Category: Leah’s Blog

Leah’s blog – A  New Sweet Year – Rosh Hashanah 2023

As a part of a plan I had for Shlomo’s Bar Mitzvah project, I wanted to do something fun and meaningful but impacting in a way that he matures through pro action. It’s hard to enter the mind of a thirteen year old having to deal with it, but the way to anywhere from Itamar and into city centers here in Israel is through the terror den of Huwara. So if it’s through Huwara- let’s see how we little people on the ground can make the world a better place. This was and is my goal. Like I always say, they kill- we build; but unfortunately they build as well (choke points and dread corners) now like never before. We must counter this evil and teach our children mussar and chesed in the face of hate and violence. The Jewish men women and children that live in this region of the heart of Israel, literally holding down the peg that holds it all together pledge allegiance to this sacred ground. So we belt up, carry, have vigilance and remember the vows our forefathers took right here in this place.

I wanted to share with Shlomo a great living story of sweetness in this bitter town.

We went to the little shop outside the gas station at Ariel. Shlomo picked the best quality watermelon flavored ices, individually wrapped and stuffed a bag full. Expensive- our soldiers are worth it. Suddenly there is another realm to reality as soldiers surface in the hazy heat. They are stationed to protect us. The sweat pours from their helmets as Shlomo rolls the window down and passes out delicious ices to every soldier he sees and he blesses them. This is the IDF- one day he will be that soldier as well. Through the checkpoints, pillboxes, guards, commandos and officers, more and more smiles appear on soldiers faces. It was Shlomo’s time to give back and he was loving it. With Bohemian Rhapsody on the car speakers how could he not. He felt safer and a part of something far bigger than fear; it was his first exposure to opera.

There are two ways to look at life. Choose to sweeten it. Lo Bashamayim Hee– It is not in the heavens- the message of the New Year approaching is all about that.  The apple dipped in honey, the shofar blowing reminding us now- take a hold of yourself! Step out of the zone of passive accepting. This is the time as the wind stirs the autumn leaves, the time stirs in us- it feels good! Now is the time that those that have pulled away, assimilated, sunk into despair and lost touch with happiness feel a rush of remembering, a tinge of the old world of synagogue and Zaida. The shofar call pulls us back in. Mesorah lives on, a new year is upon us, a new page in the book of life. The future is wide open- what can we do to make it sweet for someone else?

This is a time of festival, a time of harvest, a time of opportunity, a time to do a sweet thing. Many wonderful things happened on Rosh Hashanah: our matriarchs conceived, Yosef Hatzaddik was released from prison, a time of liberation. Rosh Hashana enables a restart, a time to “rise above” life’s challenges, tests and tribulations. Now also Shlomo has a wider perception and sees a larger picture in the complicated mosaic of life. If you too feel helpless and pangs of even desperation about things like we do about Huwara, step out of the sluggish realm now into a deeper level of pro-action about it. Living with terrorism on a daily basis is certainly one of the most trying of experiences yet Shlomo now knows and sees others parts to this picture and how he too can make a difference. A simple act can change a reality. The world relies on lovingkindness.

In this holiday season help make Friends of Itamar our 501c3 impact the continuous return to our homeland right here in the heart of Israel. This is a great opportunity to be a part of restoration and put smiles on the faces of all the brave people living here. Together we can do this. Wishing our dear friends a happy and healthy New Year. May 5784 be filled with all goodness, sweetness, overflowing blessings for you and your loved ones! I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your amazing generosity and care. May the next year shine down upon you with wonderful fabulous things!

שנה טובה ומתוקה!

Leah

 

 

Parshat Ki Tavo

Blessings and Curses are my view. People are astounded by it; some almost loose balance. When the sun is setting just beyond in the west, apricot light bounces off the curve of the Mount of Blessings as the Mount of the Curses sits in granite silence, it is easy especially then to remember the covenant of ETERNAL HERITAGE that took place here in ancient days with exactly the same sunset as now. Sometimes the view is of a scale, sometimes of shoulders, sometimes a doorpost, always of El Shaddai. Hashem has no image but he created this land with shapes and desires. There’s more to the picture than meets the eye as the battery of Eretz Yisrael is charged here, six tribes on one mountain, six on the other, the positive and negative charge. Ki Tavo- we declare our dedication to Hashem and Torah – we are blessed, when we turn our backs on educating the next generation sitting under the grapevine and fig tree and abandon Hashem’s mitzvoth, exile will surely come along with a list of tragedy and punishment, the natural consequence of lack of gratitude and faith. The message of this place thunders; it is here that Israel attained “a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear.” I often feel that the mountains remember, even now as they are covered with a different time, and the grey earth crumbles like an old distracted man.

The view extracts different moods depending on the time frame. In the Oslo Accord days when a great expanse of this area was handed over to terrorists who were even given guns that killed my Rabbi, neighbors and dear friends it tremored with grief. Slowly melancholy seeped into the mood and often a stillness would answer me, as if the mountains were indifferent to me. That would be the hardest as I actually witnessed the destruction of the actual walls of Joshua’s altar on Mount Eval, the ancient stone remnant ground into gravel to pave yet another road cut into the mountain’s side. The altar only remains intact because of the vigilance of residents here. The results of the desecration on numerous heritage sites here is staggering. Oslo brought about a complete withdrawal of Israeli rule over the cradle of our heritage. The idea to contest the horrific atrocity of Oslo could not be challenged as it happened since the media outlets at that time were all run by the left wing monopoly of the deep state. The government of Israel then allowed over 1,400 people to be murdered in the plan of Yaasar Arafat and his terrorist group to take over the integral portions of Israel’s heartland and cause such fear and devastation that the people that live here would give up.

Thank goodness- Baruch Hashem THAT DID NOT AND NEVER WILL HAPPEN!

Israel is always judged collectively. There will be those “satiated” and grown with zero Torah, zero Israelite identity, zero thankfulness to live in a generation of prophecy. They say “כוחי ועוצם ידי “- My strength and the strength of MY hand- Today too as you are probably following the news this same segment of people that have violently gripped unto these old ideas of capitulation and assimilation, far from Torah, far from Mount Gerizzim and its message are running a dwindling campaign against judicial reform. We were told then (in the Oslo days) this peace IS FOR YOU- but they were empty words and held nothing inside. Today these same people scream “Democracy” as they are the furthest from democracy angered that now we finally have a news channel (14) that talks about the faults of the Oslo Accords, and corrects reverse discrimination by exposing all the problems that have piled up in lieu of Oslo. In a sense, we are again in the stages of a painful birth- the birth of redemption which comes in pangs, clarifications only made here in this land as we are collected to it, again! The entire system here in modern Israel now needs an overhaul. The same pattern happened in our biblical past as the reign of power passed over from Shaul to David. But we live here as a nation- that can only be done in Israel!

The enemy’s vehemence is met with ours. As they come close and encroach on state land according to the Fayyad plan taking over swaths of area C, we here on the ground must act. We need your help more than ever in ensuring safe boundaries for Israel and a continuous settlement from the Jordan River to Tel Aviv. Help us as this time is critical. The flatlands, hills, valleys and mountains await blessings- NO MORE CURSES! THE VIEW IS OF HOPE AND FAITH, everlasting! Recharge the battery!

Shabbat Shalom, Leah

 

Ki Tetzeh   – The Place- The Time

The greatest war we face is one of perception. When one is cognizant of truth, sensitive consciousness can leave no doubt on any major or minor happening near and far. There is only one Emet (truth). Observing the integrity of your own awareness is the thing we pray about most every single day. We have been given an everlasting guide in how to “sharpen our tools” of discerning right from wrong, even now in this A I generation of technology, free thinking and “open to interpretation” generation we live in. Ki Tetzeh delves into a seemingly “light” mitzvah-returning a lost object- amongst a list of mitzvoth based on mussar we learn from in this parsha.

The lost object I now wish to refer to is Eretz Yisrael. It has been challenged and laced with much opposition both from within and without, especially and indeed now that it has been returned to the rightful owner at this time. We must be able to recognize right from wrong, false teachings and trends that turn away from practical Geulah happening right now as Israel becomes a superpower and prophecies unfold as promised to us thousands of years ago. You would be surprised to know how your influence in awareness of Israel is vital to the people surrounding you. Your care can become infectious to those around you who just live in a bubble, needing someone to “light their fire”, who just don’t even know THEY are lost to the object as much as the object is lost to them.

In this blog I will attempt to challenge the ideas put forth in a “Torah” article I read while in NY a few weeks ago in a popular newspaper distributed to thousands of people that read it, and what I found to be narishkeit, indeed dangerous narishkeit.  Innocents are influenced beyond measure, I shall not be silenced. I am no Rabbi, but a simple Jewish woman that lives in the place, the particular portion of space Hashem designed to be the homecoming for the Jewish people that began with Abraham, continued with Yaakov and later Am Yisrael after their journey through the wilderness. They reached this very mountain and into the blessing and the curse, the place they are told to choose between life and death. I am contesting an ideology that has been creeping into orthodox mainstream Judaism thriving in exile. In the last years, that at this very time of return to Zion, many Rabbis say “HaMakome” (the place) is not actually a place, but a time. Yes, the Torah article; scratch your head- the entities of PLACE and TIME become vague as HAMAKOME has been rebranded into “Zmahn Elul” or- the time of Elul and all the more so, “exile gives us freedom to do introspection- the time is way more important now as we do teshuva”. I’m having a Deja vu’ remembering the spies that went to seek out the Land who were not salivating to enter it and feigned the need to continue to learn Torah in the desert as to not be bothered by building homes and fighting wars but just nurse Torah (learn the theory). Time in the desert would just go on and on and on -The place can be here, there, anywhere- it is irrelevant” (?!?!). In contrast to this “Dvar Torah” that confuses the dimensions of time and place defined by Hashem (By the way our whole Jewish calendar and time based mitzvot are actually based on sightings of the new moon in ISRAEL), I will analyze what place and time means from a Torah perspective. We need to fire out this issue.

The Torah calls to mind specific epiphanies that happened at HAMAKOME- the place. Abraham is told- “Lech lecha- go to a PLACE I will show you”. Not naming the place, he reaches Eretz Yisrael “AD (referring to definition of boundary) makome Shechem AD Elon Moreh”. Later Abraham is told- “Go to one of the mountains I will tell you about”. He saw the place in the distance… … Years and years later, from the time Yehoshua entered the Land until the time of David redeeming it, four hundred years had passed before revealing the true meaning behind this place, destined to be the home for the Shechina, the House of Hashem. Like in archeology, layers and layers of ambiguity cover it until it is revealed. The choice of Hashem was always been there for this place yet Am Yisrael first had to yearn for it in order to reach it and understand it. There are stages, both material and spiritual we have to go through to reach the revelation behind them. (take Huwara for instance- a littered bastion of terrorism just minutes from the pumping heart of Israel’s heartland! Pulsing now, it is on everyone’s mind- but in what way? What lies underneath it?) Places remain “hidden” at times, at times not even mentioned as Shechem was not mentioned in the blessing and the curse of Parshat Reeh, yet it sits sandwiched between the two mountains with its own relevant meanings not revealed in this portion. Confusing place and time is like how we view things from a personal subjective view AND NOT from a complete Torah objective view- Hashem commanded us to live in Israel!. Our holy sites are devastated at this moment! The graves of Itamar, Elazar, Pinchas, have all been turned into garbage dumps. Yosef HaTzaddik is attacked time and time again and was destroyed in the riots of September 2,000.I have personally stood in the dung of the donkey there in the thick darkness while we came like robbers in the night to be near THAT PLACE. Nevertheless, it has a pulse- it is a LAND COVENANT, about remembering that the places you read about during the Torah portion are REAL PLACES. Please do not add to their disgrace by ignoring them! It demands your mindfulness. Return the lost object!

I ask, how can the Shechina gather if Israel cannot gather in the place intended. Eretz Yisrael is the only designated place for that. We must desire her. The time demands it. If every day of creation was a thousand years, we are about to light Shabbat candles in a few moments as the sixth day is about to end. Back to the garden! Place and time rely on each other. Because of the brave people that LIVE HERE, Huwara is not lost! Shechem is not lost! Yerushalayim is not lost! American Rabbis- TAKE HEED- have mindfulness! Israel is a place. You have accountability! It is Elul now; we come to meet Hashem in the field. This is the joint when time and place meet, a time of conscious awareness of the real time and place we are in right now, each distinct yet intertwined. Ki Tetzeh: return the lost object and return to ratzone Hashem.

Shabbat Shalom, Leah

 

Tisha B’Av  – August  2023

Let’s face it – there’s a vibe to times; these might be the most felt on the calendar, the peak of heat, charged with fraught, ill feeling and doom. I know you’re not used to hearing me talk like this but mutual hostility within our nation is being vamped up like a vape flavored smoke these days and you inhale it everywhere: חרון אף (rage), Kamtzah Bar Kamtzah of the modern age. Last night the wind howled, cats screamed at each other and sleep evaded me. Getting up, I walked barefoot into the dark hall only to see a HUGE black scorpion staring me in the face in the dim light on the floor. I couldn’t help myself, these are my weak points. Bad blood has always existed between me and all crawling things but this was too much. “MOSHE!” After what he termed, “a less dangerous breed”, the Aviad (it’s name), smooshed it; that  was all that had to be done but the eerie feeling it left behind got me thinking about Tisha B’Av, going back eighteen years ago to Gush Katif when Jews were thrown out of their homes, bodies pulled out of graves there, synagogues burnt to the ground and the protesters – over seven thousand arrested including our own daughter who was pulled by her red pony tail into the paddy wagon at the tender age of fourteen and left to rot in a prison cell for an entire week (for holding up a sign). The injustices of the time surrounding Tisha B’Av whether it be the expulsion of Spanish Jews from their homes of a thousand years, the wars between Jews in the second Temple period and crucifixion of millions by the Romans, the evil that led to the burning of Solomon’s Temple, the sin of the spies who brought death to the generation of the midbar and the Umbrella theme of what happened on this day and the ramification of it until this day: The selling of Yosef HaTzaddik. Ah, so now I get it why the scorpion appears- the pit he was thrown into by his own brothers was full of them. What was his crime? What did Eretz Yisrael do to the spies that carried the bountiful grapes as proof the Land was not as promised? What did the Jews of Spain do to Ferdinand and Isabella? Why did Rome destroy our Temple? Is there no justice?

Interestingly if we take the letters of the name יוסף and scramble them, we come up with another significant theme for this day-  PEACE . פיוס- On the timeline of the most traumatic event in our early history, the day brothers plotted evil against a brother on Tisha B’Av, the remedy was already embedded into the name of the victim. In just a few days from now leaves will begin to fall, things will simmer down, a big renewal on the way, TU B’Av a national holiday of reconciliation. There are points in our history that renewal of covenant comes into focus- we are so lucky for them. What generation was truly able to again dance in the grapevines of Shilo if not ours. Even in the hardest most horrific time of holocaust, the return to Zion happened as was promised to us. Like a person drowning at sea, we are being told just hold your head above the water a bit more and help is on the way! Hang in there! The ones who really strive for harmony and justice and have a national perspective of this miracle can even now in the throes of the saddest day of the year feel the might of Israel’s power. “ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה” – “Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent by righteousness.”  Soon we will be in the Days of Awe, a time we atone, pray, give tzeddakah, do chesed and cheshbone nefesh. From this time on the joy that was dormant and hidden from us springs up into front center. We sanctify the wonderful things unfolding right around this corner of time.

A new vineyard was planted this week at the Penini Farm here on Itamar. It is a labor of love and a testimony that we are not lone solitary souls but that we are like clusters connected to the life force that blesses this land, connected to the most ancient story that has twists, and turns in it like the time ambience of the calendar. We had no home and now we have returned to it, embedded into it from the start! Mashiach was born on Tisha B’Av!

May it be an easy and beneficial fast- Blessings Always!

צום קל ומועילLeah

Leah’s Blog Devarim – I am a Jewish American woman living in the heart of Israel –THIS is home. July 2023

As you know dear readers, I was not born in Israel but came to live here by choice. Something nagged at me growing up in the golden age of America, something way at the back of my mind. There were pokes of memory that hit with passion as in synagogue I would look and dream at the beautiful stained glass windows of the twelve tribes or hear an honestly great sermon about the Promised Land (yes in those days it was still politically correct to do so). After a while of celebrating Passover seder and kvelling over matzoh, singing diyeinu, saluting the Israeli flag with “Hatikva” and hearing “Jerusalem of Gold” over and over again, I longed to get to the other side. All of these happened, I get it- but what about now? The holidays were rich in symbolism and ornate Judaica would decorate almost every chag yet I thought to myself “Am I the only one in this synagogue who longs to go back into memory – today?” Memory is a living thing, it’s not just a thing of the past.

It seems way wacky that today I have to defend the core of the Jewish story and how simple truth has become so problematic. Judaism is known for its stories. Rooted into connections of places, family events, dealings with neighbors and enemies, the stories of our Avot are handed down like a doctor’s prescription to remedy come what may. Even way back in the middle ages the great sage, Rashi said of the first passuk of the Torah- “When nations come to say you stole the Land just prove your deed to the Land by showing the bible to them.” Most excitingly, there is a WE to this story – Israel – and deep in my psyche I know I am part of it, part of this story. This is a story of possessing a Land that goes back to the first kernel- Abraham. Not to be forgotten, the theme runs along the same path, to the Yabok Passing and over the Jordan into the legacy- the Promised Land. These stories are repeated again and again like the Torah itself which was passed from R’ Moshe to Yehoshua and Yehoshua to the elders and so on and so on. The Torah is likened to the tree of life “עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה” “A tree of life to those that hold fast to it.” That means that at this very moment this very portion of present time we reclaim the past. The life force pours out in abundance if we hold on to this tree. This story grows out of the Land beneath my feet. You really can’t understand it until your feet touch this ground. You must guard this land with your life.

Life in the heart of Israel required developing new skills of adapting to harsh conditions both on the ground and in the world arena. Recalling the stories of our Avot, their confrontations, struggles and tussles gives me the strength and knowingness to be a better and more authentic Jew. These Torahs are not just about reminiscing but about a state of mind you inherit as you are being contested, they are about standing on this mountain and actually viewing the Yabok. Memorized into my mind is this Land, the earth describes who we are. Today half a million Jews live in Judea Samaria.

Moshe Rabbeinu came to the overlook a few weeks before his passing. He does not pass on to the other side of the Yabok as did Abraham, Yaacov, Yehoshua and the new generation. Devarim is the vital lesson he gives over about stepping back and thinking about your lineage. You linked into this chain. The teachings reverberate like your heart beating right now, and in the back of your mind you yearn to be in a relationship with this Land. Devarim: you have been given the recipe of how to live in it. Down through the generations we only dreamt to pass this Yabok. We were like dreamers. This is our eternal heritage, home.

“Fear them not, for the Lord your G-d He shall fight for you.” Shabbat Shalom, Leah

Matot – Masei     July 2023

Living here has its advantages; from this mountain you can view terrain spoken about in the portions of the Torah, like right now. My spirit soars here transcending anything and everything in the world happening as our car drives up to the overlook of the Tirtzah stream, way up on Mount Kabir. Looking down into the inheritance of the Bnot Tzofchahd, a green patchwork of plowed fields running along the trickle that makes its way east; I feel the cool breeze under this surviving oak. Keeping in mind that barren areas in the backdrop were once forests and that the river Jordan flowed clean and powerfully then- still- this is the place. Located in the hub of biblical Israel, you know a deeper insight into these places and these people: women that demanded an inheritance in the land. I feel what they felt, the heightened awareness of themselves in relation to the Land and the nation of Israel. The particular angle and vision they had also left personal considerations aside, much like the women I am honored to know that have set up farms along the edge of Elon Moreh sloping down to Tirtzah. Risking their own lives literally they are pushing back on encroachment. Just a thin artery is left open into the heart of Israel- it is right here. A bird of prey soars off the cliff, gliding above this territory. Juxtaposing the story of the tribes of Reuven who asked to settle on the eastern side of the Jordan (which I can see as plain as day), the Torah teaches out that first fulfill your collective responsibilities then do what you want. The Bnot Zlofchahd as women, as mothers, spouses and caretakers were the first to settle, true to their word in their advocacy for Eretz Yisrael, they yearned for this valley.

These portions also teach us about vows, seemingly a separate topic. The women that demanded to settle in Tirtzah fulfill the vow about being true women living in harmony and active connection, in having a relationship with Eretz Yisrael. Fulfilling their rightful by ownership deed to the Land was like consummating the marriage to it. These are the true brides, these are their vows. They are who they are: women. In formulating identities while I listen and read the Parsha, when I look into their inheritance and touch it, I grasp what devotion means, impacting my own definition of particular oneness with this place. Women instinctively are passionate about home and family, it has been that way since the beginning of time. Before this generation of end times this was an ingrained trait in all women. We are living now in an era of abandonment of self, truth of who we are is unraveling. This is represented in the drive to force a Jewish presence out of Judea Samaria and to drive women out of their own conclusive womanhood. The adoration and affection of the Bnot Zlofchad teach us a most crucial lesson at this most trying time: ADVOCACY for the truth of who you are- demand it at this most crucial time of history!

Reuven, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh teach us the power of helping Israel even while I’m not really living in it. Each story here comes to teach us about our stance on yearning for Eretz Yisrael, and the willingness to put it first before we become satisfied to live on the other side.

Now we must renew our vows, to reconnect to who we are and where we need to be at this time.

Shabbat Shalom! Leah

Parshat Pinchas – July 2023

Ingrained into the sons of Yaakov Avinu from the first stories we know of them is the expertise in military tactics and warfare. It was never initiated but used as a defense system much like what we see today in the IDF.”  “- ” ארדוף אויבי ואשיגם ולא אשוב עד כלותםI will pursue my enemies and overtake them, and I will not return until they are consumed.” Washing our sons’ laundry in their early army days had me knowing this passuk (verse) by heart as it was printed on the back of the T shirts personalizing their specific unit, Egoz. Psalm 18, written by none other than King David himself describes a time in our history when all enemies were pushed back way beyond Israel’s borders. King David is the symbol of the ultimate warrior. The Talmud tractate of Sotah deals with the issues relating to the emotional and ethical state of a soldier, who should join ranks and who should not. A lot of time has passed from then with our people knowing sovereignty and unfortunately knowing exile. But the intrinsic qualities we inherited as masters in warfare is in our DNA. Now that we’ve miraculously returned to our Land, the topic comes up again- it’s a headline. Impacting me personally was when our boys were inducted; it introduced me to the brave and professional boys they bonded with there in their elite unit, boys from all different backgrounds but all with the same shirt with the same passuk, with the same ideal of authentic skilled Jewish expertise in armed encounters. They learned urban warfare as well as camouflage in concealment like dressing as a rock and staying that way for two straight days to name just the tip of the iceberg. Now that our sons train new soldiers, I have come to realize the incredible miracle of it as my father of blessed memory was a lone survivor of the holocaust that had joined the underground in Poland and had a rich history of his own in military success. It’s inborn.

A summer of terror is upon us here in Israel, holy terror to be exact– In Jerusalem, Huwara Tel Aviv, the Jordan Valley, the Galilee, all over. Israel is being bullied and attacked by vicious savages. This is not only a territorial threat, this is a religious one. We have enabled terror to flourish in the very heart of this country, in the centrum that defines our history and who we are. We have forfeited and given them full control as they burn destroy and build terror centers instead of us defining to them and to world powers what Israel needs to do in order to secure peace and stability- THIS IS OUR LAND. Have we gone mad? Paying a dear price now as Café’s are attacked, alarm, dread panic and trepidation grip Israel in its realization of what a mistake Oslo was. We told them- do not give them guns! We told them- do not forfeit our backbone heritage sites. Yet, the west was certain that an Arab spring would flourish here. A new firm policy that seeks out our enemies and crushes them must be implemented! NOW! So that they can never send a rocket from just a stone’s throw from Mount Gilboa or off a boulder of a hill in Samaria, or pull a knife on mothers walking with strollers in Ramat HaChayal. France percolates now as those areas in the back neighborhoods where “autonomy” was granted to them explode – a mirror of what is happening here, because what happens here- happens everywhere. This is the pupil of Hashem’s eye.

Parshat Pinchas comes to speak about the origins of zealous enthusiasm for integrity. The first quality you must have as a soldier is TZEDEK- Justice. Standing up on Mount Gerizzim, I have a good vantage point. I can see the Tomb of Yosef Hatzaddik that was ransacked this week and I can just make out the stone wall at the ancient gate of Tel Shechem in the old grey dust. What called to mind for me was the original story of Shimon and Levi in fixing disgrace, how they demanded honor restored to their sister; they opened that gate wide while charging into the enemy “And they journeyed and the terror of Hashem was upon the cities that were around them and they did not pursue after the sons of Yaakov. (35:5) Later Yaakov comes to bless “And I have given you Shechem above your brothers, which I took with my sword and my bow.” Chazal wonder if Yaakov Avinu himself participated in this war. Yaakov Avinu became Yisrael upon entering Israel. He became a warrior for the honor of this Land. In exile he was Yaakov, being told what to do and spineless, in Israel he became Israel- a fearless warrior. The might in this Land demands it of you. Shimon and Levi go on to have children and their children have children. Levi produces Pinchas who in his zeal corrected the way things went wrong with Zimri descended from Shimon. Pinchas comes to teach us that when a lack of justice ethics and character stare you in the face- you better come and be the soldier that fixes it.

Now as the might of Israel has become revealed, the enemy wishes to conceal it. It is up to the IDF to live act and be prepared to fight to remove disgrace -for the honor of our little sister, for the stones and dust of this land we love so much.

This blog is dedicated to the memory of David Yehudah Yitzchak – Z”L  HY”D, the brave warrior angel of the Egoz unit that fell this week in Jenin.

Shabbat Shalom, Leah

Chukat – June 2023

Old things are stored in the boidem; not stuff you throw away or give away but stuff you keep close to you but far from the eye to see. Walking downstairs, I see Moshe’s back bent deep in the boidem, in search of something in the last possible cranny of space. Shrugging perplexed at first I kind of knew what he would be taking out. Backing out of there he held his old helmet and army vest. Going back in time I heard myself saying “This is the land of Efrayim. We’re here and we feel alone.” To the day – the Shabo massacre yartzeit HYD that had Moshe in this vest, fighting for his life as shots went to and from the home where Yosef Twito HYD and Rachel Shabo and her three children were murdered as she prepared challah bread for Shabbat. Surreal, in the backdrop I can hear the first pieces of news coming in today, twenty one years later about a shooting nearby that left four people dead and many injured. Life literally had us in a crawl space during the time of the Shabo atrocity. In the heat of that summer we lost more friends than I can count on two hands to terror. June is a month riddled with memorials. And now… now the past stares us in the face, awakening.

In the Oslo days there was a selective narrative that went like this- “Sacrifices for Peace”, yes that is what they called terror victims then. The forerunners of the “Peace plan” had us walking the plank; they made it seem that WE were the obstacles to peace. If those settlers just didn’t live there it would be a new Middle East.  We would wipe houmous on pita in Damascus and go sail boating in Lebanon. It was never about the monster created, the Palestinian Authority that from its inception to this very day paid for the slaying of innocent men women and children and handed out candy wherever it happened, about the blatant Jew hatred and call for violence in its Educational curriculum. Before we developed the street sense to know better; in those days there was no platform for conservative media in this country either. They thought that if you give them guns and territory it would bring peace, satisfy the savages. Walking down memory lane has me understanding Parshat Chukat on a deeper and higher level. The foregoing “Peace Process” Israel was pushed into was no less than a means to weaken Israel and make her grovel to world powers as they did not and do not accept the fruition of prophecy unraveling. Condemning Jewish building in the heart of its country is pure antisemitism clearly. Building up choke points where terror is carried out and achieves results on a daily basis is all pre meditated and dictated to us.

We are not asking “what do we drink!”, “what do we eat!”. We are not wandering in the wilderness anymore- we are home in our Land- against the odds, against the ideology of replacement theology. We do not grumble. But we are being bitten by the venomous snake, the serpent of Eden. The fiery snake comes to bite us and we stare at it as a solvent. Hashem’s protection is surely felt here as we live in a miracle yet he wants us to learn from our mistakes. Staring at Moshe’s helmet has me thinking that we ALL must re- evaluate. Israel has no choice. !  עם לבדד ישכון-  Israel must face her demons in order to be cured of them. Israel inevitably will have to go it alone. No one is calling victims of terror peace sacrifices any more. The past comes to put us in the perspective of what has happened and what needs to be fixed NOW. It is staring us in the face.

Friends, empower us. We need that now. You know what is right! Kingship is rising! As old ideas crumble and the evil force tries to overcome, Israel illuminates. Her light must shine out this darkness.

Shabbat shalom! Leah

Leah’s blog – Shalach Lecha – June 2023

Under the super highways that now decorate central Israel there is a tiny vestige of what once was when the pioneers came to drain the swamps there, a sagging hut here, an old cow shed there. Doctors, engineers and what were professionals from their countries of origin came to weld, dig, and work in labors of all kinds in the sweltering heat, living in flimsy wooden shacks that boiled like ovens in summer and freezers in winter. Searching for water to drink, this is not what they imagined Israel to be. They did not train for the catastrophe of hard living; it was a tough row to hoe. In Zichrone Yaakov there is a museum that breathes life into the story of what went on here just a few generations ago, the hard plight of settling Eretz Yisrael. Leaving Europe first on a buggy, then on a steamship the first settlers wore beautiful tailored woolen coats and stylish boots to only later deal with the rats, pestilence, drought, hunger not to mention wars, sunbaked in thin cotton sweaty work clothes staring up at the sky asking “G-d! WHY?” I imagine when Abraham came it was much of the same. It was worse.

To the soul of this Land waves and waves of Aliyah settled it making it what it is today. Every person can bear witness to you how it was for them to feel like grasshoppers or be amazed at the astronomical size of the food bill for grapes plus everything, and so heavy a price we pay to do what we are commanded to do- to live in this Land. Shalach Lecha! Lech Lecha! Be willing to sacrifice your son Abraham! Be willing to have your own son join the IDF, not your neighbor’s son. Be willing to rough it, suck up to it, endure. Here clearly it is a personal test in doing the command- assessing your Divine purpose, and what better place than Hashem’s own home. Side by side Shalach Lecha and Lech Lecha analyze a story of pure obedience, or lack of it. The political elite of the generation of the desert is all about the weak hearted yet the power hungry. Weak and power go together in a weird paradox as leaders do shape the climate of the time we live in- in all generations. Who is to say the same souls of the leaders that were sent as spies are not the leaders and influencers of our nation today? Who is saying “We can go up and inherit her (the Land)!” Yehoshua and Caleb were but a minority- two out of twelve of those leaders- the ratio continues until this very moment. The spies rent their clothes and tried to persuade that Eretz Yisrael is not a threat to power, but the actual power that will pull us down, that will lead us to perish- the antithesis of Hashem’s will. Indeed the flip side of what these “leaders” said is the actual truth- Even when you eat dust for dinner, even when you feel abandoned even when you sweat cry and suffer- this is our destiny. Turn the wilderness into Gan Eden, the pinnacle of mitzvoth of the Torah. So, your shiny shoes and your ironed suit might get a bit scruffy here- suck up to it. This is not even about you and your ego.  This is a story of NOT “What can it do for me” but “What can I do for it”. In this Land there stood a Temple, in it the windows were made so that the light shone out, not in. This is the kind of place that you think you are marrying Rachel but you get Leah. Rachel got that- she stands on the way waiting for her sons to return- and they do! You can’t superficially make sense or an accounting for why things appear as they do. This place comes to fix you in your willingness to give to it. This is the place that enables you to discover your inner strength, your inner joy, especially when you are humbled, especially when you are not even seen.

Narrow vision is something that has tested us from way back to the roots of who we are. The spies of Shalach lecha observed Eretz Yisrael as did the brothers of Yosef Hatzaddik wrongly disqualify him. He didn’t have a Yehoshua and Calev to be his advocate. Braving it alone Yosef Hatzaddik stood in conviction in living his dream as a lighthouse- even when ALL of his brothers put on blinders. Later, after the exodus, the entry into Eretz Yisrael had Yehoshua actually carrying Yosef into Shechem, putting him to rest in the exact place where the blessings and the curses were read by all of our nation. Justify your truth – be blessed, negate Hashem’s will- be cursed. All of the spies and their generation perished in the wilderness; they didn’t make it there.

Where are our leaders today! Why have the lovers of Israel’s heartland become a hostile enemy? (Maybe it is not politically correct?) How do we view the painstaking grip on Eretz Yisrael, yes- even today as it boasts super highways and supermarkets exploding KOL TUV- all the best. Elaborate improvements have been made to these foundations yet the heart of Israel is in disarray, an impending doom surrounds us; the enemy encroaches! Every house built here is with great difficulty, every field plowed has tremendous implication in defending the integrity of the heart of this Land. We keep on because we can inherit it as Joshua and Calev said. The people here are willing.

Friends, I am sharing a letter that we sent out in the slow mail. Please encourage your friends and family to donate to this most important cause. SHINE YOUR LIGHT OUT!

Shabbat shalom THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! Leah

 

Dear Friends,

Recently our homeland was under attack once again. Hundreds of rockets were launched upon greater Israel causing havoc and terror upon thousands of Israelis. Terrorist groups have promised to attack Israel whether it be from Gaza, Lebanon, or Iran and its proxies that work from the very heart of Israel. Most recently a missile making factory was found in Samaria which threatened the safety of major cities just miles away.

I wanted to reach out and let you know that this letter is being sent out as the challenges here on Itamar continue. As we are trying to grow, there have been shootings on our major road leading in and out of the community. Terrorists have been vamping up concerted efforts to paralyze us. Emergency days are upon is. The people that live here know that the history of our people is replete with courageous acts and initiatives by idealists that have determination. We strive to be that. We are working on safeguarding measures as well as developing the heartland despite the hardships. By living our lives here, we are actually thwarting terrorism. We’re happy and excited and are thrilled that you are a part of it as well.

As you know, Itamar holds down a significant swath of land connecting the Jordan Valley to the center of the country. Itamar has an important security role in protecting our coastal cities by having command over the mountain range, but even more so we are preserving our ancient legacy, our historic and spiritual foundations by living here. That is why education is also so important to us as our schools grow and children from all over the country come to our institutions all the way from grade school through post army service. A new generation of leaders is rising up from here. It is in your merit that schools, parks, organic agricultural projects and so many endeavors have succeeded as we push through obstacles in restoring glory to this Land. When hard times like these come upon Israel, we are even more earnest in the meaningfulness of the mission that connects us based on idealism, pioneering spirit and a love for G-d, Israel and the Torah.

I’m reaching out to you now with our summer fundraiser and asking you if you would be able to contribute. I know how much Itamar means to you. Please help us prevent land encroachment as there has been a concerted effort in illegal building surrounding parts of our community. Itamar has been blessed with a lot of land and we must hold on to it. Part of our summer YOUTH PROJECT will include the development of such areas where our youth can help by planting trees and by setting up a recreational park area. Thanks to the pioneering efforts and deep dedication of this new generation we see a bright future for Judea and Samaria. Also, our HUB CENTER has been such a success — a place where one can work from here and not have to travel on dangerous roads. In order to absorb the new families that will move here we need to build five more office spaces. In addition, we are planning to launch a new internal CAMERA project which will enable us to have better surveillance and keep us safer.

This is your opportunity to really make a difference for us. Please share what you know about Friends of Itamar with your friends and family. Blessing you with a beautiful summer season — please come and visit!

Please make out your tax-deductible checks to the Friends of Itamar and mail them to:

Friends of Itamar Attn. Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith 962 East 28th Street Brooklyn NY 11210

For those interested in receiving receipts via email, which is our preference being quicker and more economical, please email us at leamoshe@netvision.net.il

You can also donate via pay pal or Credit Card on our website:

www.touritamarsupportisrael.com or www.friendsofitamar.org

Find us on Facebook at Friends of Itamar

Thank you and blessings!

Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith President