My Amazing Illegal Outpost Adventure: Kedumim

Yom rishon, 3 Av 5772.

Now that I have your attention, I will say that I considered putting quotation marks around the word "illegal" in the title because in relation to Israel,  the word has been abused to the point of being rendered nearly meaningless.  Suffice it to say that there are millions of misguided people who think that one Jew in all of the so-called West Bank is two too many.  More on that later.

This adventure was so full of things to learn and people worth knowing, it will take more than one post.  Stick with me.  This tiny country is so full of wonderful and important stories!

A week ago, the Dearly Beloved and I went on a tour of the Shomron (Samaria, aka the northern part of the "West Bank") with Eve Harow, under the auspices of the OU Center in Jerusalem.  Eve is a knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide who uses the Tanach as a guidebook.  It is deeply satisfying to travel the Holy Land of Israel while being shown the locations where great Biblical events actually took place.

Our first stop was Kedumim, a 27-year-old town of approximately 3,500 residents whose primary industry is education.   We met first with Michael Osnis, who told us a remarkable story of how he came to build a model of the Second Holy Temple.

Michael's story is nothing short of amazing.  He told us that he was a secular Jew from the former Soviet Union, with no knowledge of the Torah or the Holy Temple, and with no belief in G-d.

He was invited to Kfar Chabad for Shabbat when he was a young oleh, and saw his host's children playing a card game.  As he looked closer, he saw that the cards had unusual symbols on them, not the usual hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs.  One picture in particular fascinated him, so he asked about it.  The children didn't understand how a grown man could not know about the Holy Temple, but they patiently explained to him.

A few weeks later, he had a powerful dream about the Temple.  He became obsessed with it. A master stonemason, he felt that he would not rest until he had built it, and with materials as authentic as possible.

He wanted it to be right, but he had no idea where to find answers, not yet knowing enough to go to the Mishnah for details.  He stumbled upon the works of Josephus Flavius, the commentator of the period of the Roman conquest of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.  Michael read and re-read with fascination the detailed description in Josephus' writings about the Temple.  With guidance from his research and the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, he painstakingly constructed a model that was so accurate that Aish HaTorah commissioned a 1,200 kilogram version that was placed on top of a roof of one of their buildings overlooking the Kotel.

The sweetest part of the story is that Michael's obsession with his dream, and with learning about and building his model of the Second Temple, caused him the begin observing Judaism.  He went on to build a beautiful replica of the Mishkan as well.

Even the curtain for the front of the model of the Mishkan was woven in careful detail.

After this inspiring visit, we moved to the Kedem Museum, which was founded and is run by Zvi (Zvika) Slonim, winner of this year's Moskowitz Prize for Zionism.  Unfortunately, the museum is going through renovations; so we were unable to learn anything about it.  (A good reason for a return visit.)

To quote the Moskowitz site, "The Moskowitz Prize for Zionism was established in recognition of the people who put Zionism into action in today’s Israeli society – at times risking their own personal security, placing the collective before personal needs, and doing what it takes to ensure a strong, secure Jewish homeland."


A seventh-generation Israeli, Zvi Slonim is a direct descendant of the Alter Rebbe of Lubavitch, and the grandson of the chief rabbi of Hevron at the time of the 1929 pogrom.  He is also a criminologist, and an expert on juvenile delinquency and special education.  What motivated him to leave a fulfilling career and work so tirelessly to fill the Land with Jews?  He quotes Mesilat Yesharim (The Path of the Just):  "What is man's obligation in this world?"

One night, he heard Egyptian president Anwar Sadat say that he would be willing to sacrifice a million soldiers for a tiny speck of the land of Israel.  Hearing this impressed upon Zvi how important must be the Land to the Jews.  He felt that our Torah teaches us that we must love the Land, and that we must fill it up and live in it.  He hoped that he could bring a hundred Jews with him.  He became one of the founders of the Gush Emunim movement, and one of the first settlers in the Shomron.  It was important to him that his organization purchase every speck of land legally, without violence, without a hint of stealing the land, so that no one could question the legality of the Jewish ownership of the settlements.  He proceeded to help to establish 148 settlements with a half a million people.

To be continued.  Next stops:   Barkan for handmade chocolate, and Ariel, home to Israel's eighth university.


Photos taken by Ruti and Avi Eastman

Hashke's Flowers

Yom chamishi, 29 Tamuz 5772.

"You know how it is, son.  You're a writer, too.  When the muse isn't there, no words come out."
"I know, Ema.  But I miss the flowers."

This post is for you, Soldier Boy.




These photos are from a walk I took in my beloved village, Neve Daniel, in June.  So by now, the figs and grapes and pomegranates are bigger, and the hot July sun is filling them up with juice.

One of the things I love about my neighbors is their appreciation for the Seven Species of the Land of Israel .

Here are your flowers, my son.  Surrounded by fruit trees and beautiful gardens.

Difficult to see clearly -- but it's a lemon tree.  Very pretty.  ;-)

My favorite flower, the Passiaflora, looks like something from space.  This and the platypus show G-d's sense of humor.

A quiet tribute to the five young Israeli tourists murdered yesterday in Bulgaria.  May Hashem avenge their bloods.

The view of Beitar and the Judean Hills from my street.  On a clear day, you can see the Mediterranean Sea!

Looking forward to walking about Israel with you again one day soon, dear son!

Glossary:
Hashke: a Yiddish nickname for Yehoshua (Joshua in English)

"What is the Jew?"

Yom shlishi, 27 Tamuz 5772.

The hot summer, involvement in hasbara (Israeli public diplomacy), and simple contentment with life, have kept me from writing much lately.  Fortunately, the hot summer seems to inspire Yeshiva Bochur, aka Exiled Warrior, to write about his experiences in the IDF.  Here is an especially sweet post.  If you enjoy this piece, you may want to peruse some of his other recent writing at his blog.


We all looked up surprised when a bus full of young children pulled into our base on the Israel-Lebanon border. We were working on our equipment as they poured off the bus with huge smiles and eyes filled with wonderment. A smile soon crossed every tired soldier’s face as the kids ran around firing questions faster than some of the machine guns that were present.

It soon became understood that the children were those who had lost family members in war and or terror attacks. The sergeant called for a break from work and gathered everyone into one big room.

Usually this particular room is used for briefings before patrols on the border, but today it became filled with soldiers and children, or more appropriately, younger siblings and older brothers.

The kids donned with pride the red berets of the soldiers, and listened intently as they explained about the different types of guns and equipment.

All the kids had prepared letters which they handed out to the soldiers.

Mine was written by two young girls named Talia and Mashi. This is what they wrote:

Dear Soldier,

Shalom, our names are Talia and Mashi. We are campers in the summer camp "Mishpacha Echat." A camp for people whose families have been effected from war or terror. 

Both of our families have all been effected from terror. 

I (Talia), my older brothers, Lidor and Oriah, were killed on a bus in Jerusalem on a way to a family event. My father was injured slightly from the attack and my mother was not injured. My uncle, his wife and two kids were also killed in the attack. 

It is hard for me to be without my older brothers. 

I (Mashi), my father was killed in a shooting in the North. He was already let off his work before because of an injury from another terror attack. After the first attack he became a driver. He was taking people to work when he was killed. 

My father was killed when I was a year and two months. To be without a father is very hard. 

Thank you for guarding us, look out for yourselves.

We love you.


Talia and Mashi

These are the heroes I had the pleasure to be around today. This amazing camp, "Mishpacha Echat" brings these children here and they strengthen us and we strengthen them. The nation is strengthened. "The Nation builds the army, the army builds the Nation." That is the army's mantra.

Mark Twain, after studying the "The Jew," became perplexed and remarked: "All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"

Our enemies have tried to destroy us time and again. They believe that they, like a mighty wave, will be able to extinguish the Jewish flame. But they, like all their predecessors, sink back into the sea, forgotten. The Jew however, is still standing. You have killed my older brothers, my father, my uncle, my nieces and nephews. But you have killed only their bodies. Their souls are eternal, we are eternal.

I am so proud of my Nation. When I see those bright-eyed kids that the enemy tried to destroy, wearing paratroopers’ red berets, I am reassured that we will never be defeated. We stand together, as One Family -- as a " Mishpacha Echat."

That Mr. Twain -- that is our secret.

"I will lift my eyes..."

Yom chamishi, 1 Tamuz 5772, Rosh Chodesh.

Dearly Beloved getting his eyes examined -- at home!

Making a parnassa (earning a living) in Israel can be like the wild west of the early days of America.  As a new immigrant, finding your profession might mean building a brand-new idea.  While this can be scary, it also opens up new vistas.  The Dearly Beloved was trained as an accountant in the US, worked for twenty years as an army soldier, and then did various other jobs that had nothing to do with accounting, weren't as fun as directing soldiers and tanks, but paid the tuition bills.  Now that he's in Israel, he teaches guitar and coaches American football. Needless to say, he is having the time of his life -- and he's added his own expertise to Israel.


Rabbi Chaim Silverstone worked for a small shul in Owings Mills, Maryland.  During his tenure there, his dream was to find and fill a void in the kiruv world.  He founded the Jewish Student Union in Maryland, creating Jewish culture clubs for public school students there.

His goal had always been to return to Israel, where he had attended yeshiva years before.  But he had now developed this program that was making great changes in the lives of public school Jewish kids.  So, he did what any self-respecting kiruv rav might do: he asked a "shyla."  His rabbi told him that if he could find someone who could adequately take over what he had created, he could return to Israel.  In 2008, he and his wife and children boarded a Nefesh b'Nefesh flight to fulfill the dream of living in the Holy Land.

Next problem:  How to support a family in a country where rabbis are a dime a dozen?

As a young yeshiva bochur in Israel, Reb Chaim had been quite the entrepreneur.  Initially, he ran a vegan restaurant near a seminary in the Old City, around attending to his rabbinical studies.  The restaurant was quite successful, but was requiring more and more time.  Wishing to devote more time to his learning, he started an alternative business called Yeshiva Crew Cleaners.  His team of yeshiva students cleaned 40 houses a week.  As that business was also quite successful, Reb Chaim thought about returning to it after he made aliyah.  But he discovered a very important fact: it's easier to persuade yeshiva guys to clean houses when you are one.  When you turn into the Establishment, it is a little more difficult.  (I told him this knowledge would help him to understand his children...)

"What gave you this strong inclination toward building successful businesses?" I asked him.

Reb Chaim displays a variety of glasses frames in our living room.

Reb Chaim answered humbly.  "I always wanted to make a business I could run myself."  (We at Chez Mizrachi strongly identify with this.)  He was impressed by consumer advocate Clark Howard, whose buzz phrase was "save time, save money, and avoid being ripped off."  Howard mentioned on his website a way to get eyeglasses inexpensively -- "Order online and get a pair of glasses for eight bucks!"

It occurred to Reb Chaim that he could order the glasses wholesale, and bring the concept to Israel.  Thus was "Esa Einai" born.  (Leave it to a rabbi to name his eyeglasses business after a beloved Psalm from King David.  "I will lift my eyes to the mountains.  From where will come my help?  My help comes from Hashem, Maker of heaven and earth.")   The business began to grow -- but as time went by, Reb Chaim became dissatisfied with the pace of the customer service of the US-based company he was dealing with; and he wanted a higher quality of frames.  So he began to network in Israel to find the quality and service he wanted for his customers.  Before long, he realized that home visits would make his service stand out from the pack, and would help chareidi families around the problem of bringing all of their children in for new glasses.  This branched out to include families in the Gush and other outlying areas: a trip into the city is less convenient than a home visit party for many working parents.  (And a home visit party is also more fun!)

"Tomey Lens-o-meter," Reb Chaim's little buddy who reads your current prescription, even without an exam.  Miracle of miracles!  "And this is not even a new model," says Reb Chaim, indicating that sometimes, an old friend is more reliable, anyway.

During a lull in the flow of customers through my living room, Reb Chaim informed me that he also worked as a rebbi at Ohr Dovid.  "What do you teach?"

"How to be a mentsch," he answered, with a gentle smile.

If you know me at all, you know this is my favorite subject.  I asked about what his wife does.  A girl after my own heart, she proofreads, edits, and translates. She wrote Kid Power, a children's book that teaches midos tovos.  She also writes for Hamodia Kids and Binah Bunch magazines.  Clearly, mentschlichkeit is a family business.

We talked about the pictures of rabbis on my wall (a conversation that is unlikely to happen in your ordinary visit to the eyeglasses store).  We spoke about the Rabbis Twersky.  I mentioned getting a bracha for my children from Rav Michel Twersky, which precipitated a beautiful story from Reb Chaim.

"Rav Michel used to say that as a descendant of the Ba'al Shem Tov, he felt an obligation to dispense brachot.  The Ba'al Shem Tov's famous bracha was that 'Hashem should set your heart on fire.'  A friend of mine asked Rav Michel for a bracha.  'What kind of bracha would you like?' Rav Michel asked.  'I want a bracha that my heart will be set on fire -- and that I will find my bashert.' So Rav Michel replied, 'I give you the bracha that you should find your bashert, and that she should set your heart on fire.'"


The story was very moving.  At that moment, a new customer came in.  Another aspect of the heimish nature of Esa Einai was revealed: the customer didn't have a lot of money, but had a service to barter.  (It also was yet another example of the Zero Degrees of Separation between Yidden:  Reb Chaim and his delightful customer were both from Calgary... and the customer had eaten at the Silverstone table as a young person.  I never get tired of how we are all connected!)

Hudy carefully examines a patient's eyes.

While Reb Chaim continued to show his wares, I went to my office where Hudy had set up shop.  I was impressed with how he could make his "doctor's office" in my little home office, around all my junk.

Hudy (Yehuda), of Moroccan descent and Israeli for generations, had very warm and encouraging things to say about those of us who come from America to live in the shtachim.  I am always humbled by the Israelis who understand how much we care about being here, about our love for the land.  He also is impressed by the young people who come from Chutz l'Aretz and serve in the IDF.   Hudy wanted to be a pharmacist, but for various reasons decided optometry was a better choice...  So after studying for four years, he opened up shop.  When he and Reb Chaim found each other, a truly unique team was born, as both were willing to travel, just like the peddlers and traveling salesmen of the old west, bringing their wares and services to their customers.

Tools of the optometrist's trade.  Who needs an office?

Any port in a storm.  Even Ruti's office window.

As Reb Chaim and Hudy were packing up to go, I asked for a bracha for my son, who happens to be "in the marriage window."  Reb Chaim smiled.  "I give you the bracha that he will find his bashert, and she will set his heart on fire."

If you are interested in finding out more about an Esa Einai home visit, or if you would be interested in hosting a one day sale, contact Chaim at 052-713-4489 or simchadic@gmail.com.  Feel free to drop my name.  ;-)

Click to embiggen.  I love the "BS"D" in the corner.

Yes, he looked good in the Borgesque photo above -- but with his new glasses, he looks even cooler.

Glossary:


Shul: synagogue
Kiruv: bringing Jews closer to their Judaism
Shyla: a Yiddish word meaning a question, but with the understanding that the one asking wants direction in life, usually based on Jewish law
Yeshiva bochur: young student of religious Jewish studies
Chareidi (Hareidi): what most of the world refers to as "ultra-Orthodox" Jews
Mentsch: a good, upright person with fine character traits
Midos tovos (midot tovot): good character traits
Bracha, brachot: blessing(s)
Bashert: one's intended
Heimish: homey, warm and inviting
Shtachim: communities ("settlements") over the Green Line
Chutz l'Aretz: anywhere outside the land of Israel
Embiggen: a delightful term coined by Treppenwitz meaning "to make bigger"
BS"D: an Aramaic abbreviation meaning "with the help of Heaven"
Borgesque: a delightful term coined by moi which is obvious to anyone who watches any space movies or TV shows

Everything old is new again.

Yom revi'i, 1 Sivan 5772, Rosh Chodesh.

There is an expression I like to quote from the 1998 edition of the Artscroll Chumash.  "To the degree that one trusts in God's help, one receives it."

Someone else -- I can't remember who it was -- said it very nicely.  When you notice Hashem's gifts and acknowledge them, it is as if He says, "You liked that?  Wait till you see this!  I've got a lot more to show you, since you're interested..."

Living in the Holy Land -- within the "local call zone" of all that kedusha (holiness) -- it feels as if there are even more opportunities to notice little gifts of hashgacha (G-d's involvement in each and every moment of our lives).

I was in Jerusalem the other day to do some banking.  (I never get tired of remembering that I do my mundane life tasks in the holiest city on the planet.  And in response to that little twinge I just caused in your neshama, Shprintz, I'm still davening for you to be doing the same.  Very soon.)

Behind the Central Bus Station is a short cut that takes me down some steps, into an alley, and onto Yafo Street.  In that alley is a little apartment behind a green gate.  I notice there has been some mini-landscaping done in the yard, and they've put up a couple of interesting signs.

I must admit to a failing caused by laziness.  In all my years of learning Torah, I have mostly studied in English.  So while I know that "lo tignov" is "don't steal" from the Ten Commandments, I wasn't too sure about the other one.  (Yes, I know you figured it out already; but wait for me.)

I asked a Sephardi gentleman who was passing by to decipher the sign for me.  (This is another miracle of the Holy Land.  Since we are family, it is not quite so extraordinary to stop apparent strangers on the street and ask them questions beyond the usual directions.  Asking them advice is not even that odd.  Receiving life-altering answers is common.  Even when you don't ask.)

He didn't feel qualified to answer.  This was because he didn't have English, and didn't realize how easy it would be to tell it to me in simple Hebrew (like he probably told his kids and grandkids many times.  Later, I felt sorry for him for his missed opportunity).






I had a great morning, getting tasks accomplished and visiting with favorite "regulars" along the way.  Then, with a few minutes to spare before my bus home arrived, I visited one of my favorite bookstores.  "Divrei Shir (Words of Song)" is a really lovely little bookstore, situated on the third floor of the bus station (conveniently near the bus platforms).  I was browsing for a book by Emunah Alon, who writes children's books in Hebrew that I can (mostly) understand.

Suddenly I noticed that Rav Shlomo Aviner has published a number of children's books!  (I should not have been surprised.  "Prolific" and "Aviner" are right near each other in the dictionary.)  One in particular caught my eye, perhaps because it wasn't the usual extremely slim picture book, and I wanted to challenge myself.  I picked it up and opened it at random.  To my delight, I could read the story, only needing to guess at the meaning of a few words.

And that went so well...  I shuffled through a few more pages...  Mah pitom!  I discovered a story that seemed very relevant to this very day.

In easy Hebrew (sorry about your missed opportunity, sweet old Sephardi guy), I learned the meaning of my word.

Just as I guessed.  "Do not covet."  A lesson to little Avri of the story about not wanting that which belongs to his friend.

I could have stumbled upon this book any number of times that I visited this store.

But Hashem often doesn't work that way.  He so very often speaks directly to us, if we will simply open the book.

I love being a Jew.  And I love living in Israel.

Don't forget Tefilat Sh'lah Hakadosh for your children today: http://matzav.com/a-parents-tefillah-from-the-shelah-to-be-recited-today-2  Chodesh tov!

You can't keep a good Jew down.

Yom shishi, 12 Iyar 5772.

Hey, holy Yidden!  Specifically, holy Israelis!  Wanna feel a little national pride?

Israeli para-athlete Moran Samuel won an international rowing competition in Gavirate, Italy. The organizers weren’t expecting her to win, so they hadn’t bothered to secure a recording of the Israeli national anthem, “Hatkivah.”
When Samuel found out there would be no anthem played when she was on the podium, she asked for the mic and started singing herself.  (Quoted directly from the blog 6 Degrees No Bacon Celebrity Roundup.

This is the indomitable spirit that makes me proud of my People.



And speaking of the resilience of the Jewish people...

With much gratitude to all of the people all over the world who have been praying for my dear friend Stella -- aka Tzuriya Kochevet bat Sara -- I would like to amplify the good news shared by her husband Yarden.  As Yarden says, "I know it's sefira [a period when many Jews do not listen to music, due to our collective pain at the loss of 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva to plague], but sometimes you just gotta sing."  Please share Yarden's joy over the latest news at his blog post Gotta Song in My Head.  It will lift your spirits.  Hodu Lashem, Ki Tov, Ki L'Olam Chasdo!  (Thank Hashem, for he is good.  His loving-kindness is forever!)

Please feel free to share any examples you have of uplifting stories in the lives of Jews you know, in the Comments section.  You will add to the happiness, and publicize the miracles.  Nice way to go into a Shabbat!