Showing posts with label jerusalem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jerusalem. Show all posts

Sunday, April 07, 2013

New Twist in Rav Kav Story

I just received this email. I am posting it as is. I take no responsibility for the content (because it contradicts what Citipass told me explicitly on the phone). On the other hand, I certainly have no reason to trust Citipass.
Dear Rabbi Sedley 
I saw on Friday in the Jerusalem Post in a letter published that there was in fact a policy change made by Citypass, no longer accepting the maavar from a bus to a train. I have multiple to sources who can confirm they have been charged twice. I have sent them a letter requesting a clarification of the policy in the form of a public announcement, otherwise I will be filing a class-action lawsuit against them if they do not do so within 48 hours.

If you can, please post this on your blog-site, so we can try and get as many people to come forward. Thank you.
 
If you want to contact him you can do so through me (I won't post  his contact details without permission - though if he gives permission I will add it here), or leave a comment.

Let's hope that this gets sorted out and the people of Jerusalem (and Israel) get proper and honest answers, and a proper and honest transport system.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Alexander and Jerusalem

Tomorrow (21st Kislev) is a day of celebration in Megillas Taanis because on this day Alexander of Macedonia acknowledged the Jewish rights to Jerusalem and the Temple. The Kutim (who seem to have tried often to cause trouble for the Jews) when to Alexander (who was the equivalent of the UN in those days) and demanded to take control over the Temple.

Alexander at first granted them this control, but then miraculously changed his mind, when he saw Shimon HaTzadik. He realised how much the Jews cared about Jerusalem, and when he realised that the Temple was used to pray for the welfare of his kingdom.

May we merit to see leaders like Shimon HaTzadik, and international leaders like Alexander (and of course Jews who care about Jerusalem), speedily in our days!

כב. בעשרין וחד ביה יום הר גרזים דילא למספד
תרגום: בעשרים ואחד בו [בכסליו] יום הר גריזים
יום ששאלו הכותים את בית המקדש מאלסכנדרוס מוקדון, ואמרו לו: מכר לנו חמשה כורים ארץ בהר המוריה. נתן להם.
כשבאו, יצאו יושבי ירושלם ודחפום במקלות. והודיעו את שמעון הצדיק. לבש בגדי כהנה ונתעטף בגדי כהנה, ויקירי ירושלם עמו, ואלף בולייטין מכסין בלבנים ופרחי כהנה מקישין בכלי שרת. וכשהם מהלכים בהרים ראו אבוקות של אור.
אמר המלך: מה זה
אמרו לו המסורות הם הם יהודאין שמרדו בך
כיון שהגיעו לאנטיפטרס זרחה החמה הגיעו למשמר הראשון
אמרו להם מי אתם אמרו להם אנו אנשי ירושלם ובאנו להקביל את פני המלך.
כיון שראה אלסכנדרוס מוקדון את שמעון הצדיק ירד ממרכבתו והשתחוה לו.
אמרו לו: לזה אתה משתחוה והלא בן אדם הוא
אמר להם דיוקנו של זה אני רואה כשארד למלחמה ונוצח.
אמר לו: מה אתה מבקש.
אמר לו: בית שאנו מתפללין בו על מלכותך התעוך גוים ונתתו להם.
אמר לו: מי הטעוני
אמר לו: הן הן הכותיים שעומדים לפניך.
אמר לו: הרי הם מסורים בידכם.
נקבום בעקביהם ותלאום בזנבי סוסיהם וגררום על הקוצים ועל הברקונים, עד שהגיעו להר גריזים. כיון שהגיעו להר גריזים חרשוהו וזרעוהו כרשינין, כדרך שחשבו לעשות לבית המקדש.
יום שעשו כן עשאוהו יום טוב.




Which translates into something like this:

On the twenty first of [Kislev] is the day of Mount Gerizim, when we may not eulogise.
This is the day that the Kutim asked for the Temple from Alexander of Macedonia. They said to him, 'sell us five portions of land on Mount Moriah'.
He gave it to them.
When they came [to take posession] the inhabitants of Yerushalayim came out and pushed them away with sticks.
They told Shimon HaTzadik who came out wearing his Cohanic clothes, and wrapped himself up in the clothes of a Cohen, and all the important people of Yerushalayim came out with him with 1000 turrets covered with bricks, and the young Cohanim came out playing their musical instruments.
When [Alexander and her entourage] were coming over the hills they saw torches of light.
The king asked, 'what is this?'
His aide said to him, 'these are the Jews who rebelled against you'.
When they reached Antipatris the sun came out. When he came to the vanguard he asked them, 'who are you?'
'We are the people of Yerushalayim who have come to greet the king'
When Alexander saw Shimon HaTzadik he dismounted from his horse and bowed down to him.
His men asked him, 'you bow down to someone like this? He is just a man!'
Alexander told them, 'when I go out to battle I see his image and am victorious'
He [Alexander] said to him [Shimon HaTzadik], 'what do you want?'
He replied, 'the house where we pray for the welfare of your kingdom. Some people have misled you and you gave it to them'
He said to him, 'who misled me?'
He said, 'these Kutim who are standing before you'
He said, 'They are yours [to do with as you wish]
They pierced their heels, tied them to the tails of horses and dragged them over thorns and brambles, until they reached Mount Gerizim. When they reached Mount Gerizim they plowed it and planted vetch, which is what they [the Kutim] had planned to do to the Temple.




Shabbat Shalom

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Emergency Campaign to Save Jerusalem

I'm posting this to show my solidarity with yidwithlid, Jerusalem and the The United Coalition for Jerusalem.

I believe that to show the world, ourselves and G-d how many people care about Jerusalem and don't want it destroyed, will be a kiddush Hashem, and will help us focus in our prayers and efforts to get closer to G-d.

HOWEVER, I also believe that G-d is in control. To believe for a moment that Olmert has any kind of authority or power, is to deny that "G-d's eyes are there from the beginning of the year until the end of the year". If G-d is threatening to take Israel away from the Jews, it is not because of Olmert, Barak, Peres or anyone else, but because of us and our actions. The best actions we can take to support Jerusalem are teshuva, prayer, tzedaka (and of course coming here to visit, live etc.).

To quote the Mishna at the end of Sotah: When the world goes crazy and everything is the opposite of what it should be - "Who can we rely on? On our Father in Heaven"

Here is the post. It comes with the following warning: Don't mistake a website or a donation or a political group for G-d.


Emergency Campaign to Save Israel !

“If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem”

By capitulating to foreign interests and to the tiny but powerful anti-Zionist Left in Israel, the government is shattering the social contract that is the source of its right to govern. By violating the foundational principles and norms of the Jewish State, this government has delegitimized itself.

At the “Munich Conference” in Annapolis, the prime minister intends:

-To establish an Arab terrorist state to be called Palestine;

-To divide Jerusalem and give the Temple Mount to the Muslims;

-To cede all of Judea and Samaria;

-To give the enemy control of the mountain ridge overlooking “little Israel,” placing all the large population centers within range of Katusha rockets;

-To expel hundreds of thousands of Jews from their homes and to destroy their communities.

THEY MUST BE STOPPED.

This is not an “Israeli” issue; it is a Jewish issue.
Jerusalem is the birthright of every Jew.

Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish People for 3,000 years.


By their failure to assert Jewish rights in our city and our holy sites, Israeli governments have set the stage for the ongoing destruction of our 3000 year old heritage. This government has forsaken the State of Israel’s duty to protect our Jewish birthright. If successful, they will sever the Jewish People’s ties to their history, land, and heritage. They will, in effect, deny the very basis of the right of a Jewish State to exist in the Land of Israel.

To divide Jerusalem is to commit national suicide.

To thwart this threat, we have established a coalition dedicated to saving Jerusalem and the Eretz Israel, the United Coalition for Jerusalem, encompassing organizations and groups in countries all over the world. Uniting us is the belief in the centrality of Jerusalem for Jews and Christians alike.

The Israeli wing of the coalition is composed of a long and growing list of extra-parliamentary organizations, Members of Knesset, military leaders, activists, media personalities and, of course, religious leaders. The hallmark of this effort is our inclusiveness. The members come from a wide spectrum of Israeli society: any group or individual opposed to the division of Jerusalem is invited to join.

Short Terms Goals:

To isolate Olmert and his government, and to expose the fact that they are acting against the will of the people and without their support.

To send out a clear and resounding message to the world that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews, now and forever.

To make it clear to Olmert that his government will fall if he proceeds as planned.

Stage One: Building a coalition of supporters.

We aim to build as broad a coalition as possible. Everyone who opposes the abandonment of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is welcome.

Stage Two: Gathering supporters.

We envision the active participation of representatives from a wide spectrum of Israeli society, the Jewish world, and Evangelical Christians in conveying the campaign’s message.

The different organizations will operate under the United Coalition for Jerusalem, but will undertake the tasks that they do best. Lobbying the Knesset and Congress, mobilizing Evangelical Christian support, education and public relations in Israel and among world Jewry, and obtaining international support are of utmost importance.

The minimum required budget will be $1 million and will include dozens of pinpoint campaigns.

Stage Three: Arousing public outrage against the government.

“If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem…” is a non-sectarian, inclusive campaign.

Given a Knesset whose prime motivation is to cling to their seats, our immediate goal is to threaten the stability of the government coalition by arousing a level of public anger and unrest that can’t be ignored. This shall be achieved by worldwide pressure on PM Olmert and his government.

We will organize a massive demonstrations in Israel and in the USA as a show of strength demonstrating a readiness to do whatever it takes to defend Jerusalem.
Our activities will intensify, moving into non-violent civil disobedience, until the government backs down.

This national disaster, which will place Israel’s continued existence in jeopardy, is being orchestrated by a self-serving and corrupt political clique bent on trading the nation’s most sacred and vital interests for a reprieve from their legal problems.

We, therefore, declare that:

We do not recognize the government’s right to cede the Land of the Bible and to blithely discard the Jewish People’s unique heritage of thousands of years. Nor do we recognize its attempt to reverse the Biblical prophecies of return to Zion that were fulfilled in our era at such tremendous human cost.

We do not recognize the right of the government to tear our land into pieces, to destroy cities, towns, and communities, to make hundreds of thousands of Jews into homeless refugees and to steal their property, as was done to the loyal citizens of Gush Katif.


We do not recognize the authority of the government to use the state as a tool to deny our right to the Land of Zion and to nullify the Zionism that built the state on the strength of 2,000 years of Jewish yearning for Zion.


We do not recognize the government’s right to give our homeland to a fake people to establish a fake state.

When a government becomes a cancer, destroying all that it is charged with protecting, the people must cease obeying its suicidal decrees and oppose the destruction.

The Jewish People in Israel and throughout the world will not be bound by the criminal concessions made by this government: it severs any and all connection with its immoral acts.


The Jewish People in Israel and abroad will do whatever it takes to save the nation and land of Israel from its degenerate leaders.


We truly believe that the tremendous power embodied in shivat tzion, the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, is dormant but not dead. A tremendous battle lies ahead, but

“Let us ascend and we shall gain possession of it, for we can surely do it!” (Numbers 13; 30)

We can’t do this alone. We Need Your Help! -

Donations

Make checks out to the Central Fund of Israel, Re: L’Eretz Yisrael HaShleima.

Mail checks to:

Central Fund of Israel.
c/o Marcus Brothers Textiles
980 6th Ave
New York NY 10018
Tax ID number: 13-2992985
Telephone numbers:
US: Jeff (212)519-0207
Israel: Jay Marcus: 054-699 8155
Tsafrir Ronen - (Israel coordinator) - 972-52-235 8440

Friday, August 10, 2007

Berlin is (not) Jerusalem

Another rant, I'm afraid. Not content with replacing life in Israel with life in Berlin (or anywhere else for that matter, but in this case it is Berlin), the Orthodox have taken a leaf out of the classic Reform text book. Remember how over 100 years ago the Reform movement removed any mention of Israel and Jerusalem from the siddur. They felt that Germany was home to them much more than some distant land and ancient memory. Well, antisemitism and the holocaust don't seem to have changed some people's understanding of the situation. Berlin (apparently) is still the site of the Temple. One Shul in Berlin has gone one step better than removing Israel. YNet reports that they've brought its heart to Germany! Read it and weep (literally).

Berlin Jewish Center builds replica of Western Wall

Germany’s new $8.2 million Jewish community center will feature a replica of Jerusalem’s Western Wall - accurate down to the plants sprouting from it, the center’s leaders said.


The 100-square-meter replica will be part of Szloma Albam House, whose opening Sept. 2 will provide another sign of the growth and vitality of Berlin’s 12,000-member Jewish community.

”This is a symbolic part of making Berlin a central hub of Jewish life again,” the center’s executive director, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal told the Associated Press on
Wednesday.

The project began when a team from the Chabad-Lubavitch organization traveled to Jerusalem to photograph a section of the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, famous for the tradition of inserting tiny prayers on paper into its many cracks.

Almost 19 tons of “Jerusalem Gold” sandstone quarried in the region arrived in Berlin on July 11, and has since been chiseled and installed to match the photographs.

The complete replica, located in the center’s entryway, will also include identical plants sprouting from the cracks.

The Western Wall replica is not meant to be used for worship, but as a symbol and reminder of the center’s mission.

Teichtal told the AP that the center’s architecture directly reflects center’s philosophy. A large cobalt and light blue glass window greets visitors as a symbol of transparency. The sleek, contemporary design by Russian architect Sergei Tchoban, shows that Szloma Albam House is focused on the future.

”Within the transparency is tradition, and that’s why we’re building the wall,” he told The Associated Press. ”It’s the strongest symbol of the survival of the Jewish people.”


Focused on the future is right. I just hope it is not the same as the future that the Meshech Chochma saw for German Jews all those years ago:

"This is the way of our people, that when they enter a foreign land they are bereft of Torah scholars from the trials and travails of persecution and expulsion, but then the G-dly spirit awakens within them to return to their roots. They learn, teach Torah, do wonders, until the glory of Torah is restored... Soon they begin to say our forefathers have given us falsehood, as they forget their origins and become as full citizens, abandoning the teachings of their faith, learning foreign languages, learning from 'kilul' and not 'tikkun', thinking Berlin is Yerushalayim... Then a storm will arise to rip them from their roots..."


(taken from divrei chaim)

Please, let's not lose our heads or our heart!