We are enjoying a beautiful holiday here on Itamar! Marked with special uplifting prayers with song, dance and music, during reciting of Hallel and the Simchat beit Hashoayvah celebrations
Itamar enjoyed the visit of thousands of people that have been coming throughout the holiday!
Mazal tov to the Zar and Shenzer families on the marriage of Shachar and Eynat
Special welcome to the Runyon family and friends that came from Washington State!
Watch Rabbi Goldsmith’s Torah lesson for the holiday
Wishing our special friends of Itamar a meaningful Yom Kippur – may Hashem sign you all in the book of life with a great year of joy, bounty, meaningfulness satisfaction and overflowing blessing – thank you so much for your awesomeness – In your merit we have done so much and we will, G-d willing, continue with all our heart and soul to build the land of Israel!!!! Anyone intrerested in fufilling the mitzvo of Kapparot can do it via our website at http://touritamarsupportisrael.com/donation-select/ – just earmark your donation Kapparot! Chag Sameach!
We welcomed our dear friend Alan Hirsch, [ the head of the Israel Matzo fund that helps over a thousand families enjoy their Passover holiday], although it wasn;t Passover Alan decided to come to Itamar and bring grape juice and honey for Itamar families in honor of the New Year and to give out pizza to soldiers all over Samaria. Alan is an exceptional example of chesed in so many ways – may Hashem bless him and his family with a beautiful New Year!!!!
We welcomed Eli and Eva Roska from Norway! Two amazing people that have been helping in Indian poverty-stricken areas. They came to show their solidarity with Itamar and to share their interesting research about a special Indian group that is related to the Biblical Laben.
Last week an amazing conference took place in Jerusalem called the 70-nation conference – that focused on the amazing things that are happening all over the world in connection with Israel, the lost tribes and the return to Torah.
There are those that have star fruit for a Shehechiyanu and there are those that actually grow them right here on Itamar!!! Picture courtesy of the Stern family – Itamar organic garden.
Enjoy the picture of the crocus growing by the Mediterranean Sea showing that the fall has arrived!
Enjoy the picture of our high school students blessing one another with a happy New Year and Itamar’s Bnai Akiva youth club wishing a happy New Year to the town of Itamar.
Watch Rabbi Goldsmith’s Torah lesson.
Dearest Friends we hope you are enjoying your summer! Every summer friends of Itamar helps sponsor a summer camp program for the Itamar children and youth. Anyone interested in helping please see this link.
Read Leah’s Blog
Watch Rabbi Goldsmith’s Torah lesson where he explains why did Balaam merit in Prophecy
Shabbat Shalom!!!
Today is the 41st day of the Omer counting know in kabalistic literature as the Yesod of the Yesod – (Foundation of Foundation) Referring to the attribute of Yosef Hatzaddik. To Commemorated this special day there was and entry last night into the Tomb of Yosef. Enjoy the picture of the Yosef lookout point from Mt. Grizim where one can look directly on to the Tomb of Yosef from Above.
We enjoyed the visit this week of our dear friends Ann Stacey and Kathy White from Texas.
We also had special visitors from NY and NJ the Schwartz family and Benyamin Erlbaum a lone soldier who moved to Israel recently from NY.
Enjoy the video of them singing the Israeli National Anthem.
The Friends of Itamar pools are in full activity during the summer season now – kids enjoying – Thank you!!
Enjoy these nature pictures of Itamar and it surroundings the Iris Hashomron rare flower that only grows here and the beautiful deer in pasture.
Watch Rabbi Goldsmith’s Torah lesson Shabbat Shalom
This week we enjoyed the visit of the Saul, Julia, Leeba, and Esther Erlbaum family from Flushing Queens.
Itamar had a beautiful Lag Baomer celebration despite the extremely hot weather conditions. Ever year there is a special parade in memory of Itamar’s former resident, Matan Zagron HYD, who gave his life when he jumped on a suicide bomber at an Ariel bus stop saving the lives of many. Varda and Benny, Matan’s parents, may they live and be well, have organized a parade every year since the tragic loss of their son Matan HYD.
As the summer approaches we ask all our dear friends of Itamar to participate in Itamar’s summer camp program. Itamar’s children need your help! We need to raise 18,000 dollars.
A Molotov cocktail was thrown at a car right outside Itamar this week. Thank G-d nobody was hurt. You can see in the picture the Molotov cocktail with a pipe bomb attached to it.
Watch Rabbi Goldsmith’s Torah lesson for the week Shabbat Shalom
Lag Ba’Omer 2019 Almost forty years ago our dear friend Gilad Zar (hy”d) who was a land surveyor at the time, approached an Arab that lived close to the tomb of Itamar here in the Land of Shechem and asked him about the dry, arid hilly area just north of where they were standing. He replied- “Oh, we call that the hill of death because nothing grows there.” In fact, the hill he was referring to has a Tel (a mound of ancient ruins) on it called Tel Chiya meaning Hill of Life. There is an entire overlay of evidence of it having been a town thriving with people living drinking eating working and praying in it for generations through time from the early settlement period of Joshua Bin Nun all through the later Roman era. Thick oak trees once stood here and it took many years to clear out areas for the tribe of Efrayim to settle it at first. After the ten tribes were cast out and scattered at the end of the First Temple Era, its population began to ebb. Samaritans came to take over the settlements of Efrayim but it steadily declined until hundreds upon hundreds of years of neglect had it almost resembling a sand dune. Gilad was staking out a place to put down a new community on government owned land that lay vacant and empty rolling east to the slopes going down into the Jordan Valley. Putting forward the idea of settling this so not accommodating area was not an easy task to put forward. However, a secret lay waiting to be revealed on this wuthering heights. We take great pleasure in its rolling sweet green grassy hills today. What you see is not always what you get. There are deeper layers to what is revealed to the eye – especially here in Israel. And like the Torah, there are deeper intentions and nuances, hidden treasures if you just see when you look. He was able to catch sight of it. That’s when the days were days and the nights were nights. When we had one pay phone everyone used and no one was asking google because they asked their parents and grandparents. We experienced things for real and not thru digital gadgets. Today media smothers over the things we want to learn about and we know less than we did then. The truth is spread thin and as a picture, say, of Israel comes up, it can be laminated causing a shiny glare not letting you through to the real image. You may get a likeness at best. This goes also for people publicizing themselves via social media –but what do we really know about them? It seems to be an age of enlightenment but we live in dark times. Lag BaOmer is a special day that propagates a closer look at things. If we do them- we want a deeper answer- what was the intention there? It is symbolized by a great light, a great bonfire generating light and awareness as we remember a great sage, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochay the “Bootzina Kadisha” the holy candle- who through his teachings in a dark time of our history held the light up and taught how to see things and not just look at them. Most importantly his teachings center upon cultivating our relationships with Ayin Tova (a good eye)- how we relate to those around us favorably starting with relating to ourselves. Taking into account that a terrible plague wiped out many Torah scholars at that time because of a lack of ayin tova, it’s a time for introspection on how to be a lighthouse to others, starting at home and branching out into all the realms in your life. Tikkun HaMiddot. On this special day, you can tap into knowing that Hashem is not a figment of your imagination but that he is actually speaking to you! There are spiritual echoes everywhere. Although the world seems it is never changing Israel is changing because the dry bones that were a clump of dust are coming to life. Lag BaOmer in Israel is the one greatest event of the year drawing more people to Rabbi Shimon- a phenomenon that we are able to understand the thirst of our people for complete redemption like never before. We just have to bend closer to look. We need to lean over to listen when we hear. We need to be a lighthouse. A joyous Lag BaOmer! Leah Goldsmith Image may contain: fire and night
gorgeous flowers
ancient olive tree on Itamar thousands of years old
We want to wish all our dear friends and enjoyable last day of Passover! During Chol Hamoed Itamar was blessed with thousands of visitors from all over Israel and abroad – one of our newest attractions is an ancient archeological site that has now been open to the public. We welcome visitors at any time – please come. We were blessed with very special friends this week Andre Lecoque, and Irina and Sergei Briska and Jan Barnett and others from Minsk Belarus During the Passover holiday there was a rare entry to the site of the altar of Joshua where the 12 tribes stood to receive the covenant upon entering the land of Israel. Enjoy a small video clip. This time of year the fauna and nature surrounding Itamar is breathtaking – enjoy some of the pictures Chag Sameach!!!
It’s great to be back. We were in the USA on a speaking tour and were hosted by wonderful friends all thirsty to hear about the progress on the ground here in the heart of Israel on Itamar- gem of the hills.
We returned to two wonderful groups led by our dear friends Rico Cortez – a Spanish speaking group in Israel for the first time. Our friends from Switzerland, Anita and Enrico Zbaeren came with Friends who have been to Israel many times but knew nothing of the real authentic biblical sites right here on Itamar’s doorstep! We want to thank everyone for their love care and support! We encourage more groups to come and enjoy the birth of spring here coming out in all its glory.
We were horrified by the terrible terror attack that took place outside Ariel this week that took the lives of Rabbi Achiad Etinger and the young soldier Gal Keidan from Be’er Sheva HYD. Rabbi Etinger was the brother of Itamar’s former resident Rachel Twito who lost her husband Yosef who was the head of Itamar’s response team in the Shabo Massacre. Although Rachel later moved closer to her parents, her son, Nachal, recently married and returned to his first home on Itamar. Rabbi Etinger’s 12 children and Rachel’s five make their parents grandparents of 17 orphans. We send our condolences to the entire family and pray that they know no more sorrow. Unfortunately, the security situation is terrible and we must do whatever we can to safeguard our people in the heartland of Israel.
We want to wish all our dear friends of Itamar a happy and special Purim!!! Enjoy Rabbi Goldsmith’s Torah on Purim.
