Tzedek-Tzedek

I wish you and your family a Chag Smeach - a truly happy and enjoyable Sukkot!

I highly recommend a family visit to The Biblical Museum of Natural History, a national asset located in Beit Shemesh, founded and run by Rabbi Natan Slifkin. Book a tour and take your family for an inspiring, fun and educational experience you won't forget! More info here:  www.BiblicalNaturalHistory.org

(Kol Isha warning!) Sarit Hadad performed at Maarat Hamachpelah in Hebron this Erev Yom Kippur; it looks like for a women's slichot program. Sarit Hadad is a wonderful singer and the place, content and occasion combine in a moving performance.

Miracle stories can be uplifting spiritually - and therefore a reasonable topic for Yom Kippur. This one is actually true; I have spoken and verified this today with the people I know well and who were the characters directly involved. A boy from our community recently went missing; as news got around, there was a tremendous response from dozens of people here, who publicised details about the boy, his last sightings, etc. Tehillim meetings were held, newspapers were alerted who covered the story, and each hour brought more concern for the boy's safety... A week passed since he had last been seen, and there was a feeling of panic. Memories of The Three Boys, the three students who were kidnapped and murdered last summer, were on everyone's minds. Meantime, the police publicised the boy's information, but otherwise came up blank. There was a private initiative to print up posters, and put them up in places where he may be, and generally raise public awareness. ...

My 20 year old son Raphael, and his wife Aviya, have become (unofficial) spokespersons for Jewish rights on Temple Mount. Raphael was interviewed last night for Channel 2 News, along with Tam Chavis (sp?), an Arab journalist from East Jerusalem. Of course, I'm biased, but I think Raphael did a pretty good job, through the many interruptions and cross-fires, to defend the rights of Jews to visit Temple Mount. 

The world's spotlight is now on Europe and the Syrian refugee influx. They are talking hundreds of thousands of current and potential refugees. The UK, for example, has 'thrown its door open' to 15,000 refugees, over a five year period (perhaps they hope the war will be finished & forgotten by then). In addition, there are boatloads of refugees coming into Europe from other countries, mainly north Africa, fleeing political upheaval and poverty. However, the brunt of the refugee crisis from just Syria is being borne by Syria's Middle East neighbours (2 million refugees) and within Syria itself (over 4 million displaced people). The reason that EU countries are so reluctant to accept these refugees is that fear they will become EU residents and eventually citizens. More people in Europe, apparently, means less resources to go around. Furthermore, the acceleration of the "Islamisation of Europe" is a recipe for local discontent and potentially wors...

Against all odds, an earring, of sentimental value, has been reunited with its pair. On a family vacation to the Czech Republic over the summer, we visited the medieval silver mines of Kutna Hora. This visit involved us changing into special miners clothes (they wore white so they could be seen better in the unlit tunnels), hard hats, and then walking through hundreds of meters of subterranean mining tunnels. Once we returned to the surface, my wife Julie noticed that she was missing an earring. We registered the missing earring with the lost property service at the reception. This included using my rusty artistic skills to draw the earring ("simanim"), so there would be no doubt to our claim, in the unlikely event the earring would be found. We stressed that the earrings were of no material value, but were of sentimental value to Julie.   To our surprise and delight, a few days later, we received a call from a Ms Vlasta Bohacova from the Silver Mine, to inform...