does not wish to request.

Farkash's report jibes with other accounts. A recent article in The Jordan Times cites reports to the effect that Al-Qaeda has set up makeshift camps in Sinai's rough terrain and inaccessible peaks just as it did in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains. Debkafile, which reported on Al-Qaeda's presence in Sinai a week ago, said that Egyptian forces basically control only the perimeter of Sinai, while up to half of the interior is exclusively Al-Qaeda-land.

The Anti-Terrorism Task Force, under the auspices of the Prime Minister's Office, has not withdrawn its warning against travel to Sinai, issued in light of "specific and well-based intelligence" indicating plans to kidnap vacationing Israelis there.

Gen. Ze'evi-Farkash told the Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies last week that Al-Qaeda terrorists had entered Gaza from Egypt following Israel's withdrawal, though he did not emphasize their presence in the Sinai. The general also said that during the ten days after the withdrawal, Palestinian terrorist groups brought in 3,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 300 rocket-propelled grenades, 1.5 million rounds of ammunition and an undetermined number of anti-tank rockets and surface-to-air missiles from Sinai.

Back to Headlines   Comment on this story

2. Sharon-Abbas Meeting Postponed Due to Lack of Concessions
By Alex Traiman

A meeting scheduled to take place Tuesday between PM Ariel Sharon and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has been postponed. Abbas was hoping to achieve significant concessions from Israel during the summit.

According to sources from both parties, agreements on key issues had not been met during preceding negotiations between top Sharon aide Dov Weisglass and Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator Saeb Erekat. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cited lack of preparation as the main reason the meeting was postponed. The summit will most likely instead take place sometime in November.

"While it is important to have contact, you don't go to a meeting that is not properly prepared,” Sharon stated in a cabinet meeting Sunday.

Israel has been thus far unwilling to concede to multiple PA demands during ongoing discussions between Weisglass and Erekat. According to media reports, the PA is seeking weapons from Israel to help fight ongoing terror, the release of several prisoners, and an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrawal from the town of Bethlehem.

It remains unclear what Israel hopes to receive in return for such gestures.

According to Dr. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University, Abbas needs to show his constituents and the world concrete results for the meeting with Sharon to be a success.

"The Palestinians are expecting more concessions from the Israeli side,” said Inbar in an interview with Arutz-7. “They have a strategy of being a nebech [misfortunate one]. They say, 'I am a nebech. I am weak. Give me more. Strengthen me.' That is the strategy that has worked for them for many years."

Abbas is planning to travel to Washington for a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on October 20. The U.S. State Department dispatched Assistant Secretary for Near Easter Affairs, David Welch, to Ramallah ahead of the Washington meeting.

Welch and Abbas discussed political developments following Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, as well as issues to be raised at Abbas' scheduled meeting with Ariel Sharon. Welch had been pressuring Abbas to meet with Sharon now, instead of in November as originally planned.

Abbas had been hoping to boast a successful meeting with Sharon, during his Washington trip later in the month. However, once it became clear that PA would not achieve any significant gains from Israel during the meeting, the meeting with Sharon was postponed.

"I think that Abu Mazen didn't get what he wanted,” Inbar stated. “He doesn't want to be seen too much with Ariel Sharon. He has a strong opposition from Hamas and other bodies, so if he cannot produce some concrete concessions from Israel, he has no need to meet Sharon, despite the American pressure for him to do so.

"I assume that if the meeting will take place in November, there will be something that Abu Mazen will get that he can show to his constituents. He may get prisoners. He may get a city. He may get some safe passage from Gaza to Judea and Samaria.”

Inbar believes that Sharon should remain committed to meeting with Abbas. "Israel must do what it can to reach some understanding with the Palestinians, but not at all costs,” Inbar stated.

“Sharon also faces internal issues similar to those of Abu Mazen. Sharon faces internal opposition within his party. He is facing elections within a year. There is an expectation that he will now pursue a hawkish policy. He has no reason to make concessions to the Palestinians now. The expectation of Israelis and I think of the whole world is that Abu Mazen must establish order in his own house and Sharon is trying to strengthen that expectation."

Despite the cancellation of the planned meeting, the IDF has decided to ease conditions for PA Arabs during the current Moslem holiday of Ramadan.

Arab workers will be allowed to help Israeli farmers pick olives, and 100 businessmen from the PA will be allowed to leave Judea and Samaria and enter Israel's pre-1967 borders. In addition, 4,000 Arabs over the age of 45 will be allowed to pray on the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Furthermore, on Sunday, the Israeli Navy lifted restrictions on Gazan fisherman, and the IDF re-opened the Karni Crossing in northern Gaza. Gaza's primary commercial passage was closed several weeks ago after Arabs fired numerous Kassam rockets into the Negev.

OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Dan Harel responded by claiming that "the State of Israel has a great interest in the welfare of the residents of Gaza. It's our opinion that as their economic situation improves, it will undermine the legs of terror."

Back to Headlines   Comment on this story


Arbaat HaMinim from Eretz Yisrael
Buy your Arbaat HaMinim this year from Arutz Sheva! We have made a special effort to get you the best sets.
Order today to reserve yours!
3. Israel´s Prof. Aumann Wins Nobel Prize in Economics
By Hillel Fendel

Prof. Robert J. Aumann of Heb. U. is a co-winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Economics, for "enhancing our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis."

Aumann, a religious Jew who grew up in New York City and currently resides in Jerusalem, won the prestigious prize together with Prof. Thomas C. Schelling of the University of Maryland. The two established game theory as the dominant approach towards understanding conflict and cooperation between countries, individuals and organizations. They will share the $1.3 million prize.

The official name of the prize, which will be awarded in Stockholm on Dec. 10, is The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Nobel himself established awards for physics, chemistry, medicine, peace and literature, and Sweden's central bank added economics to the list in 1968.

Aumann's research is not easily understood by the layman. It involves concepts such as neo-Walrasian theory, core equivalence in a "continuum" economy, the "perfectly competitive" scenario and approximate purification of mixed strategies. His six books include " Values of Non-Atomic Games," "Game Theory" (in Hebrew), and "Repeated Games with Incomplete Information." He has written and delivered papers entitled "Game-Theoretic Analysis of a Bankruptcy Problem from the Talmud," "Asphericity of Alternating Knots," and dozens more.

Prof. Yisrael Aharoni, head of the Mathematics Department of the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev) in Jerusalem, studied briefly under Prof. Aumann. Expressing satisfaction at Aumann's Nobel recognition, Aharoni told Arutz-7, "Three years ago, another Israeli professor, Daniel Kahneman, won the Economics prize, and he basically said that economics is all psychology. What's interesting is that this winner, Prof. Aumann, says basically the opposite, that economics is all mathematical and logical."

Prof. Aharoni said that a famous article by Prof. Aumann, in which he applies his theories to explain a difficult Mishna in Tractate Ketubot and another Mishna in Tractate Baba Metzia "caused economists and mathematicians around the world to take an interest in Talmudic texts and see how they deal with economic/legal issues."

"It's gratifying to see," Aharoni said, "that the Nobel Prize committee recognized the contribution of mathematics to economics, as it has done in the past regarding similar contributions to medicine, chemistry and other areas."

Prof. Aharoni said that Aumann showed how "the results of all sorts of competitions and arguments between people or entities can be analyzed mathematically. For instance, a seller has various options, such as selling less for a higher price or more for a lower price. The buyer also has various options. The relevant data can be analyzed and a level can be found such that both sides will end up as satisfied as possible under the given circumstances."

Another example of the application of game theory is in the area of "repeated games." If a situation is faced once, Prof. Aharoni explained, "the best strategy is used, but if it is encountered many times, it is likely that one strategy will be used a certain amount of the time, and another strategy for the remainder - given the advantages and disadvantages of each. This is so because of the very fact of the repetition. For instance, if you buy bread every single day, some of the times you will be willing to travel further to pay a lower price - but not all the time, because then the seller will raise the price."

Previous Israeli Nobel Prize winners include Shmuel Yosef Agnon (Literature, 1966), Daniel Kahneman (Economics, 2002), and Avraham Hershko and Aharon Ciechanover (Chemistry, 2004). Yitzchak Rabin and Shimon Peres won a controversial Peace Prize in 1994.

Back to Headlines   Comment on this story

4. Lulav Shortage
By Hillel Fendel

The lulav crisis in Israel is still not going away, despite the entry of 70,000 lulavim from Gaza today. The U.S. has additional lulav problems of its own.

The Israeli market demands some 500,000 kosher lulavim a year for the Sukkot holiday, and the vast majority of this number are imported from Egypt. This year, however, one importer - Avi Balali of Segulah, north of Kiryat Gat - has managed to convince Egypt to drastically reduce the amount of lulavim it exports, and to allow him exclusive rights on that limited amount.

A lulav - a branch growing out of the center of the palm tree - is one of the Four Species that Jews are bidden to take and hold for at least a few moments each day of the Sukkot holiday. The other three species are the etrog (citron fruit), three hadasim (foot-long myrtle branches), and two aravot (foot-long willow branches).

A report in the Hebrew weekly Yated Ne'eman alleges that Balali, a non-observant Jew, bribed Egyptian officials to this end.

Balali himself has managed to bring in 300,000 lulavim from Egypt, but it is estimated that 40% of them - even less than the customary 50% - are kosher (acceptable for use in accordance to Jewish legal requirements).

Some lulavim are entering Israel via channels other than Egypt, but at present it does not appear that the goal of 500,000 kosher palm branches will be reached. Another importer has apparently managed to buy 100,000 lulavim from Egypt - half of which are expected to be kosher - and hopes to bring them to Israel via the Haifa port today. An unknown number of high-quality palm branches are available from the Jordan Valley, but not as many as had been hoped - because the farmers changed their minds about increasing their supply. Agriculture Ministry officials said they could not explain why.

A third source is Gaza, from where some 70,000 lulavim were brought in this morning via the Karni Crossing. This, due to the intervention of Deputy Welfare Minister Avraham Ravits (United Torah Judaism), who spoke with Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz and requested that the crossing be opened for the purpose.

Many lulav-consumers are not anxious to support Gaza farmers, however. "I have no intention of buying a lulav from Gaza," one young buyer at one of the lulav markets said this morning. "How do I know if the payment won't reach the hands of one of those who burnt a synagogue a few weeks ago?"

His friend agreed, adding, "It seems obvious that the concept of 'beautifying the commandments' that is so prevalent on the Sukkot holiday applies to this as well, and that we should add a few shekels in order to buy Jewish produce - not Gazan or Egyptian."

Just yesterday (Sunday), an importer received permission from both Israel and Jordan to import a quantity of lulavim - but as he was in the midst of the actual harvest, he was suddenly informed by the Jordanian authorities that he must cease and desist. It is suspected, according to Yated Ne'eman, that Balali was behind this decision as well.

A small number of lulavim might arrive from Spain, while even Iraqi palm branches were briefly considered for a short while. The remaining options are to convince Egypt to reconsider its restrictions, and/or to convince Jordan to do the same.

Balali, who is facing charges on similar schemes in the past, is suspected of bringing down a large part of the American lulav market as well. Yated Ne'eman reports that a man from the Lakewood, New Jersey yeshiva community made an advance payment to Balali of $40,000 for 200,000 lulavim - which never arrived. The man said that Balali explained that the ship was "lost at sea." It is suspected, however, that Balali actually sold the same shipment to a second U.S. importer. A rabbinical court in the United States has issued the equivalent of a restraining order against using the lulavim in the shipment, based on the Rabbinic injunction against using stolen lulavim.

Balali is thus holding both the Israeli and American lulav markets "by the koisheklach," the Yated Ne'eman reporter told Arutz-7 today. Koisheklach are holders made out of palm leaves in which the willow and myrtle branches are placed and held close to the lulav.

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan, ruled this week that in light of the lulav shortage, lulavim taken from canary palm trees are acceptable. Such trees are prevalent throughout Israel, including in private yards. Rabbi Ariel wrote that though regular palm tree lulavim are preferable, "canary lulavim are barely distinguishable from regular ones, and in times of shortage, they can be used."

Back to Headlines   Comment on this story


Menshenables Judaica
Fun name, Fun-ky Judaica. Unique gifts and ritual items for every simcha and holiday.
Click Here!
5. NRP to Join the Government?
By Hillel Fendel

Just 11 months after the Nat'l Religious Party quit the government, ending months of internal disagreement on the matter, hints of party disunity over whether to rejoin the government are surfacing.


MK Gila Finkelstein calls the current regime "the destruction government of Arik and Omri," referring to the Prime Minister and his Knesset Member son. "I will fight against our party's entry into the government with all my might," she said today.

On the other hand, party leader Zevulun Orlev and MK Sha'ul Yahalom say that no doors should be slammed shut. Yahalom told Arutz-7 yesterday that the NRP could do much more for the religious public from within the government than from without, and that if certain conditions are met, he would be willing to join.

Similar arguments were heard throughout 2004, as four party MKs defended their decision to remain in the disengagement government after the other two - Eitam and Levy - resigned from the government.

"Our demands are," Yahalom said, "that the terrible fear of additional retreats and the destruction of outposts be removed; the renewal of settlement activity in Judea and Samaria; the cessation of the Dovrat Reforms [in the educational system]; and the renewal of government-sponsored religious services."

"Let's assume we were in the government right now," Yahalom said. "We would be able to find permanent housing for all those who were uprooted from Gush Katif, as well as solve other related problems, from within the Housing Ministry [which was manned by then-NRP member Effie Eitam]... The issues that we deal with are so numerous that we have to be in the coalition. When the NRP was in the coalition, our Zevulun Orlev was the chairman of the ministerial committee for religious affairs and he was about to rejuvenate the issue of religious services. If the NRP's important demands for a Jewish state are met, and the question is whether to join the coalition or allow [ultra-secular Shinui Party leader MK Tommy] Lapid to be in the coalition and institute his changes, then certainly the NRP must join."

MK Orlev made similar remarks, though late last week he said that now was not the right time to join "because of the tremendous anger within our public towards the government."

MK Finkelstein said today, "Will we once again sell our principles for the lentil soup of ministerial positions?"

MK Nissan Slomiansky said, "The issue of joining the government has not come up for discussion, and to me it appears totally unrealistic - unless Prime Minister Sharon decides that all the Jews will return to Gush Katif or something like that." He said that the demands mentioned by Yahalom are not practical.

Back to Headlines   Comment on this story

6. Rice Favors Diplomatic Isolation Over Attacking Syria
By Scott Shiloh

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice succeeded in thwarting a United States attack on Syria at an October 1st meeting of senior American officials.

According to Newseek magazine, Rice said she favored isolating Syria diplomatically over launching a military strike. She cited a pending UN report that may blame Syria for assassinating former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The United States has accused Syria of harboring Iraqi insurgents who have been escalating the war against American forces in Iraq. U.S. forces have recently been waging an offensive against insurgents infiltrating into Iraq from Syria. The offensive has concentrated on Iraqi towns along the Syrian border.

President Bush turned up the heat on the Syrian government last Thursday when he referred to it as an “outlaw regime,” even going so far as to say that such a regime was an “enemy of civilization.”

Prior to the president’s speech, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said last month that “our patience was running out,” with Damascus.

In contrast to the recent harsh rhetoric, Newsweek reported that the United States had been privately praising Syria for handing Saddam Hussein’s half-brother Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, to U.S. forces earlier in the year.

Syrian-U.S. relations, however, soured a few months ago when Syria cut off all security and intelligence cooperation with the United States, in retaliation for the United States’ tough public stance against the regime. The loss of cooperation has been costing the United States vital information important for precluding planned terrorist attacks.

Syria’s ambassador the United States, Imad Moustapha, told Newsweek that Syria was willing to resume cooperation with the United States, provided that the U.S. cease its public criticism of that country.

A U.S. attack on Syria could have serious repercussions for the Jewish State. Syria is known to have stored large quantities of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Some security analysts suggest that Iraq may have transferred its weapons of mass destruction to Syria before the American strike on that country in 2003.

Some military analysts claim that Syria would choose to retaliate against Israel, in the event of a U.S. attack, an action that could embroil the Middle East in a major Arab-Israeli war. Such would have serious consequences for the region and the world at large.

Aside from attacking Israel directly, Syria could signal its proxies in Lebanon, particularly Hezbollah, to reignite the border with Israel. Hezbollah reportedly has in its possession thousands of surface to surface missiles that could destroy targets as far south as Haifa.


Back to Headlines   Comment on this story


Authentic Kabbalah by the foremost Kabbalists of the 20th Century
In the shadow of the ladder - Introductions to Kabbalah by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag
Click Here!
7. First Steps Towards Solving Major Problems
By Hillel Fendel

The first steps towards identifying/solving three major problems in Israeli society were taken today: Army suicides, public corruption, and the large number of unmarried.


* At a special IDF General Staff meeting today, 30 cases of suicides in the army over the past year were reviewed, with an eye towards reducing the number of such suicides in the future. Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz said that many of the suicides were unconnected with the soldiers' military service, while Chief Personnel Officer Maj.-Gen. Elazar Stern noted that the rate of suicides in the IDF is similar to that in other armies. The recent order to withhold weapons from some soldiers working in non-military positions was praised.

The following measures were decided upon: Increase of availability of those who can provide help for soldiers in distress; increased awareness and training for officers dealing with soldiers' distress; educational programs for soldiers and officers.

* It was announced today that State Comptroller Hon. Justice Micha Lindenstrauss has established a special department in his office to fight public corruption. The department will investigate suspected criminal activity in "real time" and will publicize its conclusions in a report separate from the Comptroller's annual report.

First on the agenda will be an investigation into the appointment of Eli Landau as Chairman of the Israel Broadcasting Authority, and one into allegedly illegal benefits granted to Bank of Israel employees.

* Finally, a special prayer service is scheduled for 6:30 PM this evening (Monday) at the Western Wall plaza on behalf of those who are not yet married. The organizers say that the prayer is being held "in light of the painful situation in which tens of thousands of people have not yet established a home and family... We call upon the wider public to take part and ask together for the removal of all obstacles in the way of the establishment of families, and for the granting of wisdom and counsel for the correct path to be blessed quickly with the 'joyous sound of groom and bride.'"

Back to Headlines   Comment on this story

8. On A7 Radio: 50,000 Jewish Babies Aborted Yearly in Israel

  • Avi Hyman talks with Tzvi Binn of Efrat, an organization dedicated to stemming the tide of abortions in Israel. Click here to listen

  • Malkah Fleisher gives over a Yom Kippur primer on the Eyshet Chayil Show. Click here to listen

  • Ben Bresky interviews famous Israeli musician Aaron Razel about his new album. Click here to listen

  • Jay Shapiro comments on Thomas Freidman's shallow understanding of the Middle East, and gives an alternative vision of Israel's mission. Click here to listen

    Back to Headlines

  • 9. Sharon National Park
    The 1500 acres of the Sharon National Park comprise a relatively large and uninterrupted slice of natural landscape, containing all the elements typical of the coastal plain.
    Landscape in the Sharon National Park:
    Seashore - A magnificent three-kilometer sandstone cliff runs along most of the coastline. The remaining sandy strip is five meters across at its widest point. As the rocks on the shore and the sandstone itself are eroded, they create lovely lagoons and natural bays, one of which was dubbed Sinai Bay. Typical seaside flora and fauna make their homes on the narrow sandy strip. The beach is sandy on the northern and southern edges of the sandstone ridge.


    To read the rest of this article, courtesy of Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority, see Arutz-7's Travel Page

    Back to Headlines   Comment on this story



    Wide Range of Judaica Items
    In www.mirrys-artglass.com you will see a wide range of judaica ( mezzuzot ; menoras; kiddush cups; havdalla sets; choshen;) and other items made from glass and copper with a silver or gold plated finish.
    Click Here!

    Today on IsraelNN.com:
    Gush Katif Refugees Mistreated By Hotel

       
    Rockets, Mortars and Fences in the New Year
    Israel awakens to a difficult new reality that transcends the perennial debate in Israel over the location of security fences.
    David Bedein
      
    Reject the Link
    Discussions are taking place now regarding a link between Gaza and the West Bank. No where in the political or journalistic discourse is there any discussion of whether Israel should provide such a link.
    Ted Belman
      
    When You Least Expect It
    After a day of fasting, marathon davening and heart-searching introspection, an emotionally draining Yom Kippur comes to a close. For many years, as a finale to Yom Kippur, in the shul of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, our Rebbe, the throngs would sing Napoleon's March.
    Rabbi Shimon Posner
      
    Changing the Decree
    Why do these three things - Repentance, Prayer and Charity - effect a change?
    Avi Lazerson
      
    LiveJewish Bracelets
    Judaica Papercuts
    Ariel Sharon Bobblehead
    Kosher Chocolate Bouquets

    Exchange Rates
    Updated: Oct 10, 04:00
     Currency basket 5.1222
     US $ 4.5990
     Euro 5.5524
     Pound 8.0738
     Can. $ 3.9149
     100 Yen 4.0282
     Swiss Franc 3.5832
     Australian $ 3.4893
     S. Africa Rand 0.7027

    Weather
    Night
    Jerusalem
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Tel Aviv
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Haifa
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Golan
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    The Plains
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Galilee
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Jericho
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Beer Sheva
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Dead Sea
    °C / °F
    Sunny
    Eilat
    °C / °F
    Sunny

    Specials
    Mezuzah Gallery
    Tefillin, Torah Scrolls, Expert Checking Services
    Jewish Response to Christian MISSIONARIES
    Powerful new complete 18-part CD series with a new study Guide by Rabbi Tovia Singer. Only $99!
    Hebrew Art
    Hebrew Illuminations Wall Calendar and Greeting Cards
    Temple Model Kits
    Learn about the Holy Temple by building a model
    Touro in Jerusalem
    Bachelor's and Master's Courses, GED preparation courses.


    Israel Related
    Sheva Ways to Win
    Enter Arutz Sheva's Free Raffle, Prizes Include 2 Tickets to Israel
    Genesis 2000
    2005 is your time to visit Israel with Genesis 2000
    IsraelDeal.com
    We guarantee the best service and prices for hotels, cars and much more...

    Lemkin Realty
    Apartments in Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem and Ramat Beit Shemesh
    Shavei Israel
    The starting point for anyone with Jewish roots or ancestry yearning to return to the Jewish people.


    Israel Charities
    Ahavas Chesed Relief Fund
    Help feed hungry Jewish children in Israel.
    Help Feed Israel's Hungry
    Struggling Families in Israel Need Your Help Now.
    Beit Haggai
    Orthodox foster homes for abused and neglected children. www.beithaggai.org
    One Family Fund
    For Israelis, For Israel, We are ALL OneFamily.
    Ezras Torah
    Now Providing the Laws of Tzedekah online!


    Jewish Books
    PizzaIDF
    Send Honey & Chocolates to our soldiers and their families in their honor for Rosh haShana.
    Ezras Yisrael
    Don't just wish a Shana Tova, Make one! Please click here to contribute to our Yomim Noraim campaign.






    ´Israeli Salad´ with Yoni Kempinski #104
    - Children show solidarity with Gush Katif children
    - Terror victim immigrates to Israel
    - President of the Czech Republic visits Israel
    - Drum session for Bnei Mensahe evacuees
    - Animated clip for Rosh Hashana

    Arutz Sheva´s
    IsraelNationalRadio

    Live Political Analysis, Social Commentary,
    Hourly News Reports, and much more.

    Arutz Sheva´s
    Fundamentally Freund

    Michael Freund tackles Politics and Media
    with hard-hitting commentary.

    Arutz Sheva Real Estate Section
    Get up-to-date on what´s going on inReal Estate in the Jewish world.



    A7-IsraelNationalNews Educational Sites: a project of Beit El Institutions


    ARUTZ SHEVA ANNOUNCEMENTS:

    Receive the Printer Friendly Version of this Newsletter
    - Perfect for distribution, and reading on the go.

    Receive the Plain Text Only Version of this Newsletter
    - Without HTML code. Ideal for palm pilots, blackberries, and simple email servers.

    Email us your questions, comments, and advice.

    Advertise with IsraelNationalNews


    Subscribe to IsraelNationalNews Daily Email Service / Unsubscribe
    You are subscribed to the Fully Enriched HTML email News Report

     


          


    To remove yourself from the mailing list please click here
    Powered by MyMarketing.co.il.
    Related Posts with Thumbnails