What did we do to deserve this?

The 'Why do the Hate us?' club has a new member. Rabbi Menachem Froman, chief rabbi of Tekoa, explains that since Hamas is a religious movement, rabbis can use their status to negotiate with them. You heard correctly. The basis of this claim is that Hamas hates secular Israel but will respect fellow religious leaders of another Abrahamitic faith. This claim has been repeated many times before. Dinesh D'Souza, in his book 'The Enemy At Home', he argues that "the cultural left in this country is responsible for causing 9/11 … the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the non-profit sector and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world." The Islamic world views the West as a land of debauchery, immorality and sin and for that reason they must impose Islam's purity.

This is ludicrous. Islam does not hate the West because of its abortion on demand, MTV or premarital sex. Islam wants to subjugate the West because of its Judeo-Christian foundation. The Qur'an mandates Muslims to conquer non-Muslims not because they are immoral but because they are non-Muslims. Jihadist ired is focused equally on G-dless Hollywood, church-going Poland, Bible-thumping Texas or morally relativist Sweden. Rabbi Froman's argument misses the point. Hamas is not committed to Israel's destruction because its Jews break shabbat or eat pork. Islamic fundamentalists cannot accept an independent Infidel, especially Jewish Infidel, state in the heart of the Arab world. The Hamas charter relates the words of Muhammad as recorded by the Sahi Bukhari: "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." Nowhere in this verse does it say that religious Jews will be spared this longed-for genocide. As evident by the targets of terrorist attacks, Hamas and other terrorist groups attack secular and religious Jews. Teenagers studying in a yeshiva and worshippers in a Meah Shearim synagogue have been attacked just as teenagers in a discotheque erev shabbat. Islam's anger will not abate as long as we insist on being proud and free and refuse to submit to dhimmitude.

It is frequently said that Islam is a fellow Abrahamitic religion with Judaism and Christianity. That is really a misnomer. According to Islam, it is the only Abrahamitic religion. Abraham was a Muslim, thereby making Judaism and Christianity illegitimate. "Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian but he was (an) upright (man), a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists. Most surely the nearest of people to Ibrahim are those who followed him and this Prophet and those who believe and Allah is the guardian of the believers." (Qur'an 3:66-67) All of these calls for universal love and brotherhood are completely silly. Islam has no such pretensions. It believes itself to be the only religion of Abraham and that all others are deviant. It does not view itself as one of three brother religions which share beliefs and values but rather as a ruler and conqueror over these false faiths. We cannot expect Hamas or al-Qaeda to accord a rabbi any sort of respect since he is following a corruption of Allah's original message. Islam holds that the Torah originally contained references to Muhammad's coming but that the Jews conspired to "extinguish the lights of Allah".

Rabbi Froman's suggestion is not only idiotic but dangerous. Think about the horror that the Jewish world felt as it saw Neturai Karta members clad in chassidic garb shaking hands with Iran's president at his Holocaust-denial hate-fest. Neturai Karta is a fringe group with several hundred supporters. Imagine the incredible amount of legitimacy that would be bestowed upon Hamas if well-respected rabbis met and discussed with them. It would be tantamount to negotiating with murderers. This suggestion perpetuates the theme of Western or Israeli guilt in terrorist attacks. Islam is responsible for terrorism, not its victims. Even if Israel became the most observant and moral country (speedily in our days, amen!), Arab and Muslim hatred would not be reduced one iota. It is not our secularism or immorality that is to blame but the very text of the Qur'an. Once they tear out the offending passages, I'm sure my rabbi would happy to give their imams a call.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard

Reclaiming "Zionism" - Part II

The Holy Land: full of synagogues, history, scenery, McDonald's cheeseburgers, discotheques and Gay "Pride" Parades. The rampant secularism promoted by a small but influential minority of extremists has long been a point of contention for more traditional and observant Jews. Many often bemoan the lack of observance among some Israelis and their pitiful ignorance of Judaism. Coupled with successive self-loathing, post-Zionist governments, many religious and nationalist Jews no longer identify with the State of Israel. One reaction to the Disengagement from Gaza in summer 2005 was to disengage from the State. In certain synagogues, the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel was omitted and the blue and white flags taken down. In the minds of many, Zionism is associated with the post-Jewish "new Jew", with secularism, with clubbing on Erev Shabbat and land-for-peace deals.

In the 2nd century BCE, the oppressed Jews led a revolt against the mighty Seleucid empire. After 7 long years of intense struggle, the people of Judeah drove out the cruel Greeks and rededicated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to G-d's service. To commemorate this amazing victory, the holiday of Chanukkah was established. What began as an idealistic revolt in the name of religious freedom and self-determination soon became corrupt. Subsequent Hasmonean rulers, descendants of the brave revolutionaries, were more interested in pride and greed than in perpetuating the ideals that their fathers had fought for. Divided into squabbling religious sects, the Jews fought amongst one another and internal hatred weakened them. Ironically, while the early Hasmoneans fought against assimilation and suppression of Judaism, the later Hasmonean kings brought Roman influence into the the Land and assisted greatly in its Hellenization. Eventually, through a combination of civil war, corruption and obsession with materialism, the Hamonean kingdom was brought to an end by the conquering Romans. 70 years of Jewish independence was crushed by Roman legions. Despite the complete assimilation in the final days of the Hasmonean kingdom, Jews until this day observe the holiday of Chanukkah and sing Hallel to remember the miraculous victory. Even when the rulers of the independent Judea brought in foreign philosophies and cultures and tried to erase Judaism, nobody even suggested that Chanukkah be abolished.

Some religious Jews who support the IDF and our Jewish brethren in the Israel tend to shy away from the word "Zionist" as they associate it with the secularism of the early Chalutzim and Zionist leaders. It is not common knowledge that a hundred or so years before Herzl, great rabbis such as the Baal Shem Tov or the Vilna Gaon were encouraging their disciples to make aliyah so as to build up the Land. Zionism did is not a 19th century imperialist movement or a new ideology founded by Herzl or Weitzman. Zionism has its origins in G-d's promise to Avraham Avinu that to his descendants He would give the Land of Israel. Zionism is the thrice-daily prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and our declaration at the end of our Pesach seder. It is the dictum of our Sages that living in Israel is equivalent to the entire Torah. Zionism is the essential component of Judaism which teaches that Jews must form a G-dly society in the Holy Land. By rejecting the so-called "Zionists", these people are perpetuating the sin of the Meraglim who slandered the Land and caused Israel to wander in the desert for 40 years.

When asked if they recite Hallel on Yom HaAtzmaut, some will jokingly reply that they follow Ben Gurion's custom: they don't say Hallel, but they don't say Tachanun either. Behind this witty quip is the insinuation that because the State was founded by secular Jews, it is worthless. Little do they know that oftentimes, the most lofty of ideas has very humble origins. The Moshiach's ancestry, that of the most noble king ever to rule Israel, will be descended of the debauchery of Moav which was conceived through incest, and from the adultery of David and Bathshevah. G-d conceals the Redemption through natural and ignoble means so as to confuse the klipah. As king Chizikiyahu lay on his deathbed, the prophet Yishayahu came to visit him. He explained to him that his death had been decreed for the sin of not having children. Chizikiyahu protested and defended himself by saying that he had known through prophesy that his children would be wicked and that he prefered not having them. Yishayahu answered him: "Why do you involved yourself with the Merciful One's matters? You must do as you are commanded and the Holy One, Blessed be He, will do as He sees fit." Why should these "super-frum" Jews involve themselves with G-d's matters? Let them fulfill the mitzvah of the conquest and settling of the Land and let HaShem do as He sees fit. Do they really imagine the Moshiach to come to a deserted and empty land? Rather, every single house built and tree planted in Israel hastens the Geula.

The State of Israel, Reishit Tzmichat Geulateinu, the Dawn of our Deliverance, has certainly fallen short of the promises of the Neviim. However, it is out of the husk of this secularism that our redemption will sprout. Just as I will continue to light Chanukkah candles even though the Hasmonean kingdom eventually persectued the rabbis, I will continue to dance on Yom HaAtzmaut and thank G-d for His miracles. The proper response to such secularism is not to isolate ourselves but rather to get involved and to change the State from within. Any Jew who accepts G-d's promise to the Avot, who affirm's the central mitzvah of the settlement and conquest of the Land, who prays for G-d to return His people to Israel and who proudly declares every Passover, "Next Year in Jerusalem!", is a Zionist. Zionism cannot be separated from Judaism just as Israel cannot be removed from the Torah. Israel does not depend on the religiosity of its people or leaders but rather on HaShem's promise to avenge His great and holy Name that was desecrated among the nations. And HaShem is a G-d who keeps His word.

Cross-posted to Jewish Vengeance

Reclaiming "Zionism" - Part I

Over 60 years ago, when the Jews were a beaten and broken nation, Zionism resotred pride to the name "Jew". To be a Zionist was a source of inspiration, to be associated with a little David state fighting an enormous Arab Goliath, the people that had returned to their ancient homeland and against all odds, made her blossom and bloom. Unfortunately, today, the term "Zionist" is often villified and smeared. The slander directed towards Zionism is absolutely disgusting and must be refuted by all decent and good-hearted people.

Zionism is the most natural expression of a Jew to return to his homeland and to control his own destiny with a sovereign state of his own. After suffering 2000 years of wandering, exile, oppression, degradation and outright extermination attempts, the Jew resolved never again to exist on the sufferance of the gentiles, but to live as a free people in his own land. The exiles by the rivers of Babylon lamented, "How can we sing the song of the Lord on foreign soil?" Truly, Judaism in exile was incomplete, missing its glorious redemptive component. Only in the Land of Israel can the Jewish people attain their full potential and develop its culture, religion and language. In a majority gentile society, Judaism is under constant threat from the twin demons of anti-semitism and assimilation. It is only in an independent and free Jewish state where these fears disappear.

Any attempt to make a distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-semitism is artificial and contrived. Since its inception, the national component of Judaism has been essential to its theology and beliefs. Especially today, when most Jews no longer follow the traditional Jewish faith in its authenticity, the identification with the people of Israel has grown more important. Somebody who denies the legitimate right of the Jewish people to their land, claiming to simply be anti-Zionist, is an enemy of the Jewish people. The singular reason for the denial of this principal right of self-determination which is accorded to all other peoples of the world is anti-semitism. Let every opponent of Israel who claims not be an anti-semite realize that the only final result for the Jews of Israel, upon Israel's (G-d forbid) destruction, will be nothing other than death. Many hold the mistaken worldview of a Zionist imperialism threatening the peace of the region. This view is unfounded and the complete opposite of reality. Zionism is a national liberation movement with the intention of impowering an oppressed people. It is opposed by a very poweful and violent Arabic and Islamic imperialism dedicated to cleansing the Middle-East of non-Arabs and non-Muslims. Any person who claims to be a liberal and support the rights of indigenous peoples against aggression should rally to the cause of Israel, the only nation in the world to be living, 4000 years later, in the same country, called by the same name, speaking the same language and following the same faith.

When so many defame and accuse Israel of the most vile of things, it is our duty to defend her. Just as Zionism once restored pride to the title "Jew", every Jew must restore pride to the title "Zionist". Zionism and Judaism are inseperable, being conceived at the same time. Judaism was created when G-d called our forefather Avraham from Haran and Zionism came into being when He promised his descendants the entire Land of Canaan. Zionism has contributed so much good to the world, from scientific advances to democracy and tolerance. It is faced by the cruel and genocidal forces of barbarism and savagery. Should Israel fall, the rest of the civilized world will shortly follow.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard and Jewish Vengeance

Arrival in Israel and Jerusalem

May 8th


But a few short hours ago, we were at the gates of death, Treblinka. I sit in the rebuilt Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Driving into the city, it is clear that the Holocaust did not mark the end of the nation of Israel. As dawn broke, we made our way down the holy streets until we reach the Kotel. My heart swelled at the sight of the last remnants of our Holy Temple. I prayed with all my heart and marvelled at the beauty of our city.


The contrast between here and Treblinka is amazing. In Poland, I was an unwanted stranger, a foreigner, someone hated and loathed. Walking the streets of Jerusalem, I am home. This is where I belong. The sound of Hebrew and the familiar sight of living, breathing Jews makes me giddy. For a week I had seen nothing but traces of a glorious Jewish past and scars of a terrible destruction. The nation of Israel lives.


Kibbutz Ramat Rachel is set in the scenic Jerusalem mountains. A full Israeli breakfast awaits us. I almost cried with joy at the Israeli salads, eggs, borekas, teats, veges, etc. After a week of eating packaged deli meats in Poland, fresh food is a mechayeh.

Still early, we drove to the Dead Sea. I floated, took a mud bath, tanned, swam in the sulphur pool and showered. The sun on my skin is such a great feeling. We ate the most delicious grilled pita pizzas.

That night was Yom HaZikaron. On a hill overlooking all of Jerusalem, we had a memorial ceremony. It was extremely touching to realize that the only reason why I can walk freely in Jerusalem is because of the sacrifice of these young soldiers. Their ages were astonishing. So many feel so young and now lie coldly in the ground just so I could raise my head proudly as a Jew. This legacy of both pain and pride is written on the face of every Israeli.



May 9th

We started the day off at the by saying the Shehecheyanu prayer overlooking Jerusalem. I am so thankful to G-d that He has preserved me and brought me to this moment. Afterwards, we explored the ancient Jewish Quarter. Spending so much time in Poland, it boggled my mind to see a city entirely designed for Jews, and suited to our unique needs. There were kosher restaurants, synagogues, mezuzot and all the Jewish paraphernalia everywhere. We searched for shawarma and devoured it with great gusto.



At night, we had a ceremony marking the end of Yom HaZikaron and the beginning of Yom HaAztmaut at Mini Israel. The transition was overwhelming. We went from the depths of sadness and loss to complete joy. We danced and sang, celebrating 60 years of Israel’s existence and miraculous accomplishments. We took part in the largest simultaneous anthem singing ever, joining Jews all over the world in singing HaTikvah.

May 10th

Today is Yom HaAtzmaut. We celebrated by marching through the streets of Jerusalem. It began with a concert in the square outside of Jerusalem’s city hall. We then proceeded, accompanied by music, down the streets, around the walls of the Old City and finally to the Kotel. Imagine how many thousands of generations of Jews only dreamed to see Jerusalem and how I have been privileged to fulfill their aspirations. While our first march between Auschwitz and Birkenau was solemn, this march celebrated our survival and thriving.


We visited Latrun, the tanks museum and military memorial. It was extremely interesting. We had an MOL mega-event with 6000 people. It was an outdoor concert and show in an amphitheatre. Shai Gabso, one of Israel’s most popular singers, performed. It was so much fun.

Never Again?

Having posted my experiences in Poland, before I post about Israel, I feel that it is important to draw some lessons from the horrors of the Holocaust. Clearly, the Holocaust was the worst crime ever perpetrated by humanity. It is our duty to ensure that it never occurs again, either to the Jewish people or to any other nation. Did we learn anything? Is the world any different? Is there hope?

As Hitler intensified his persecutions of the Jews, culminating in the pogrom of Kristallnacht in 1939, the world decided to close its doors to those who needed asylum the most. During the war, when Allied intelligence reported the extermination of European Jews, the world still chose to keep silent. Allied airplanes even bombed a factory attached to the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex yet didn't feel that bombing the gas chambers or crematorium was an important goal. There was a conspiracy of silence against the Jews: half of the world tried to wipe us out, while the other half prefered to sit silently and watch. Only once the war was over did world leaders open their eyes to their complicity and began to realize how they could have prevented such a tragedy. If only we had known before! If only we saw! Never Again, they cried as they cried crocodile tears for the murdered Jews. They beat their chests in anguish and pledged never again would they be apathetic in the face of hatred and genocide. Unfortunately, 63 years since the end of the Holocaust, their words ring hollow.

Since 2003, Arab janjaweed militia backed by the Sudanese government have been systimatically murdered, raping, torturing and killing black Darfuris. They have massacred entire villages and destroyed food and water sources to exacerbate the drought and famine. About 400 000 thousand lives have already been lost. While some may claim (erroneously) that the Holocaust was hidden from public knowledge, no such thing can be said about Darfur. The horrors of ethnic cleansing, massacres and rape have happened in full view of the international community. Endless parades of diplomats, world leaders and officials have visited Khartoum with sporadic, unclear and incoherent messages. Diplomacy has failed the people of Darfur as thousands are slaughtered each day. We are our brother's keeper. It is not enough to build museums and monuments after the genocide, but to stop it or prevent it from happening in the first place.


Neither has the world learnt the dangerous and deadly results of unchecked anti-semitism. In recent weeks, violent attacks against Jews have taken place in Los Angeles, New York and London. In LA, a 58-year old man wearing a kippah was attacked by two men who called him a "dirty Jew" before punching him and beating him down. The police report a steep rise in anti-semitic attacks, including vandalism and a improvised bomb at a Jewish community center. In Germany, an Arab man was sentenced to three years in jail (only?!) for stabbing a rabbi repeatedly. Walls, shops and sidewalks outside four synagogues in northeast London Clapton Common and Stamford Hill neighborhoods were desecrated with anti-Jewish graffiti last week. The slogans called for 'Jihad to Israel' and 'Jihad to Tel-Aviv'. A 16-year old Jewish boy was severely beaten and mugged last week. A Jewish man living in Ireland last week had his home defaced with Nazi symbols and swastikas, with the slogan "Go Home, Jew". In fact, anti-semitic incidents are up almost 400% worldwide in recent years. It is actually the most worrisome increase in attacks since the Second World War. Violent attacks and desecrations of synagogues and cemetaries is commonplace in much of Europe. Jewish communities, such as those of Paris and London, feel as if under siege and live in constant danger. In Western Europe, fanatical imams incite their flocks against the Jews and the Zionists, the source of all of their problems. In the East, where the Muslim population is insignificant, neo-Nazi groups are undergoing a revival. During the first year of the commemoration of Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, it was defaced with swastikas five times.

This anti-semitism is not only the workings of hateful individuals or fringe groups. For the first time since Hitler, there is a world leader publically calling for the destruction of the Jewish people. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced his intentions to "wipe Israel off the map" and called the Holocaust "a myth", even holding a conference to spread his poisonous denial. Ahmadinejad threatened, on Yom HaAztmaut, that Israel will soon be destroyed. "The Zionist regime is dying," said Ahmadinejad during a speech in northern Iran. "The criminals assume that by holding celebrations ... they can save the sinister Zionist regime from death and annihilation... Nations of the region hate this criminal fabricated regime [Israel] and will uproot this fabricated regime if the smallest and shortest opportunity is given to them." His terminology is very reminiscent of Nazi speech as he dehumanizes Jews and demonizes Israel, calling it a "cancer" and insisting on its demise. These are not the mere rantings of a lunatic. Ahmadinejad is rapidly advancing his country's nuclear arms program which he will certainly use as a weapon to bring about his hoped-for destruction of Israel. Iran is responsible for arming Hizbullah and supporting them during their war with Israel, two summers ago. Hizbullah's leader, Nasrallah, an Iranian pawn, made very clear his genocidal intent when he said that "the Jews should all gather in Israel to save us [Hizbualllah] the trouble of going after them worldwide." Just as people prefered to do nothing as the Jews chocked to death in the gas chambers or burnt in the ovens, thinking that Hitler was "just a Jewish problem", the world does not condemn Ahmadinejad for his incitement to genocide. Quite the contrary- he was even invited to spead before the UN, granting him worldwide legitimacy.

Once Iran bombs Israel, G-d forbid, the world will be quite to realize its fault. Leaders will beat their chest in sorrow and cry bitter crocodile tears at their willful blindness. Surely, monuments will be built to commemorate the now-extinct Jews. International money will pour in to build museums to memorialize the tragedy and people will use this blood money to atone for their collective guilt. No! This is not enough! Now that there is still a chance, Ahmadinejad must be brought to justice for inciting hatred against the nation of Israel. We do not want another Yad VaShem or a Holocaust memorial day. What we want is for the world to wake up and to make good on its promise of never again. As Jews, we must know that the world will never realize until its too late and that we cannot go once more like sheep to the slaughter.

NEVER AGAIN!

Warsaw Ghetto and Treblinka

May 6th

After a 3 hour bus ride from Lublin, we finally arrived in Warsaw. We visited the immense cemetery of Warsaw which dates back to medieval times and contains hundreds of thousands of people. The richness of the ancient city’s Jewish community is outstanding. The cemetery is full of old monuments and tombs of famous rabbis, scholars, professors and writers. We toured the cemetery and read the incriptions, until we noticed a large empty space marked by black lines. The tour guide explained that this is a mass grave for those who died in the Warsaw Ghetto. 70 000- 80 000 bodies are buried in that little space, without even a tomb marker. They are nameless, without monument or identity, unmourned with no kaddish or shivah. I was asked to recite the El Maleh Rachamim prayer and a surge of emotion came over me as I pleaded with HaShem to remember and have mercy on those poor souls who died.

Later on, we toured the ghetto, little of which is left. Only a few fragments of the walls survive. The ghetto best captures my feelings in Poland: constricted, restrained, trapped. I am not wanted here.



Walking into Umchlagplatz, the train depot from which 300 000 Jews were sent to Teblinka, I was in awe. It was the last stop for hundreds of thousands before the gas chambers, and I could walk out freely. I cried when the madrich said that we would not be going to our deaths but priviliedged to fulfill the dream of thousands: going to Eretz Yisrael.

It is astonishing to see Poles living in formerly Jewish areas. Next to the remaining ghetto wall are apartments and the Poles living there yelled at us for trespassing. At the heart of the ghetto, the Poles felt the need to erect a huge crucifix in honour of one of their saints, and a huge church sits on the main street. Not only were the Jewish bodies desecrated but the Jewish soul is spat upon. Cable cars with Kitkat advertisements run on the same haunted tracks as cattle cars used to. Have the Poles simply forgotten or chosen to forget? I think the little Jewish figurines holding money bags, sold at the hotel giftshop, answers my questions.

One final ceremony with all of the Canadian delegates was held at the Warsaw University. A righteous gentile who saved 25 Jews, and a few others were honoured. I am eternally grateful to their heroism. The Holocaust survivors also spoke. They are filled with such courage and inner strength. They suffered such horrors yet they have returned to the land of their torment to teach us. After that, 300 delegates sand Hebrew songs and danced, bringing Jewish music back to the city where it was extinguished 63 years ago.

May 7th

A short 3h drive from Warsaw is Treblinka- death, destruction, torture. There is nothing left of the camp as the Nazis tried to hide all evidence. It is surrounded by a lovely forest, growing from the ashes of murdered Jews which the Nazis used as fertilizer. At Treblinka, there is a stone monument representing the train tracks to oblivion. Stones stretch as far as the eye can see, representing communities that are no extinct. Over 17 000 communities were wiped out at Treblinka. Where the gas chambers used to stand, there is a large monument with engraving of chocking Jews in their last moments.


Treblinka means death. It is but a short distance from the trains to the gas chambers. Arrivals were greeted by an orchestra and were given postcard to send to their loved ones. Deceived, they were sent to the gas chambers.

We sang Ani Maamin like so many did in their last moments. We then proceeded to walk out alive from that factory of death.

Majdanek and Shabbat in Lublin

May 2nd

In the morning, we drove to see the medieval Jewish cemetery of Lublin. It is filled with rabbis, mystics, scholars, etc. Lublin was once considered the Jerusalem of Poland, with an extremely strong and vibrant Jewish community. It was the site of the famous Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin. What is incredible now is that unless one knows to visit a Jewish cemetery or synagogue, one would have no idea that Jews ever lived there. A mezuzah, a kippah, or a kosher restaurant will not be found.

Smoke and ashes. This entire civilization vanished in the gas chambers and torture of Majdanek. Majdanek is hell on Earth. In that evil place, tens of thousands of people were brutalized, dehumanized, sadistically tortured and murdered. They lost everything. All that is left of them is a mound of ash. This accursed camp sits but a few minutes from the heart of Lublin, not hidden away in some remote area. On its edges, there are homes which have stood there since the day when its furnaces burnt human flesh.

We began our day at Majdanek at the huge monument of 6 scarred pillars, symbolizing the 6 million, with steps leading down through a valley of jagged rocks, representing the valley of the shadow of death. We then took the same path as the inmates of Majdanek took upon entering. The accursed villa of the commandant stood mocking the pain adjacent to it. We read testimony of survivours describing it as a lovely house, complete with a white picket fence, a garden, pets and a loving family. The banality of evil shocked me.

At the entrance to the camp, with a sign reading “Bath and Disinfection”, are the experimental gas chambers. When we entered the gas chambers, where so many went to their deaths, I broke down. The walls are stained blue from the Zyklon B and covered in scratches. I touched the walls and jumped back from shock. I was crushed by the pain of those gasping for their last breathe of life. The cruelty of our enemies is outstanding. Amazingly, as we left the gas chambers, alive, unlike thousands, we were hugged and comforted by our survivours.

In one barrack stood thousands upon thousands of shoes taken from those who were killed. Who wore them? They sit silently, eternally forlorn. Among the multitudes of grey, I noticed one pair of red shoes. Did the bearer believe herself to be going to a safe haven and wore red to celebrate? I will never know.

At the end of the camp, we saw the prime gas chambers. And inspiring site was yarzheit candles lie on the dissection table where Jewish prisoners were forced to search the bodies of the murdered, and a survivor recited kaddish over it. The evil commandant’s bathtub build next to the crematorium and heated with the suffering of our people, glared wickedly. The crematorium was ablaze once more, but this time not with human corpses, but with yarzheit candles.

The last sight was the enormous mountain of ashes, in a domed monument outside. I cried as I thought of how many people vanished into smoke and dust, leaving nothing but ashes in a mound. They have no tombstone, no yarzheit, no name. Nobody sat shiva for them or recited kaddish for their souls. Tearfully, we said kaddish for them and sang the Shemah, indicating that the Jewish faith has not died.

“Shemah Yisrael, HaShem Elokeinu, HaShem Echad!”

May 3rd

Shabbat in Lublin was an interesting experience. Our hotel was located directly opposite the seat of German occupation government during the War. We lit Shabbat candles Friday night and then had dinner. Spontaneously, we broke out in song and dance for well over an hour. Broken from our morning visit to Majdanek, we all somehow felt the need to greet the Shabbat with joy.
Shabbat morning, we had an upbeat service in a room above the lobby, ironically looking out on the building where the cruel plots against our nation were hatched. 63 years later, we prayed with all our might and sang the Shabbat praises. As one of our Holocaust survivor was called to the Torah, I felt a wave of emotion. The Torah is still alive.

After Shabbat lunch, we made our way to the famous Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin. It is quite ornate although tragically silent. Its libraries which one held thousands of seforim were empty. When the Nazis conquered Lublin, they made a bonfire of all of the holy texts, outside the Yeshiva walls. To hide the bitter weeping of the Jews forced to watch, they had an orchestra play. In the yeshiva, we studied Talmudic texts and then sang Jewish songs of life, in order to drown out the wicked music of the Nazis. “Coincidentally”, one guy had been studying a daf yomi and completed the tractate that day. We held the siyyum in the yeshiva and the sound of Torah once again returned to Lublin.

At night, we had a beautiful havdallah with participants all from all over Canada.

One thought that kept running through my mind is how Jewish life in Lublin simply vanished. It breaks my heart to think of the hassidim who no longer sing and dance, the yeshivot that sit silent, that Torah scrolls that grow dusty and the synagogues that will never again see another bar mitzvah or wedding. Even though we still live, the shtetl culture and the Yiddish language have been murdered. Did the streets of Lublin really once teem with Jews? Was it really the Jerusalem of Poland? It seems impossible, like a dream. It surely disappeared in the ashes of Majdanek.

Krakow, Placzow and Auschwitz-Birkenau

With the goal of perpetuating the legacy of the Holocaust and of describing the incredible miracle that is the State of Israel, I will share excerpts from my journal. I will post some more every few day

April 31st, 2008

We landed in Krakow late morning. We drove to the Placzow labour camp in the outskirts of the city. Nothing remains of this torture facility and mass grave. Across the streets from this place of evil are restaurants and shops. Without the stone monuments commemorating the murder that went on there, the Polish sunbathers might tempt you into believing that this is nothing but a lovely park. One of the survivors who accompanied us on our trip, told us about her experiences in Placzow and how her little cousin of 6 was shot by the Nazis on the very ground on which we sat, and how his resting place is unknown. It was extremely moving.

We toured the Kazimicz region of Krakow, the Jewish Quarter. We saw the synagogue of the Ramah, and the medieval cemetery attached to it, full of legendary rabbis. The stories told of the amazing feats and miracles that they performed were quite amazing. Krakow had such a rich Jewish history; everything remains he same, with lovely synagogues, cemeteries and Jewish symbols- except there are no more Jews. It is incredible to this that an entire community of tens of thousands of people just vanished, gone. We saw the remains of the ghetto and were witnesses to how this most vibrant community was forced into such a small area. Jewish life in Krakow has disappeared. And the Poles continue to live, unabated.

May 1st



Auschwitz, the most evil place on Earth, is a museum. Gone are the trains, the snarling dogs, screams, ashes rising from the chimney. It is cleaned up, sanitized, almost plastic. It was very difficult to imagine the horrors that went on there through the crowds of marches and giggling girls. Auschwitz left me cold as we rushed from exhibit to exhibit with barely time to process. It was very disturbing to see a place that was literally hell on Earth, behind glass, with signs and displays.

The March itself was not what I expected. It was hard to maintain the mood because of the enormous mass of people. It was inspiring, though, to see 15 000 Jews draped in Israeli flags marching the same march of death between Auschwitz and Birkenau.

Birkenau was an unsettling sight. One enters the accursed gates to see a line of trees, train tracks, barracks and ruined chimneys. At the end of the camp, we had a ceremony with survivors, the IDF chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, chief rabbi of Tel-Aviv, HaRav Meir Lau, and a choir. Ashkenazi, as head of the IDF, vowed that never again will Jews be weak and powerless and that never again shall we allow Jewish blood to be spillt cheaply. The chazzan led us in a moving prayer and I’m sure that he pierced the heavens with his cries.

Finally, we stood in a cold and dark barrack and lit yarzheit candles. Survivors shared with us their experiences. It was chilling to be in the very place where they endured such torment. Afterwards, we prayed a quick minchah in the barracks at Birkenau. Imagine the beauty and absurdity of the scene: Jewish prayer continues in a place where our foes tried to wipe us out but 63 years ago.

Home

I just got home at 4 in the morning. I'm exhausted but I had the best time of my life on MOL. I'll post later.

No one else to rely on!

This video is beautiful. The words are:

"We are believers, the sons of believers, that we have no one else to rely on besides our Father in Heaven. Israel, trust in G-d, you Helper and Shield!"

Pride at 60

In anticipation of Israel's 60th birthday on Yom HaAtzmaut, the writers at Tzipiyah have envisioned an amazing project which they have asked me to contribute to. I have been asked to write about the 4 accomplishments of the State of Israel of which I am most proud. Since I will be leaving in a week, and it will be yom tov in a few days, I have decided to post them now and leave them until Yom HaAtzmaut.

1) JEWISH PRIDE

They came running through the streets like lions, dropping from the skies, guns blaring, fire burning. They ran, in the spirit of David and Joshua, Judah the Maccabee and Bar Kochba, full of courage and bravery. Their enemies fell before their in fear and shame, as they streamed towards the Kotel, the most holy and awesome place which had been denied to them for so long. Who were these men? What sort of people were they? Were they the Jews, the people of the gas chambers and ovens? Were they the same people that had long been associated with death and persecution, with helplessness and passivity, fighting their enemies? Is it possible that a nation that had been taunted for so long, that was rounded up from all of Europe for annhilation, asserted itself and stood up strong?

The establishment of the State of Israel and the amazing turn-about of Jewish fortune following the Holocaust is nothing short of miraculous. There is no parallel to this sort of reversal in all of the annals of human history. One third of the Jewish People had been consumed in the cruel fires of the Nazi war machine. The survivors were downtrodden and ashamed. "Even all the nations shall say 'Wherefore Why has HaShem done this to His land? What is the meaning of the heat of this great anger?'"(Deut 29:24) From this crushing defeat there would be no respite. The downtrodden Jew would finally disappear into the dust of history. And yet in the ashes of such an evil blaze, like a phoenix, the Jewish nations rose again. "'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off... Thus saith the Lord G-D: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O My people. And I will put My spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land; and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken, and performed it, saith the LORD." (Ezek. 37:10-12) The Jewish nation arose once again, and like a firebrand plucked from the fires of the Holocaust, defeated a mighty army of one million well-trained Arab soldiers committed to driving the fledgling state into the sea. The world saw with crystal clear vision, and again in 1967, that G-d had never divorced Israel. For two thousand years of exile, the Catholic Church had taught the hideous doctrine of the Witness, that the Jewish People were designated to be a sign to show how wretched life would be for those who rejected their god. G-d had replaced Israel and now they were dejected and low. The miracles and triumphs of 1967 was the best refutation of such a perversion ever. The State of Israel shows that G-d still loves His people and that He has great things in store for them.


2) THE INGATHERING OF THE EXILES

As we head towards the Kotel, we are joined by thousands of our brethren from hundreds of dispersions, from Poland and Russia, Morocco and Tunisis, Ethiopia and India, all going towards the same place, the Holy Wall. Three times a day for two thousands years, Jews in the cramped ghettos of Warsaw and Lublin, the squalor of the Pale of Settlment, the melahs of Casablanca and Fez, had turned like spiritual magnets towards Jerusalem to beseech the Holy One, Blessed be He that "our eyes may behold Your return to Zion in mercy." Never did they forget to pledge "Next year in Jerusalem!" at the close of every Passover seder and Yom Kippur feast. Despite promises of emancipation and acceptance, we never forget that we were but strangers in a strange land, ever waiting the day when we would come home.

Following the Establishment of the State of Israel, one millions Jews from Arab lands who had lived there since time immemorial were expelled, leaving behind many millions of dollars in property and goods. The State of Israel took them in and despite many problems and setbacks along the way, successfully integrated them into society. On the streets on Israel, one can see the most amazing diversity: black-hatted hareidim with Yiddish accents alongside gutteral Sepharadim, Jews from America and the UK with native born Sabras, Jews from the former Soviet Union, liberated from Communist oppression with the Jews who worked so hard to ensure their freedom, fine-featured and delicate Ethiopian Jews with lily-white Ashkenazim. Oh, the Jewish nation has come home!

3) TORAH AND JEWISH RENEWAL

In the Diaspora, Judaism is in a very dangerous lethargic state. With rampant assimilation and intermarriage, great ignorance, a proliferation of cults and missionaries and rising anti-semitism, prospects are not looking good. Despite all of the problems in Israel, it is the only Jewish community that is growing, and flourishing. The Torah community is very strong and the land is full of yeshivot and Torah learning. There is truly a fulfillment of the verse: "For out of Zion will go forth Torah and the word of G-d from Jerusalem." Israel is the only place in the world where a committed Jew can live a full Jewish life instead of compartmentalizing his identity to when it is most appropriate.


4) ISRAEL'S TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

Israel is one the world's most technologically advanced societies. Just the other day, a scientist invented a method of being able to write halachically on Shabbat. Since the prohibition is on writing permanently, this shabbos pen allows you to write something down and it will disappear three days later, once one has had enough time to photocopy the info.

Here are some facts about Israel's scientific advances:

Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.

Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized,no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.

An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.

Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.

Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.

Technology... With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).

In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops.

Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.

Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.

The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.

Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel.

The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.

Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.

Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.

The AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.

A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device,produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct - all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue.

An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave desert."

Am Yisrael Chai!

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard

Getting Ready

Whew... things have been busy. Until about yesterday, I've had a high fever and have been pretty sick. That certainly helps enhance the passover experience. Thank G-d, I'm feeling better now.

Right now, I'm getting ready for my big trip, the March of the Living. Pesach finishes next Sunday night, and I leave Tueday morning. We have an 8 hour drive to NY, from where we leave to Krakow. We'll be visiting the remnants of Jewish life there, the synagogues and cemetaries, and then we'll go to the Placzow work camp featured in Schindler's List. The next day will be Holocaust Remembrance Day and we'll walk the 2.5 miles between Auschwitz and Birkenau where thousands went to their deaths. During our time in Poland, we'll see Lublin, where there was a famous yeshiva, Treblinka, Majdanek and Warsaw. The last place we visit in Warsaw will be the Umshachplatz, the train depot where the Jews were collected to go their deaths. Instead, we'll be flying from Israel to there.

In Israel, we'll visit Jerusalem and on Yom HaAtzmaut, we'll march through the streets to the Kotel. We have a party planned at Mini Israel for Yom HaAtzmaut night. We're going to visit the mystical city of Tzfat, see Caesarea and swim in the Mediterranean. We'll spend a magical shabbat on the shores of the Kinneret. Towards the end, we'll float around in the Dead Sea. On the last day, we'll climb the fortress of Masada at sunrise, where the Jews committed suicide rather than fall into the hands of the Romans. We'll spend the day there, party until late in a Bedouin tent and sleep there. The next morning, early, we'll catch a flight back to NY.

I can't wait for these most amazing 2 weeks. I've been dreaming about this moment for a year. I'll put pictures up when I come back. Wish me a safe trip!

New Blog

I have created a new blog, the Truth about Moshiach, dedicated to combatting the spiritual genocide against the Jewish people. It is open for debate and discussion. Check it out.

Chag Sameach!

Chag Kasher v'Sameach!

I wish all of Am Yisrael, and the entire world, a happy and kosher Pesach. May HaShem fill every empty seat at the table and send us eternal joy. May HaShem be pleased with our fulfilling of the mitvzah of recounting the Exodus from Egypt. In the merit of our commemoration of the redemption from Egypt, may HaShem send us the Geulah Sheleima in mercy and may our seders be brightened with the glowing countenance of Eliyahu HaNavi and our Righteous Moshiach.

Chag kasher v'sameach!

With love of Israel and Torah,

BK

Masada Will Not Fall Again!

According to reports, President Bush is shying away from visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem, when he is in Israel for its 60th Yom HaAtzmaut, Independence Day. The Western Walll, the only remaining defensive wall of the First and Second Temples, was deemed too controversial for Bush.

What is it that is so controversial? The Western Wall, since Jewish prayer on its holiest site, the Temple Mount, is severely restricted, has been the focal point of Jewish worship during the most recent return to Zion. Jews have worshipped there since the destruction of the Second Temple. It was off-limits to Jews under Jordanian rule following the 1949 armistice and was liberated in the 1967 Six Day War. This is where the famous picture of Israeli paratroopers looking up at the Wall in awe comes from.

Muslims have recently been staking a claim not only to the Temple Mount, but to the Western Wall as well. They call it Al-Burak and say the religion's founder, Mohammad, tied his horse there during a midnight journey that took him to "the farthest mosque" - which they say is a reference to the Jerusalem mosque later given that name. However, such a claim is extremely weak compared to the millenia of unbroken Jewish worship on the Temple Mount and later the Western Wall. The Qur'an's Night Journey was only associated with Jerusalem decades after the Mosque of Omar was built. The Mosques on the Mount are inscribed with beautiful Arabic caligraphy with many verses from the Qur'an and yet the Night Journey is conspicuously missing.

The Tomb of the Patriarchs, Mearat HaMachpela, in Hevron, is also mentionned explicitly as being too controversial for Bush to visit. He would certainly not want to upset the Arabs by giving the impression that the Tomb of the founders of the Jewish Nation, of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, and legal inheritors of that parcel of land, has any connection to Jews. Hevron is the second holiest Jewish site and a hallowed place of prayer beginning with Calev, who prayed there during his touring of the Land, that he should not fall into the conspiracy of the Spies. Under Ottoman rule, Jews were not allowed to pray past the 7th step leading to the Tomb. Certainly, such a thing would be too controversial and offensive to Arab sensibilities.

Instead, Bush has opted to visit the fortress of Masada, where one thousand Jews chose to commit suicide rather than fall into the hands of the Romans.

According to the Jewish Virtual Library:

The only written source about Masada is Josephus Flavius’ The Jewish War. Born Joseph ben Matityahu of a priestly family, he was a young leader at the outbreak of the Great Jewish Rebellion against Rome (66 CE) when he was appointed governor of Galilee. He managed to survive the suicide pact of the last defenders of Jodfat and surrendered to Vespasian (who shortly thereafter was proclaimed emperor) – events he described in detail. Calling himself Josephus Flavius, he became a Roman citizen and a successful historian. Moral judgment aside, his accounts have been proved largely accurate.

According to Josephus Flavius, Herod the Great built the fortress of Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. Herod, an Idumean, had been made King of Judea by his Roman overlords and was hated by his Jewish subjects. Herod, the master builder, “furnished this fortress as a refuge for himself.” It included a casemate wall around the plateau, storehouses, large cisterns ingeniously filled with rainwater, barracks, palaces and an armory.

Some 75 years after Herod’s death, at the beginning of the Revolt of the Jews against the Romans in 66 CE, a group of Jewish rebels overcame the Roman garrison of Masada. After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple (70 CE) they were joined by zealots and their families who had fled from Jerusalem. With Masada as their base, they raided and harassed the Romans for two years. Then, in 73 CE, the Roman governor Flavius Silva marched against Masada with the Tenth Legion, auxiliary units and thousands of Jewish prisoners-of-war. The Romans established camps at the base of Masada, laid siege to it and built a circumvallation wall. They then constructed a rampart of thousands of tons of stones and beaten earth against the western approaches of the fortress and, in the spring of the year 74 CE, moved a battering ram up the ramp and breached the wall of the fortress.

Josephus Flavius dramatically recounts the story told him by two surviving women. The defenders – almost one thousand men, women and children – led by Eleazar ben Ya’ir, decided to burn the fortress and end their own lives, rather than be taken alive. “And so met (the Romans) with the multitude of the slain, but could take no pleasure in the fact, though it were done to their enemies. Nor could they do other than wonder at the courage of their resolution, and at the immovable contempt of death which so great a number of them had shown, when they went through with such an action as that was.”

The Zealots cast lots to choose 10 men to kill the remainder. They then chose among themselves the one man who would kill the survivors. That last Jew then killed himself.

It is quite telling that Bush, instead of visiting sites associated with Jewish renewal and connection to Israel, chose to visit a fortress where the Jews took their own lives, determined not to fall into enemy hands. Especially on the heels of Bush's suicidal policies towards the State of Israel, he could not make a more symbolic choice. Hopefully, Bush will learn the lesson of Masada and realize the determination of the Jewish people to be a free nation in our own land. Let him know that Masada will not fall again!

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard