Category: Leah’s Blog

Lech lecha – Leah’s Blog – November 2024

Difficult Roads often lead to Beautiful Destinations

Almost every night I’ve been going through bags and bags of sunflower seeds, the cracking of them breaks through nerves you can’t deny you feel at times. Their shells hump up into huge heaps. When I meet them in the morning on the counter here as the birds chip peacefully and the calm settles with the dew, I remember the night before. At night things feel different; more a time of anticipation that often collides with “feeling tired”. Everything has gone completely El Ninjo, yin and yang colliding at full speed. This morning there is a rocket alert for Massadah. Massadah- there – in the middle of the desert! In the middle of that desolation, they are aiming to hit. Why?

“And the earth was without form, helter- skelter and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep” והארץ הייתה תוהו ובהו וחושך על פני תהום”

Moving forward, Noah builds an ark, a safe place to ride the troubled waters- for those remnants that have chosen goodness over evil.

“And the earth was filled with Hamas ” ” ותישחת הארץ לפני ה ותמלא הארץ חמאס

After the “dust settles”, Noah and his family are instructed to leave the ark, that safe place, and begin the journey of fixing the world.

Our Parsha, Lech Lecha is nestled upon these two foundational chapters of destruction but promise. Blooming into growing light in the world, Avraham Avinu chooses Hashem, the one G-d. In all likelihood his mission will not be easy as we have already learned about the chaos, havoc and “nisayone” (being tried) in the world and that surrounds him. Let’s face it, Avraham began as one, while the whole world was “on the other side”. The book of Bereishit and the time we are in now opens a new page. A few years ago, Moshe and I were on a train that left from Helsinki to St. Petersburg. In his usual custom, he pulled out his Talmud and began to learn. Soon enough the ticket collector (who was Russian) asked about “the book” he was holding. “Oh, it is very old! Ancient actually” Moshe said. “What! You have collateral worth money that was not claimed?!”- taking the book in his hand and inspecting it but seeing it actually looked quite new. After explaining that this was linked to the Bible, the oldest book on earth he settled down, gave us a puzzled look and continued checking tickets, looking into our eyes even as he stood at a distance

We are an ancient people promised an ancient Land. We review the Torah in its entirety every single week. Now we are back to the beginning. “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth but there was a great darkness”. Canaan was not a perfect place. At the time Avraham lived in the world, it was sparsely populated. Hashem could have sent Avraham to Hawaii or the Maldives to live a life of Zen and serenity. But to be blessed is be on a mission. Canaan had to be rectified. Land covenants were sealed here on the spinal cord of this Land- the portal to heaven. Israel sits on the middle axis. Soon we will be reading about the stairway to heaven. This is story of fixing TOHU VEVOHU. It’s about difficult roads that often lead to beautiful destinations; Lord do I know it. There are wars, anguish and even at times you are asked to sacrifice the most precious. Good and evil are clashing now- Hashem promised us complete victory and redemption- the sun is rising- I can see it! The focus will be on these very places our forefathers tread upon- on the eternal Land Covenant places. STAY TUNED! We are in for a ride.

Shabbat shalom- Leah

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY AND SUPPORT US OUT HERE! Friends of Itamar

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo sending you all my love and blessings, Leah

Ki Tavo – TIME TO GO HOME -September 2024

Perhaps it was a ringing in the sky that woke me. Sometimes I get insomnia – there are good reasons, not so much for fear and worry as apprehension. The timing in our story is significant, we reach the climax of the war of our enemies unto us –now, after a frozen year, after layers of time that we passively let it happen. For the honor of our little sister who was taken and kidnapped, then raped – the hour has arrived. We roar now. So I wrap myself in a robe and take the stairs up to the living room. The golden yellow light shines off the brass keyhole in the bureau here comforting as the Bet El bourbon I pour into a tiny glass. Sunny sweetness and a pleasant buzz runs through me; I can face the window now. The white moon shines like a spot light over the dark mountains facing me, our portion of the week- Har Gerizzim and Har Eval. The black sky, the backdrop for the perpetual cloud hanging over the curves of the two mountains. So much silence for what was once our nation proclaiming loudly our oaths in betrothal. The sound ricocheted then in the perfect amphitheater of rock. I sit a bit more and the minarets begin to vibrate prayers to allah, sounds that echo out of the valley and bounce off the mountains into my open window. Imagine yourself in the body heart and soul of this portion- KI TAVO. Not a mention of Dinah or Yosef and the atrocities done to them below in the valley there, only vows to do the right thing.

Bless and be blessed curse and be cursed- it’s that simple.

This is the collective consciousness of Am Yisrael. You sow, you reap.

Nearer to dreaming now as the comfort of the first birds of early dawn begin to chirp, I descend back to bed. Epiphany always hits me as the night ends. The promise stays as real as the stars. Abraham appears to me in this place. There are blessings here, the story begins in the past, one the outer world knows little of. I have psychic reality here, thinking back- the power of Yosef Hatzaddik. I have a premonition in this place- what we thought was bad was for good. Strengthening in faith. This is what Yosef said as his brothers hid their faces in shame as he revealed himself to them after they sold him to the Yishmaelites. KI TAVO is a one -time event and much detail was given to it. Here we stood together, two halves that became whole. Here we became brothers. The hidden message in KI TAVO is the sphere of influence of this territory and who it belongs to. Yosef. Efrayim and Menashe- the cut running through the two mountains. It is the heart of the Land of Israel given until eternity to Am Yisrael.

But we need to be worthy.

Here I can truly see from the river to the sea.

Answering the pain of Dina, Yosef and other cursed events that happened here are the blessings pouring down from this heart, these lungs, these two mountains. Not in spitefulness but repayment begins as Shimon and Levi took the honor of their little sister back. As well as we reconcile as a nation. We come together as one here proclaiming we will not partake of strange acts, hidden to the eye, false g-ds, evil ways. Here we are demanded of TIKKUN- fixing the broken vessel which we can and will do. We declare allegiance to our ketubah here -the Torah, the guide to living on this land. TIME TO GO HOME- this great event of KI TAVO happened as we laid Yosef to rest here in the valley. The dry bones rattle in the night now – THE TIME HAS COME.

Shabbat shalom dearest friends- xoxoxoxox, Leah

Ki Tetzeh September 2024   Leahs blog

There is a junction, a one minute’s drive from ours into Itamar that soldiers guard and check Awarta (home of the Fogel murderers) vehicles going into Shechem. At the meeting point where traffic continues straight for us we face each other- we in our cars – they in theirs. They run their fingers across their throats, we in turn put up our middle fingers. A percolating bubbling over crossroads- this is our life here. Soldiers are car rammed here. It has been twenty four years since we gave up our integrity HERE in the heartland of Israel. Two forces colliding with each other, one of evil one of good. They try to brand it symmetrical. This is the place of the blessing and the curse. There are forces of Amalek surrounding us. It began with talking about and then implementing scooping out the very core spiritual and physical places of our pumping heart. They are pressing down now on us even as we have not healed from the pogrom of October 7. Gaza in its horrors are only barely revealed now. The Galilee is being burnt alive. Threats from the east bare down on Israel’s longest fence, wobbly and not secure. So what do we do? What do we do?!! I for one, in my tiny capacity, put on music, garden, enjoy our family -as much as I can in my spare time. With my other time- I’m on a mission- trying to fix the lobotomy people have had in this last generation. Thank you for helping me fortify our bodies and spirits- dearest Friends of Itamar. You give me strength.

I don’t know if you know this about me, but I am an English teacher by trade, loving literature and teaching English as a second language. To think that I completed my degree with five small children as I worked leaves me bewildered at myself at times. It was during the cruelest days of the Oslo Accords that I would be on the dangerous roads either on a bus or hitchhiking (!) to college. Inevitably I left teaching although I enjoyed it, loving to play games and songs with my students. Within a very short time I found myself teaching other things completely to other people completely. Catapulted out of Itamar into the wide world, I found myself teaching about Israel in Norway Finland Italy Holland and all over the USA even taking a short trip to the USSR. As a result of multiple terror attacks here I have had to face the press from countries all around the world. What I found at first were people who loved G-d and Israel- an important base for support and a bridge between our community and wonderful friends. Shocking though, I discovered- a great portion of liberal Jews and most of the world were not on our side. My mission widened as I saw SOS the narrowmindedness of illusion imprinted on the psyche of these people. I had comments like “But you LOOK so normal!” (What did they expect to see- horns?) or “But YOU are the aggressors” (after people bludgeoned to death in their homes here) Ground control to Major Tom we have a major problem here. Hasbara was not working as the media continued to brainwash. As a matter of fact, Israel was not innocent either as the major channel spewed forth imaginative false impressions of a fool’s paradise of Israelis wiping houmous in Damascus and coming to gamble in Jericho. The idolism was feverish and the murdered by PA gunmen were called “sacrifices for peace”. Lord knows I have known too many.

When we think of war- as is the topic in the Parsha- Ki Tetzeh- what comes to mind is soldiers, tanks, missiles, tactical moves. I, however know that the essence of the war is the narrative. Evil collaborates with the mouthpiece. WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN-the fundamentals of understanding the story- Adam Eve the snake- let him just convince her! The garden- exile- Your thoughts first become confused, then taken over. The Mantra of false reality has you banished from truth. This is the real cruel battle.

What our grandparents could never fathom is that we have returned home. The Land is good very good- but someone forgot something. These places, these foundation stones that Abraham and Yosef tread upon- the ones that became our covenant everlasting – someone was willing to forfeit. Now, all our defenses are fallen.

We need faithful intellect- this is achieved through memory. The Torah has us reading over and over. The coming time of the high holy days and the inevitable final battle has the passuk of the Talmud (32A) calling to mind. “Who is wise? He who sees the nolad” (what will be born) (the future) What will happen? The future can only be reborn by remembering the past. Justice reigns from above but we have to choose between good and evil in order to win this war. We listen to the songs of the Torah over and over and over again- the shofar blows now as it did on the walls of Jericho. Let the sound crash through the shackles on our minds.

Shabbat shalom! Leah xoxoxoxoxox

Leah’s Blog – Parshat Reeh – August 2024

In the time of the strengthening ritual of sweeping the early autumn leaves and what that means to me, we celebrate our Aliyah, 39 years ago. The sun was just this warm (actually hot), the sky looked exactly like this (with the first clouds rolling in), the olive trees looking full and ready for picking soon (where they had survived in this wilderness). It always hits me that the tail end of August is the foreshadowing of a new time- Elul coming up, a time of reflection and thankfulness; the backdrop of the holidays just peeking through now. It couldn’t be more suited to start a new life somewhere far, far away from family friends and everything familiar. Prior to our Aliyah, I was working on Park Avenue and 60^th Street in Manhattan in one of the upper floor offices of the W Z O. Above my desk, in a complete contra to the city sites and pleasures of the amenities of urban life, hung a large framed picture with the saying “We never promised you a rose garden”, a mural of sorts that would actually predict my life pretty much to its destiny. Even then, an almost kallah-in six inch heels running off to Bloomingdales at lunch break, the sign would follow me everywhere. I for one, dreamed of an open space, but who would fathom that I (we) would be plunked down there into the thicket of thorns and barren hilltops of Israel’s heartland and feel SO at home. It was a match made in heaven- high heels placed into back of the closet and replaced by sandals and boots.

Not just the olive, but the fig trees persisted through the mounds of dusty earth, popping out here and there- survivors of a long exile. This desert turned into a resurrected testimony to prophecy coming true with every grapevine, with every blessing planted by those who returned. I gravitated to it like wearing cotton- soon you can’t wear anything else. Soon we planted a garden, that bugs, and pests of all kinds would strike, mimicking the response of the world whose onslaught offense to Israel’s reclaim of her Land covenant sites only morphed to greater and greater proportions.  We sought solace in the sweet earth, we chose to as an ideology not use synthetic man made solutions but organic ones- in the garden and on the ground in the world arena. Large organic farms materialized over the hills and dales here- many of whom supply Israel with the finest of eggs, goat products and other delights. The sensation I feel now as I rake the leaves has me remembering something I call my strengthening ritual as I went rumpling through the leaves in late autumn searching for acorns for the squirrels my mom would feed outside her office at the World Trade Center. With a sense of purpose I set out on a mission; for a six year old it was tremendous. There, in a park in Brooklyn was a tying to nature that always had me preferring the earth to anything else and having a mission. I followed this vibe to a land unsown.

I am a wishful gardener. We plant (a little garden) of sage, rosemary, lavender, cucumbers, tomatoes, olive trees, lemon trees, fig trees, some flowers – (the grass has a hard time here) and pray. Soon the plump olives will be ready for picking – the other joy of my life- making the olive oil. Spoiled that I am, the local olive press here is all I need to fill recycled glass bottles with the precious golden oil and when I say precious I mean it has become pricey. I am surrounded by the seven species, the pomegranate flowers a bright red now and still I find relics of the past when the tribe of Efrayim lived here in my garden, like a heavy stone bowl used for grinding barley- embedded into it hundreds of tiny impressions. This is the Land of Yosef- a fertile land blessed with grains, where our forefathers ate the fig and broad beans, date palms and chick peas. They were herders of sheep and made wine. There are wells and cisterns all over this hill, all over these mountains- hundreds and thousands of them. Water was stored in them when the soil became dusty like now. The mood is one of a Land of bounty and hope.

Celebrating our Aliyah anniversary I share with you a delicious recipe for what we call “Pop Tart Pie”- remembering the wonderful treats of our childhood and making a way for it to bake here as well

I package of butter or parve butter (coconut oil butter)- three cups whole wheat flour-  some oatmeal-1 egg- half cup brown sugar- you can add nutmeg and cinnamon spice- add any fruit of your choice (Benny grows raspberries here)and a must- I container of blueberry pie filling. Mix all ingredients and bake in pie pan at 300 F for twenty minutes to a half hour. Serve with Vanilla ice cream- you are sure to taste a piece of heaven.

Shabbat shalom to all our Dear friends of Itamar xoxoxoxox Leah

Leah’s Blog – Devarim

The mulberry leaves meet the maple under the protective nighttime sky, green against black. Here in our garden tucked under a ledge of rock, the august nights are a scene of delight as the little fairy lights glow gold in a row above us. Bamboo walls with overhangs of purple grapes ready to be picked. All around in my tiny wood, privacy is sucked deeply into my lungs. The slow momentum of the first autumn leaves fall to the ground and the air is rich with the scent of ripened fig. A night breeze sweeps them as the day has been swept and the night comes. There is a sound of humming, like the foreshadowing of something about to happen.

Things are heard in the dark.

The powers here are rooted into the soil. Flipping the pages back to the beginning, the earth of the territory of Yosef is blessed at night. “And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, and for the precious things of moonlight, the finest crops the moon can give, And for the tops of the ancient mountains, and the precious things of the everlasting hills.”(Devarim 33:14)

The book of Devarim is all about memory. I am thoughtful now to a primal time as when Yosef HaTzaddik walked through this very spot to seek his brothers, venturing beyond the familiar. Seeking out the unknown as his foot touched upon this stone, a fleck of consciousness has us knowing the imprint of what was and what will be. During these nine days when all we ask for is unity and Ahavat Chinam we remember “the blessings of your father are potent beyond those of my ancestor, to the utmost boundary of the everlasting hills, on the head of Yosef who shall wear the crown, he who was separated from his brothers.” (Bereshit 49:25-26)

King David awakens in the night, rising like a lion as the north wind blows and his harp begins to play. No measure of musical delight can soothe Shaul though, not even direct sound. This is the thread that runs through our story. Learn what Devarim teaches. Over and over and over again, the layers of the teachings all align with the nights of August (Av).

Tisha B’av is the darkest time, the harshest of judgement, giving us a chance for the tikkun of reconciliation. The sacking of Your House was preceded by Sinat Chinam and a bad report of Your Land. The pole of grapes were more than the spies could bare. But they bunch in clusters, as we should, as they should have seen, even in the dark. The grapes again appear here now– after thousands of years, the earth stirs and blesses, you can even hear it. Shooting out of this rock they are saying- “They will no longer be divided into two kingdoms” Ezekiel 37:22

All outside forces of evil – beware. The day begins at night. Prophecy returns now as this rock views our homecoming. This is the journey that brought us to where we are today. The diabolical are energized by our disunity. They are stirred by rife. Baseless hatred has been the poison of our ALMOST undoing. Looking up now, I see the stars in multitudes as were promised to Abraham. They have a sound: The words of Moshe Rabbeinu to Joshua “FEAR THEM NOT – FOR THE LORD YOUR G-D, HE SHALL FIGHT FOR YOU.”

I want to thank you for your concern and love. We feel proud and accomplished of the work we put in to reach this point- with your help and the help of Hashem. Thank you dearest Friends of Itamar for standing with us as one man with one heart. With Love and Blessings for a beautiful Shabbat, Leah XOXOXO

Matot- Masey- The War against the enemy

The quiver of a hamsin wind blows through the olive trees on either side of the road heading east and home. The sun makes the dust all around drier and has us thirstier. Before getting to the end of this road before we turn left at Tapuach junction, I turn around to take out the bag of ice cold cans of coca cola. We hand out the window of our dusty car to soldiers at the IDF posts all along the way. Everyone is thirsty. A keen look meets mine as the red dripping with cold cans are placed into their dripping with sweat hands. This is not JUST a story of keeping peace and security but an existential war, one of teeth of fire. Just hours from here, we continue in Gaza to crush terror bases, destroy tunnels and buildings, rocket launchers and remove the orc terrorists. The threats from the north and the murder of children and adult civilians has us understanding that we are dealing with barbarians, the axis of evil, sponsored by the present leadership in Iran. Make no mistake- the atrocities of October 7 and those that preceded it have proven that the ring of hate and war that threatens to choke us here must be met with swords of iron.

We want a total victory.

Progressive Liberal teachings have distorted the way we view the Middle East and the imminent danger we are in right now. Too many a Captain and General were swayed into the lull that quiet buys quiet- while they dug into hell preparing doom. What religion has them prostrated in ecstasy as they viewed the charred bodies of our babies, the beheaded partygoers of the music festival, the bodies of parents riddled with bullets as their children looked on. What demonic creature calls his mama to say- “I killed ten Jews this morning!” You cannot fathom it.

These are creatures of evil- judgement bares down on us.

The Hague cannot teach us ethics! The U.N. cannot speak of morality!

Pour pure waters upon us!

These portions of the week come directly to meet these events and make the history of the war with Midyan as we were about to enter Eretz Yisrael come alive. Our righteous soldiers declare: “Ayatollahs BEWARE!” The lion roars now- executing initiatives and force -the only language spoken in the Middle East. Do not trust the Hudnah ever- it is a ploy.

Matot never felt more like No more Mr. Nice Guy. We are not in exile with a stick over our shoulder being told what to do, where we can go where we can’t go and bent back covering our face with our arms, the scared little Jew. We are KAM VENITZAHV- Standing TALL- and saying “I don’t think so…”M16 and F35s. Moreover- the dignity of Hashem restored! “Kel Nekamote Hashem!” For he is vengeful G-d, and if not for our own merits- then for HIS NAMESAKE!

KNEEL DOWN NOW enemies of Israel.

Our soldiers go out to fight the crucial and final battle of good over evil.

Turn them into dust!

Shabbat Shalom! Leah

Pinchas 2024

As soon as the sun sets and the sky between the mountains of the Blessing and the Curse turns a bright orange in the July sky, we reach Mount Kabir on the edge of the cliff overlooking the territory of the bnote Zlofchad. Looking down, the Tamun mountains turn pink overlooking the ever-green pass of the Ein Bidan and the river of Tirtzah. Surmounting now I see this is what they wanted, the five sisters. Here it is -all laid out and your imagination goes out to meet them here. Flowing steams, tiny waterfalls- the Promised Land. Today there are houses down below, but in a nightmare of reality, saboteurs of Israel live here now so that when you gaze and imagine another time, truth has your pistol loaded in your pocket. You cannot be here unprotected, albeit the quiet. The same goes for the top of Mount Gerizim or the resting place of Pinchas located just across the way from my home in the hostile village of Awarta. There is danger at every corner, the snakes are crawling out of their hiding places, in full view now. I do not know how this all came about but someone collaborated with the enemy. We were banished from the portion of the week.

Most heritage sites are Judenrein in Judea -Samaria today. Joshua’s altar just right across from us here hangs on by a thread. It all happened swiftly. The RUSE became mainstream conception. No matter how much I have spoken from this artery, the one left open by the grace of Hashem – still pumping vital life into the heart of Israel; the problem manifested and spiraled into a world plan to dissolve Israel. For the bulk of mainstream Judaism, I became a “nationalist zealot”, not invited to caution the JCC of the RUSE and its plan. I was branded “extreme” for loving my Land.

We have been reading in these portions of the week that the goal of the enemies of Israel was to prevent the nation of Israel from reaching the Land of Israel. Many methods were applied and practiced in the hope of thwarting the Divine Plan. Some used actual curses, some charged through the seas with javelins and chariots, some simply refused to let us drink. Some had enjoyment from causing us suffering and pain, intentionally slowing down the Geulah process. Fast forward to now. Recycle the souls of then and now. The bnote Zlofchad demanded an inheritance in the Land, yearning adoring and craving for Eretz Yisrael, while others like Zimri collaborated with the enemy. Israel began to sin with Peor. There have always been accomplices, there have always been informants. What goes around comes around- this is why we read the Torah portion every week, week after week for thousands of years. The format of our story is here- you are reading it. We are living it. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. All attempts deem futile in the goal of severing the nation and Land of Israel. It needs our hard work. It needs us at times to be outspoken.

This is why our persistence now is reaching a pitch at the crossing point “of this cultured age” when “so called” human rights organization disguise themselves as moral but stand behind the implosion of Israel and side with the barbarians that do not and cannot overcome their blatant strategy of antisemitism. They do not differentiate between a kibbutz in the Galilee or a town in the south, between Eilat and Ariel, between Tel Aviv and Katzrin. For too long now, innocent people have been brainwashed to even consider that we, living sustainably on our organic farms, with kind to the earth values and keeping Israel safe- are the bone of contention. When they say “From the river to the sea” they mean all Jews are settlers. The cat is out of the bag, the ruse exposed. Read the handwriting on the wall.

We know that in every nation there are those that stand with truth. From the villages in south Norway (the mastermind country of the Oslo accords) to the tribes in Papua New Guinea singing the Shema, to our brothers in Azerbaijan, a Shiite Arab country that loves and adores Israel, and to the Igbos of Africa. To all of you- in the Midwest of the USA, Mexico, sisters in Switzerland, Finland, and our generous friends in Holland (the home of The Hague)- you are the antidote to the toxic brotherhood of anti-Israelism and deep progressive movements that call for Israel to disappear. I know you are out there! You yearn for Israel as the bnote Zlofchahd! You are as zealous for Zion as Pinchas! Your love and devotion to us is what is keeping this artery open and flowing. From this spot here up on this mountain on Itamar, I want to thank you for all of your love support and belief in us and in restoration.

This blog is being dedicated to the memory of my precious niece, Ora Feld- Z”L who plowed the way for settlement revival in Esh Kodesh and passed from an illness way too young in life. Rest in Peace.

Shabbat Shalom dearest friends, Leah