The Jewish Weekly Issue 328 - 11th June

Hostages freed in daring operation

BY DAVID SAFFER

Israel Defence Forces completed a daring daylight operation under heavy fire to free four hostages held in captivity for eight months by Hamas in Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza on Shabbat morning.

Special forces rescued Almog Meir Jan, 21, Noa Argamani, 25, Andrez Kozolov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. All were abducted from the Nova music fes tival on October 7.

After tests at Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer

they were reunited with families. All are healthy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the IDF operation, confirmed he gave final approval to the dangerous operation last Thursday and mourned the death of Yamam Squad Commander Arnon Zamora, 36 of Sde David, who led the mission, at the start of a government on Sunday.

“Arnon showed supreme heroism and gave his life to save members of his people,” he said. “Arnon will always be remembered in the chronicles of our people.”

Continued on page 3

Noa Argamini reunited with her father after 245 days

PHOTO: GPO

Continued from page 1

Operation Summer Seeds has officially been renamed Operation Arnon.

Zemora, married with two children, led the Yad Mordechai Junction battle on 10/7, eliminating dozens of terrorists and preventing infiltration northwards. He also fought in battles at Kibbutz Nahal Oz and Kibbutz Be’eri. His funeral took place at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Sunday.

An IDF statement read: “Arnon is an Israeli hero who loved and protected his country. He led the force that rescued the four hostages. The IDF salutes his memory.”

Michal Zemora wrote: “Long before he was a warrior and hero he was an amazing partner and perfect father. That’s how we’ll remember him.”

Mali Zander, head of nursing, was responsible for the hostages. She told media outlets: “From past experience, in the coming days, we will only discover things… These are joyful moments.”

ingenuity and courage of the highest degree and our soldiers performed in an unmatchable way. We’re committed to getting the release of all the hostages and we expect Hamas to release them all but if they don’t, we’ll do whatever it takes to get them all back home. Hamas is committing war crimes every day including the holding of these hostages. Our soldiers are performing

Zander’s daughter Noa was murdered at the Nova festival near Kibbutz Re’im.

“When I had a break, she (Noa) crossed my mind,” she said. “The world missed out on her. As a family, we will continue her legacy, to be here for others,” she said.

Almog Meir’s father, Yossi, 59, died at home in Kfar Saba hours before news of his son’s release was known.

Netanyahu met hostages in emotional scenes at Sheba Hospital.

He said: “This operation required

in the most valiant and moral way to end this war with a victory against these killers and against these kidnappers, and we shall prevail.”

President Isaac Herzog thanked the IDF, ISA, Police and counter-terrorism unit Yamam for an “impressive and courageous” operation.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant described the operation as the most heroic he had witnessed in 47 years of the defence establishment.

“IDF, ISA and Special Forces, as well as the forces who supported have conducted an unprecedented operation, daring in nature, planned brilliantly and executed in an extraordinary fashion,” he said. “Our troops showed so much courage, operating under heavy fire. I do not remember having completed operations of this kind at this intensity and with this level of cooperation and success.”

US President Joe Biden welcomed hostages return. “We will not stop until they all return and there is a deal,” he said.

Nivi Feldman, Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, described the rescue as an “emotional rollercoaster”. She said: “Life is precious, we have a moral duty to bring every hostage home. We urge all leaders to pressure Hamas to accept the current deal.”

According to reports the classified rescue operation was planned over a few weeks before the green light last Thursday. Models of buildings and area were constructed for the operation.

Real-time footage at Shin Bet’s central command oversaw the operation which began at 10am.

Security forces simultaneously stormed two locations above ground, not tunnels, at 11am. Argamani was in a first floor building, Kozlov, Ziv and Almog Meir Jan at a nearby third floor building among Gazan families. All the terrorist guards were eliminated.

During the rescue, terrorists fired RPGs at troops and hostages in the alleys. Troops responded. When the IDF rescue vehicle came under fire, battalions and rescue helicopters arrived. Surface-to-air missiles were fired at the helicopters. At 11.15am troops relayed the message ‘the diamonds are in our hands’.

Despite best medical efforts to resuscitate Zamora during the flight, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Reinforcement troops from IDF brigades eliminated dozens more terrorists.

The IDF, Shin Bet and police officially announced the rescue of the hostages at 1.33pm.

News of the operation went viral with footage of families being reunited.

Channel 13 reported Argamani was held with Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky who died in captivity.

The Foreign Ministries of Jordan and Egypt condemned the IDF operation. The Hamas-run health ministry over 270 people died in the operation. The IDF estimated less than 100 people died.

PM Netanyahu embracing saved hostage Almog Meir Jan PHOTO: GPO

Starmer manifesto commits to Palestine state

BY ADAM MOSES

Jewish organisations have criticised news that Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is expected to commit to Palestinian statehood in the party’s election manifesto.

The final version of the manifesto is launched officially on Thursday.

While Ireland, Spain, and Norway has recognised a Palestinian state, Starmer will follow Foreign Secretary Cameron that statehood comes at an ‘appropriate time’ in peace talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the decision of Ireland, Spain and Norway was a “reward for terrorism”.

The US has referred to recognition as an element to peace with two states.

Bicom has stated Israel will be concerned due to the UK-Israel bilateral relationship.

‘A Labour government will want to be seen to support pro-peace partners in the region, both Israeli and Arab, including Starmer building relations with the newly elected leader of the Israeli Labour Party Yair Golan,” noted Bicom.

Keith Rowe, NJA, said: “If the Labour Party chooses to include the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state in its manifesto, it would not only be a reckless departure from diplomatic norms but also a grave disservice to the cause of peace in the region. Such a move undermines the fundamental principle

of negotiated solutions and disregards Israel’s legitimate security concerns.

The NJA staunchly opposes any attempt to bypass the peace process through unilateral actions, which only serve to escalate tensions and hinder prospects for a lasting resolution. Labour must not succumb to political expediency at the expense of genuine peace and stability in the Middle East.”

Jonathan Metliss, Action Against Discrimination, described the move as “another slap in the face for the UK Jewish Community”.

“It certainly reads like a Hamas victory and a reward for bad and violent behaviour,” he said. “It beggars belief! This is no more than plain, undiluted and dirty electioneering pandering to the Muslim vote, more especially after the debacle in the recent Rochdale by election which sent George Galloway back into the House of Commons. This is a surrender to the loutish behaviour of the anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrators on our streets and on University campuses.

“Starmer should look at the questions that remain.

Where will this state be located and what will its borders be, who will administer it and where will its capital be? The manifesto promise is made in a complete vacuum and is unsound, unsupportable and without foundation. Former Israeli leaders such as Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians states but they turned it down on every occasion.

As the late Abba Eban famously said, ‘The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss

an opportunity.’

“Yet again, the Labour Party and Starmer have failed the Jewish community on antisemitism and Israel and will no doubt continue to do so. Is Starmer the new, committed friend of the UK Jewish community? He may appear at Jewish charity functions, but it hardly looks like it. A message to the Jewish community, please beware and do not be taken in by this man!”

8000 more beat cops

BY THERESA VILLIERS

Following today’s announcement that the Conservatives would recruit 8000 more neighbourhood police officers if they are returned to Government, Theresa Villiers said:

“I have successfully argued for bigger budgets for policing and more officers. I secured a promise from the Conservative Government of 20,000 additional police. That has been delivered, meaning the Met now have more uniformed officers than ever before.”

“We need our fair share of them in Barnet. If I am re-elected I will keep up the pressure on Mayor Khan to give us more bobbies for Barnet. The head of the Met, Sir Mark Rowley has already said our local ward teams will be bigger. I will push for that to happen.”

“Today the Conservatives are going a step further. Our plan for government will include recruiting 8000 new full-time police officers as part of a new Neighbourhood Policing Uplift Programme. This

will mean an additional police officer for every ward in England.”

“People expect to see police on the streets where they live. Our 8,000 extra officers will have full powers of arrest and will be focused solely on policing their local beat, cutting crime, and helping people feel safer.”

“These officers will work as part of existing ward teams. Police forces will not be allowed to offset these additional resources by diverting police officers already dedicated to neighbourhood duties to other roles.”

The announcement by the Conservatives today also includes extending the Government’s hotspot policing programme to more areas, cracking down on antisocial behaviour and violence that can blight communities. This will ensure that an additional 3 to 4.5 million hours of patrolling can take place in hundreds of hotspots. Antisocial behaviour is down by nearly 50 percent in some areas where these tactics have already been deployed.

Theresa Villiers is Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Chipping Barnet and served this area as MP up until the dissolution of Parliament in May.

For further information, contact Theresa Villiers on 020 8449 7345 or theresa@ theresavilliers.co.uk.

Labour Party Leader, Sir Keir Starmer

PHOTO: (DOMINIC LIPINSKI/PA) (PA WIRE)

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Dancing Through Tears

October 7th was Simchat Torah in Israel. Over 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds more were taken hostage. The Jewish people suffered our most horrific day since the Holocaust. Since that dreadful day, approximately 400 more have lost their lives on the battlefield and in captivity.

Next October will be the first Simchat Torah since the horrific events of October

7th.

Simchat Torah is a day of joy, festivity, and hakafot –we dance and celebrate. But Simchat Torah 5785 will also mark the first yahrzeit of the victims of October 7th. How do we, the Jewish people, respond? Will we dance? Should we dance? How do we commemorate this poignant and difficult anniversary?

King Solomon offers us guidance in Kohelet, which we will read on Sukkot: “There is a time for everything under the Heavens… a time to mourn and a time to dance.” This Simchat Torah, with tears in our eyes, we will dance.

"Join the Simchat Torah Project as 1,600 communities around the world join to dance with Sifrei Torah bearing the name of one of the victims.

1,600 communities corresponding to the more than 1,600 souls who we have lost, including the many soldiers and hostages who have since died al kiddush Hashem.

On Simchat Torah night when we take out the Torah scrolls, one Sefer Torah will be adorned with a new me’il (Torah cover), designed to mark the first yahrzeit of October 7th. This me’il will be identical to those in 1,600 synagogues across the world.

Communities from Argentina to Australia will dance with these Torah scrolls connecting tens of thousands through this project."

Your community registers on the website to join the project.

A unique me’il will be made for your community, bearing the name of one of the kedoshim who were murdered on October 7th.

ceremony, broadcast worldwide, from the Kotel where the 1,600 me’ilim

Activists vandalise Barclays

BY HARRY SIMONS

Palestine Action and climate protesters

Shut the System vandalised 20 Barclays Bank branches in a co-ordinated attack across the UK yesterday.

Activists targeted St John’s Wood and Moorgate in London, Bury, Bristol among others. Vandals sprayed red paint on the banks and smashed street front windows.

Jonathan Metliss, chairman of Action Against Discrimninaiton, condemned the

groups.

“Sadly, this behaviour has echoes of Nazi Germany in the 1930s,” he said.

“Jewish community bodies must protest vehemently and the authorities and police must do everything in their power to bring the perpetrators to justice. It will be interesting to see which politicians come out with their own condemnations, bearing in mind Keir Starmer’s deliberations on Diane Abbott and a Palestinian State.”

City of London Police arrested three men aged 34 to 45 in connection with criminal damage at Moorgate.

A police post noted: ‘They were seen on CCTV by our control and officers were sent to the scene. Following a short foot chase, three men were brought into custody.’

Avon and Somerset Police have appealed for witnesses. CCTV enquiries are ongoing.

“Officers attended and searched the

Gantz resigns from coalition

BY DAVID SAFFER

Benny Gantz has resigned from the War Cabinet with a “heavy heart” and called for elections in the autumn.

In an anticipated press conference on Sunday night Gantz called on Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to “do the right thing” and resign.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid described Gantz’s decision as “important and right”.

Just over 24 hours had passed since four hostages were freed by the IDF when the National Unity Party leader and former IDF chief of staff, who has been at odds with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and had threatened to leave, delivered his address.

The party’s departure leaves Netanyahu with a 64-56 majority in the Knesset.

Netanyahu is now more reliant on far-right parties. National Security

Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has demanded a place on the war cabinet as Gantz’ replacement.

Gantz, who joined the coalition shortly after the October 7 massacre, wants a national commission of inquiry into the Netanyahu government’s failings before the 10/7 massacre.

“Like many Israeli patriots, my party and I showed up although we knew this was a bad government,” he said. “We did it because this was a bad government”.

building and nearby streets but the offenders had already left, it’s not believed they entered the building,” said a spokesman. “We believe the incident is linked to damage caused to a number of other Barclays branches across the country which were targeted in a similar way at around the same time.”

A Bristol bank spokesperson said: “While we support the right to protest, we ask that campaigners do so in a way which respects our customers, colleagues and property.”

They added: ‘The bank provides vital financial services to US, UK and European public companies that supply defence products to NATO and its allies. Barclays does not directly invest in these companies. The defence sector is fundamental to our national security and the UK government has been clear that supporting defence companies is compatible with ESG considerations. Decisions on the implementation of arms embargos to other nations are the job of respective elected governments While we support the right to protest, we ask that campaigners do so in a way which respects our customers, colleagues and property.’

A PA spokesperson warned of an escalation until Barclays acts.

hesitation, procrastination and rejection out of political considerations.”

Regarding elections, he said: “I call on Netanyahu to agree on a date. Don’t let our people be torn apart.”

In terms of the Gaza war, Gantz added: “Real victory is one that combines a military triumph with political and social initiative and will result in the elimination of Hamas and its replacement, and the return of Israeli residents from the north to their homes with security.

Gantz added: “Months after the disaster, the situation in Israel and in the room where decisions are made, has changed.

Netanyahu and his partners have transformed the call for unity to an empty term in reality. Critical strategic decisions are met with

“Real victory would be to form a regional alliance led by the US and supported by the West, to counter Iran. It would be to change national priorities, expand enlistment of all Israeli sectors in the military and ensure Israel would be able to deal with the challenges it faces.”

Netanyahu called on Gantz to reverse his announcement. “Benny, this is not the time,” he said.

Last month Gantz warned his party would leave the government on June 8 unless Netanyahu detailed six strategic goals including the release of all the hostages, destroying Hamas and demilitarising Gaza.

Gantz also called on Israel’s leader to return residents to their homes in the north by September 1, promote normalisation with Saudi Arabia and a plan for all Israelis to serve the country.

Benny Gantz quits emergency government

PHOTO: REUTERS

Thousands mourn Rabbi Kotlarsky

BY DAVID SAFFER

Thousands of mourners attended the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a leading light of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement last week (June 5).

Vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, Chabad’s educational arm, and chairman of the International Conference of Shluchim, Rabbi Kotlarsky, 74, passed

away after a long illness on June 4.

A pioneer of Jewish life, Rabbi Kotlarksky spearheaded Chabad’s global reach with 6,000 emissary couples in over 100 countries.

Renowned for extolling the messages from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M Schneerson, his passion to develop initiatives are longstanding.

The funeral procession began at Rabbi

Kotlarsky’s home Brooklyn close to the Chabad headquarters to the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Cambria Heights, Queens. He was laid to rest near the Ohel of the Rebbe. Tens of thousands streamed the procession online via live broadcast.

Kotlarsky was emcee at the annual conference in New York City. In 2023, 6,500 emissaries attended.

Macron calls snap election

BY ADAM MOSES

French President Emmanuel Macron stunned supporters when he dissolved parliament and called for a snap election on Sunday night.

Macron’s party had suffered a disastrous defeat to far-right candidates in the European Union election. The ramifications are significant for Europe.

The far-right National Rally is projected to win in France with 31.5 percent of the vote, twice Macron’s Renaissance party. The National Rally vote was higher than the second and third largest parties according to early exit polls.

The first round of the French Parliamentary election will take place on June 30. The second on July 7.

“This is a serious, heavy decision, but above all it is an act of trust,” he said.

Macron added that French people would make best choice for future generations.

“Let the sovereign people speak,” he added. “France needs a clear majority in serenity and harmony,” he said. “To be French, at heart, is about choosing to write history, not being driven by it.” Macron followers were distraught by the announcement in a

televised address from Paris.

National Rally party supporters however celebrated the announcement.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was elated and welcomed Macron’s decision to call an election.

“This historic vote shows that when people vote, people win,” she told supporters at a rally in Paris. “We are ready to take over power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections.”

“We are ready to exercise power, to end mass migration, to prioritise purchasing power, ready to make France live again,” Le Pen added.

The result, she noted, would send a message to Brussels.

Rabbi Kotlarsky was born on May 29, 1949 in Brooklyn to Holocaust survivors from Poland, Rabbi Tzvi Yosef and Golda Kotlarsky. His father studied at Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin then Tomchei Temimim-Lubavitch in Warsaw and Otwock before escaping.

Rabbi Kotlarsky was raised in Crown Heights and attended yeshivah in New York and Montreal. An advocate of the Rebbe’s mitzvah campaigns, following his marriage to Rivka Kazen, his work at the Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch began in the 1970s and continued to throughout his life.

Rivka was active with the

and the Kotlarskys were renowned for welcoming visitors around the world.

During his travels Rabbi Kotlarsky advised communities on strengthening Yiddishkite.

He expanded Chabad’s students programming during the summer with initiatives, helped found Chabad on Campus International and the Rohr Jewish Learning Centre, chairing both, Initiatives included CTeen, CKids, Chabad Young Professionals and Chabad on Call.

During his annual report on Chabad’s recent expansion he said: “We know we have a great deal of work still ahead,” he said. “The Rebbe once said, you could have 1,000 people in your community. If only 999 have been touched and one wasn’t … the mission has not yet been accomplished.”

He is survived by his wife, Rivka, nine children Chanie Wolowik (Woodmere, N.Y.), Rabbi Mayer Kotlarsky (Boca Raton, Fla.), Sarah Benjaminson (Glenview, Ill.), Nechama Greenberg (Vista, Calif.), Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Rabbi Sruly Kotlarsky (Lafayette Hill, Penn.), Rabbi Levi Kotlarsky (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Rabbi Dovid Kotlarsky (Chicago, Ill.), Goldie Perlstein (Gainesville, Virg.), grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, centre, alongside George Rohr, on the left

French President Emmanuel Macron

PHOTO: SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES

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French PM Leads World in Fighting Our Enemies

OPINION PIECE

BY ANDREW ROSEMARINE

France’s youngest ever

Prime Minister, Gabriel Nissim Attal, launched a heartfelt scathing attack on our enemies, past and present, at CRIF’s annual dinner in Paris. (CRIF is the leading French Jewish Board of Representatives.) Against anti-Semitism, Attal promised “an immediate reaction, totally tough.” His government has repeatedly backed those words with actions, and shown the world how to deal with anti-Semitism. Since then, a North African immigrant fire-bombed Rouen’s synagogue. What happened?

The Prime Minister spoke at the end of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, and began his speech about a police receipt from the Nazi occupation he put

he continued.

He condemned the intense wave of Judophobic hatred sweeping France now, noting a recent 300% increase in anti-semitic attacks. He lambasted La France Insoumise, a far-left populist political party intensely critical of Israel, with stirring up hatred. He accused the racist far-right, against whom he has personally demonstrated since his early teens, of pretending now to support Jews, out of an even greater hatred of Muslims. “No one will be fooled.”

All of this was music to CRIF, le Conseil Representatif des Institutions

historic and current resonance, and will last through the ages, as a testament to this sorrowful year. He contrasted Israel’s will to live with Hamas’ monstrous mass-murders. Among the 1.200 butchered to death by these Neo-Nazis, he remembered 42 French victims, and 3 held as hostage. “I give you my word. We will not abandon them. We will never abandon them.” Churchillian. Attal illustrated how much France owes to its Jewish luminaries, listing many famous ones. To paraphrase, as France looks after her Jews, so do French Jews look after France.

French Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia told me

“The Prime Minister gave his own vision of a world we must repair in true Tikkun Olam. Every time anti-Semitism flourishes, the whole of society suffers. We must unite all the forces of the Nation in this fight.”

My only criticism of Monsieur Attal’s speech was that it failed to emphasize the

threat to France and the whole world from Iran.

We British have much to learn from his requiring all primary schools to teach tolerance of others as a way to fight racism. We should follow his forceful break-up of intimidating demonstrations on campus, and his boss President Macron’s organizing an unprecedented ceremony at Les Invalides, Napoléon’s final resting place, to commemorate the victims of Hamas, and remind the World of the hostages still awaiting freedom. We also have something to learn from French security forces in dealing with terrorists caught in flagrante delicto (red-handed) and posing a present danger to those nearby.

At the Synagogue in Rouen, the arsonist put up a fight. They shot him dead.

Andrew M Rosemarine is writing a biography of the French Premier. Andrew runs an international law and immigration law office, has 3 Oxford law degrees, and is a former research fellow of the Harry S. Truman Institute for Peace, Jerusalem. He is qualified in British, European and Israeli law. He has addressed the United Nations 10 times.

Gabriel Nissim Attal PHOTO: DHS (SYDNEY PHEONIX)

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AJEX D-Day beacon lighting

AJEX JMA held a Beacon lighting event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

National Chair Dan Fox opened the event, followed by a D-Day Veteran’s message from the late David Teacher and interview with Judith Steinberg, daughter of a Mulberry Harbour veteran.

Veterans Walter Bingham and Stanley Fisher highlighted the courage and resilience of those who served. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Veteran Mervyn Kersh, Keith Black, JLC, and Adrian Cohen, BoD, also spoke.

Leo Noè lit the ceremonial beacon followed by prayers.

AJEX recognised the impact of D-Day and is committed to honouring the legacy of Jewish soldiers and all those who fought for our freedom.

Fox said: “Eighty years ago this morning, the Allied Expeditionary Force began taking back Europe from the Nazi empire, yard by yard, on the shores of northern France. Operation Overlord was underway. On June 6th, we raised a salute and a toast once more, to the men and women of the Allied Expeditionary Force. And to life!”

Chief Executive Fiona Palmer added: “D-Day was a monumental campaign to rid Europe of Nazi horror and the 80th anniversary of

this remarkable operation deserved the recognition and gratitude of our country. We were pleased to see hundreds join us to commemorate the sacrifices made by so many in our name. The D-Day anniversary is not just a moment to reflect on history but to celebrate the enduring legacy of those who fought and died for our freedom.”

AJEX turns its attention to Armed Forces Week. Details: www.ajex.org.uk

The JFS and JCCOS Combined Cadet Force

PHOTO: LIAT EZEKIEL

Leo Noè lights the beacon

PHOTO: DAVID ROTH

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Overcoming Mountains

BY RABBI SANDOR MILUN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GIFT

We are looking towards Har Sinai. Standing at the foot of the mountain. Anticipating. Awaiting. “V’YACHAN Yisrael across from the mountain.” (Shemot 19:1-2) … And Yisrael ENCAMPED (in the singular). The correct grammatical term should have been V’YACHANU – And Yisrael ENCAMPED (in the plural).

Rashi famously comments on this verse - “K’ish echad b’lev echad.” LIKE ONE MAN, WITH ONE HEART. What does this mean? - We were so completely unified in

our mission that we were like one person! Does this sound like the Jewish people!? Is that possible in the present time?

In two weeks, GIFT will be embarking on our third Kilimanjaro challenge. It is the opportunity of a lifetime. Just like the previous two years that we have climbed the mountain, there is an eclectic mix of people; the oldest person being 53 and the youngest just 17!

By the time we set out on day two, something strange begins to happen. The group will have forged into one homogenous body – one single entity. Maybe it’s that each individual realises that without everyone else, they more than likely wouldn’t make it even half way! This becomes way more than about summiting a peak; so much chesed (kindness) was done. Countless times, I heard participants say, “Are you ok?”, “Who needs a snack?”, “Drink some water.” This mountain enables giving and kindness on a mass scale. It made

The Eternal Gaze

BY RABBI YAAKOV KLEIN, FOUNDING DIRECTOR, EILECHA

Of all the minhagim associated with Shavuos, remaining awake all night to study Torah is perhaps the most significant. This minhag traces all the way back to the Zohar HaKadosh, resurfaces in the writing of the Shelah HaKadosh, is mentioned by the Arizal, and is codified in the Magen Avraham —parenthetically the first source to explain the reason for this minhag as being a rectification for Klal Yisrael sleeping late on the morning of Matan Torah, as the Midrash recounts. The question is, with so much Torah to learn, what should one focus on in the hours of Shavuos night? Because, according to the mekubalim, the primary rectification accomplished on Shavuos night is the staying up itself and not necessarily reliant on the area of Torah that is studied, we find divergent guidelines from various tzaddikim throughout the generations. Many chassidim and Sephardim have the minhag to recite Tikkun Leil Shavuos, a text which includes the beginning and end of every section of the Tanach and Mishnayos, certain selections of key Kabbalistic texts, and a list of the 613 mitzvos of the Torah. The tzaddikim taught that by studying the beginning and end of the basic sections of the Torah, it is as if one has learned the entire thing.

us all better people. It is a mountain of looking outside of oneself (chesed), while being forced to look very deeply into oneself.

What I experienced was one of the most awe-inspiring, incredibly humbling, ego-busting life events that I have ever put myself through. There was no ego; everyone spoke to everyone, we were all in it together. I cried during the prayers. I cried uncontrollably while speaking to people - and I was not alone. The emotion as we approached summit night was overwhelming. Just hearing the briefing brought many to tears: the enormity of the final push laid bare for us, to overcome both mentally and physically.

Summit day began at 12:30am and after seven hours of walking in -10°C weather, it came: grown men crying on my shoulder, each step feeling like 100 consecutive push-ups. We (Klal Yisrael) have been in far worse situations, and prevailed. This was my thought as I trudged one foot in front of the other. As the group approached the summit, words failed them and the power of the experience took over. When the light of sunrise broke through the darkness, the group found a renewed energy. Nearly everyone wept as they came onto the edge of the crater; they reminded each other that they could do it. We had remained united through the hardest of times. Reaching the summit together as a group is almost unheard

of. All 26 participants, each helping another, joined together for a picture to savour the moment. The power and energy created by a group is exponential compared to the power of an individual, and we reached the summit because we created a unified energy, helping each other get through all the hardships.

At the closing dinner, almost everyone’s highlight was not about the summit, but about the unity, the closeness, the connectivity they experienced as they went from strangers to family in the space of one week.

Reaching the summit was a bonus! One lesson I learnt was that it is so much easier to get through a difficult moment when you rely on other people. Together everyone got through. Another lesson was that with one step at a time, you can achieve anything. It becomes clear that “there are no excuses on the mountain”. You’re either going up or down. Back down, in reality, we live in a world of excuses. I make excuses all day every day, justifying my actions continuously. This was the biggest lesson for me. As I slept in a bed for the first time in a week, safe and secure, I yearned for my tent on the mountain. I missed it in so many ways because at the end of it, we had a glimpse into K’ish echad b’lev echad – and it was out of this world! Chag Same’ach! Gut Yom Tov!

Although there are more esoteric intentions contained in the Tikkun Leil Shavuos which are known as the Chaf-Dalet Kishutei Kallah, Reb Nosson of Breslov provides an insight into this minhag that aligns with the Kabbalistic intention. The relationship between Klal Yisrael and the Master of the world is one that spans the entire structure of existence, ranging from “Reishis,” the conception of creation within the Infinite Creator Himself, all the way to “acharis,” the individual Jewish soul bound to a physical body in the lowliest realms of corporeality. When a Jew maintains a passionate relationship with Hashem through the framework of the Torah and its commandments, his inner eyes are ever turned heavenward, meeting the gaze of Hashem with which he feels constantly overwhelmed. In the life of the tzaddik, the aspects of “acharis” and “Reishis” are bound together as one. However, when a Jew does not live a life of aligned with the Divine, focusing his gaze on the distractions of daily living instead of the all-consuming quest to grow closer to the Master of the world, the shared gaze of the soul and its Divine Source is broken, and the link between “acharis” and “Reishis” is shattered, causing the lower realms to drop into the void of meaninglessness. Instead of being illuminated with the light of an elevated purpose, this person’s experience of physicality as pure

“acharis” devoid of a relationship with the spiritual Source of “Reishis” is dark, base, hopeless, and enveloped by a sense of existential anxiety.

Chazal tell us that Matan Torah was a wedding celebration between the lovers of Shir HaShirim, the collective Jewish soul and Hashem. Each Shavuos, we are given a chance to re-experience this intimacy and refocus our gaze on the Source from which we derive and with whom we toil to achieve the deepest sense of closeness and unity. Fascinatingly, the Torah begins with the word “Bereishis,” which is associated in the Zohar HaKadosh with sight (its letters spell “

,” and “

ןיע” is the pupil of the eye) and ends with the words “l’einei kol Yisrael,” before the

eyes of the Jewish nation. The giving of the Torah each Shavuos awakens the gaze of Am Yisrael, the level of “acharis” (represented by the last words in the Torah) toward the gaze of Hashem, the level of “Reishis” (represented by the first word in the Torah, Bereishis — “roshi-bas”), beautifying the Jewish nation in the eyes of Hashem and returning the passion of our relationship to the level of intensity experienced by Matan Torah, “wedding night.”

Reb Nosson explains that this is why Tikkun Leil Shavuos involves studying the beginning and end of each section in the Torah — another reference to the bond between “Reishis” and “acharis” that is rejuvenated on this glorious night.

The GIFT Kili 2023 expedition reaches the Summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro together

YISRAEL

Why do we go to Extremes? Weekly Dvar Torah FROM ERETZ

BY RABBANIT SALLY MAYER

Parshat Naso describes the option to become a nazir, prohibiting oneself from drinking wine (and even eating grapes!), cutting one’s hair and participating in the funeral even of the closest relatives. Two of these restrictions parallel those of the Kohanim, taken to the extreme – while a regular Kohen may attend the funeral of his close relatives, a nazir may not, similar to the Kohen Gadol. A regular Kohen may not drink wine when serving in the mishkan but may generally enjoy wine and certainly grapes. The restriction from cutting hair, however, does not parallel the Kohanim; in fact Kohanim must be well-groomed. What is the nazir trying to accomplish? Moreover, does the Torah consider this choice positive or negative?

The Sages of the Talmud debate this very question (Ta’anit 11a). Rabbi Elazar praises the nazir for seeking more holiness in his life, emulating the

Kohanim and even going further. Rabbi Elazar HaKapar, on the other hand, argues that the nazir sins when he deprives himself of wine, and understands the chatat (sin-offering) that he brings as atonement for that sin. What is behind this debate?

Rabbi Elazar, arguing that the nazir is holy, believes that in striving to reach a higher level of holiness, taking on elements of kehunah, even temporarily, is spiritually valuable. We may not be able to be kohanim gedolim, but perhaps experiencing that for a month will help us adjust our priorities more to the spiritual than to the mundane matters which so often consume our time and resources. Perhaps the growing of one’s hair is a way of cutting off from the physical, expressing that it doesn’t matter what others think when they look at us, and focusing our attention inward. If we could keep it forever, we would, but we do need to go back to regular life, hopefully inspired by the experience.

Rabbi Elazar HaKapar says absolutely not – extremes are something we can tolerate as a temporary outlet, but that is not the ideal at all. While the Torah recognizes that instinct and creates a place for it, by requiring a sin-offering the Torah communicates that this is not the way things ought to be. Use that time to straighten out your priorities, says the Torah, but truly the ideal is not to need that extreme state; rather, we should live in the world and serve Hashem while still connected to our families and to the physical world.

Which approach should we follow? Perhaps the end of the parsha can offer an answer. The Torah dedicates many verses to describing the offering that each tribe’s Nasi (prince) brought to the mishkan. But they are all the same! Why not describe the first one and then say that each Nasi brought the same as the one before? Perhaps the Torah is hinting that the real ideal is to find personal meaning in our everyday life of mitzvot,

even when we are doing the same service as the person next to us. While it is natural to seek change and novelty, the ideal is to find the newness from within. We can look at our tefillah anew every day even as we say the same words, focusing on what is needed today in our families, our communities, and the world. We observe Shabbat each week, and each time appreciate the spiritual nature of the day in a different way. Chessed can be novel as we look for new opportunities to reach out to those in need, emotionally or physically. Finding personal inspiration even as we observe the same mitzvot is the challenge and opportunity of a Torah lifestyle.

Rabbanit Sally Mayer serves as Rosh Midrasha at Ohr Torah Stone’s Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem. She is a member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau (www.mizrachi.org/speakers).

Beyond the headlines

A weekly glimpse into the Israel you won’t read in the news

BY SIVAN RAHAV MEIR - TRANSLATED BY YEHOSHUA SISKIN, JANINE MULLER SHERR

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS – MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER

As we approach the festival of Shavuot, here is a powerful idea that is more consequential than any political debate: A Jewish student from MIT visiting Israel told me, after describing the hypocritical protests on behalf of Hamas that took place on her campus: “What our world needs the most now is faith, vision, and a clear moral compass.”

This student is absolutely correct, and that is precisely the message of Shavuot. In the shameful and unforgettable hearing in front of the American Congress several months ago, three college presidents could not bring themselves to assert that the call for genocide of the Jewish people was against the “moral code” of their respective institutions.

So here is the definitive moral code as communicated by G-d in the Ten Commandments that we read on Shavuot:

“You shall not murder!” This year, this command echoes louder than ever. Do not murder, but also do not support a culture defined by murder and death. Do not give these people international support and honor, and do not try to appease them. Members of the UN who stood for a moment of silence in memory of the Iranian president and master terrorist, Raisi, and ambassadors from Western countries who stood in tribute when the Iranian flag was lowered to half-mast, have clearly not internalized the meaning of these words.

Our world is confused; it has difficulty distinguishing between good and evil. And to counter this moral confusion, we must stand up and reaffirm the moral foundation of the word. There is truth and there is falsehood.

“I am the Lord your G-d who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.” There is a G-d and He plays an active role in history, ensuring that, ultimately, everything will be resolved for the good.

“You shall not take the Name of the Lord, your G-d, in vain.”

How horrifying that our enemies cry out, “Allahu Akbar,” G-d is great, when committing the most heinous crimes against humanity: slaughtering babies, elderly, men and women in the “name of G-d.

The Ten Commandments also establish the principles of a moral society, in which there are clear limits and each person is recognized as being created in the image of G-d.

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”

“Honor your father and your mother”

“You shall not commit adultery”

“You shall not steal”

“You shall not covet”

There is even a commandment addressing our system of justice: “You shall not bear false witness against your fellow.” Even more so today, in a time of moral relativity, when every belief is open to subjective interpretation, it is critical to uphold justice. Sadly, we know this has not been happening at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

On Shavuot, which falls this year on Tuesday night and Wednesday in Israel and for an additional day in the Diaspora, the Ten Commandments will be read aloud in synagogues around the world. It is customary to bring children of all ages to the synagogue to listen, for they will be responsible for carrying its message to the next generation.

Throughout our history, while living under the tyrannical Roman Empire, the murderous Crusaders, and even under the vicious Communist and Nazi regimes, we have always read the Ten Commandments on Shavuot. And today, surrounded by fanatical Islam, on the one side, and a morally-confused West on the other, we must continue to remind the world of these eternal truths.

Shavuot calls on us not to accept the world the way it is, but to strive to make it better, and to transform ourselves in the process.

Chag Sameach.

REMEMBER THIS MOMENT

Do you remember where you were when you heard the news about the rescued hostages? We will remember where we were when we heard the good news since it was a moment of unparalleled joy. Take this moment with you forever.

Our shared feelings of pride and gratitude, the pain over our fallen commando, the prayer that all the others will soon

be home… This is called Am Yisrael!

I was in a hotel in central Jerusalem on Shabbat afternoon when the news arrived: Four hostages were rescued safe and sound from Gaza in an intrepid raid. Baruch Hashem! The hotel dining room erupted in cheers and everyone began to jump and dance and sing. I was together with students from the Nefesh Yehudi organization, evacuees from the north who have been living in the hotel for two months, and many guests from all over Israel and the world at large. Suddenly there was a spark of hope in their eyes. People who did not seem to be connected to their Jewish identity were suddenly very connected, expressing their excitement singing “Am Yisrael Chai,” “Siman Tov u’mazel Tov”, “The eternal people does not fear a long road,” and “The whole world is a narrow bridge, but the main thing is to not to fear at all.”

of the Chavruta-Ayelet HaShachar organization, this idea was shared on social media. Within a day or two, 15 men who do not put on tefillin at present, but who want to, had accepted our offer. I just spoke with the individual who will be using Bar’s tefillin. He told me that he stopped putting on tefillin eight years ago but that he will start again, now.

Before parting after Shabbat I told the students: “Please remember these moments, and never forget this feeling of togetherness. Our identity depends on it.”

May we be privileged to experience many more moments of true and enduring joy.

THE TIES THAT BIND US

Bar Kuperstein, a paramedic, was working as a security guard at the Nova festival on Simchat Torah, when he was taken hostage. Julie, his mother, wrote me the following letter:

“Hi Sivan, while we await Bar’s safe return home, I was thinking that someone who does not have tefillin could use Bar’s set. With the help of Riki Siton, director

“Our Bar has many merits. His father, also a paramedic, was confined to a wheelchair after being seriously injured in a car accident. Bar, our eldest son, took upon himself financial responsibility for the entire family. In fact, he took the job at the Nova festival in order to earn some extra money. Bar was captured after repeatedly engaging in life-saving acts of courage. And now many Jews have started putting on tefillin in the merit of Bar Avraham ben Julia.

“The initiative has been publicized, leading to large numbers of men expressing interest in putting on tefillin; therefore, we need donations of sets of tefillin to satisfy the growing demand.

“Meanwhile, we all anticipate the day when Bar’s tefillin will be returned to him, when he returns safely home.”

Want to read more by Sivan Rahav Meir? Google The Daily Thought or visit sivanrahavmeir.com

A Resilient Nation

BY RABBI NAFTALI SCHIFF, CEO, JEWISH FUTURES

You and I are here today because in each generation, despite the challenges, our parents and grandparents chose to follow and to relay the path of resilience. The world is frantically searching for a hitherto hidden formula that may successfully inoculate society with the resilience necessary to weather life’s challenges.

I’d like to suggest that often in life when we find ourselves searching high and low, the key to our quest may be far closer than we think. Rabbi Noach Weinberg loved sharing with people a deep-seated Jewish tradition that informs us that every person is taught all the Torah in utero by an angel, only to be tapped on the philtrum at birth, which causes us to forget it all, and then we are charged with the challenge to discover truth for oneself. We may ask, why bother that “teacher angel” in the first place and why the tap on the upper lip of all places? To such questions he would jovially quip (while animatingly indicating with the wag of his index finger):

“It’s because reality is right here under your nose! You just need to place your finger on your lip, be quiet and listen!”

There is certainly a line across which deep-seated anxieties may pass, at which point professional help must clearly be sought. However, I think that as Jews we may possibly have deeply ingrained in our psyche and our shared history an unusually high level of built-in resilience. At this time, we are hearing much talk about the imperative to teach and nurture resilience for all, about how this life skill and trait has been paramount throughout this time, and shall be increasingly so in the “new normal” going forward. As a rabbi, educator and parent, I wholeheartedly applaud and agree with this sentiment. However, I would like to simply propose that both resilience and the concept of “new normal” have been integral to the life of the Jew from the outset and throughout our epic 3 500-year journey.

Even as we stand today at the festival of Shavuot, ready to revisit the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, we are reminded of two famous teachings from the Talmud. Why was the Torah given at Sinai and not a higher, loftier mountain range? To teach us humility! What do we learn from the name “Sinai”? It’s a play on the word sina – hatred. At this foundational moment in our history, we are, from the outset, prepared, despite our grand mission and lofty destiny, to be humble and modest and to endure a journey that will involve withstanding the enmity of many nations.

We have just escaped the hellish slavery of Egypt where we witnessed ten manifest miracles visited on our oppressors. We are suddenly confronted by a roaring sea in front of us and the thundering might of Pharaoh’s fearsome chariots in hot pursuit. We experience the majesty of the splitting of the sea, hunger and worry as to the source of our sustenance in

the desert, while simultaneously being summoned to bear the word of G-d to mankind! We’ll spend forty years wandering in the desert, where we experience forty-two separate journeys. We’ll face natural and human obstacles along the way towards the Promised Land, contend with the animosity of many nations, build a grand empire around the Temple, cope with its eventual sacking and devastating loss, and be exiled, with the terminal depletion of prophets, kings and associated glories. We’ll return to our land only to be exiled again, this time to the four corners of the earth, enduring the worst forms of hatred, alienation and persecution in world history.

Yet, despite all, we shall survive; we shall return; we shall rebuild. Even more incredible is that we knew of this journey from the start! The survival of the Jewish People is an inviolate reality, clearly written in the Book. The survival of you and I as members of that Nation is not. That is up to us. You and I are here today because in each generation, despite the challenges, our parents and grandparents chose to follow and to relay the path of – resilience! The choice to follow those footsteps is ours too.

Allow me to share a couple of small but poignant personal memories of my formative years that I believe speak to the current zeitgeist – one that revolves around this challenging quest to bolster resilience among our younger generation at this time in particular.

At our chuppah in Jerusalem over 30 years ago, the central tune that couched those special moments for us was to the words from the prophet Jeremiah: “Lechteich acharai bamidbar, be’eretz lo zarua.” These words nostalgically refer to the relationship between G-d and the Jewish People, those who, in their period of “courtship”, were ready and willing based on faith alone to journey into the desert, to a land unsown. For a generation and spare, Jewish couples marched to their weddings so often to the refrain: “Sunrise, sunset...” from “Fiddler on the Roof”. Every Friday night when we make Kiddush, we whisper the words: “And it was evening, and it was morning...” We are a people prepared for long nights that precede the day, challenging journeys that lead to the Promised Land. We are a family born in resilience. That is why you and I are still here. Sometimes, however, we’re just so busy, we sadly don’t stop to listen to our own tune.

In the Haftarah we read on one of the holiest of days, Rosh Hashanah, the same prophet Jeremiah refers to the Jews as a “People who are survivors of the sword”. These words are imprinted on my consciousness as a Jew, having been the refrain of one of the first tunes I learned, aged 10, as a member of the renowned Yigal Calek’s London School of Jewish Song. In my years singing as part of the choir, there was another composition that similarly springs to mind; this one set to the famous words of the eleventh of Maimonides’ 13 Principles of Faith: “Ani Maamin”, I Believe. On many occasions,

I heard Calek introduce the dramatic musical prelude at concerts with the words “...for generations, the Jewish People sang Ani Maamin; throughout the Holocaust, they sang an Ani Maamin; but this is a new Ani Maamin – one of hope!

A march! Orchestra, take it away! Let’s go!” And with a flourish, the thunder of wind instruments would burst forth and 20 young boys on stage would march on the spot and sing in unison to a new rendition of Ani Maamin! No longer a refrain of despair laced with longing; rather a fresh march of hope!

A new rendition doesn’t cancel the old; no more than innovation challenges tradition. Chidush, the imperative to look at concepts and life’s diverse circumstances with fresh thought and open eyes, is the fulcrum around which Jewish life and learning revolves, evolves and adapts. As we return the Sefer Torah

to the ark communities the world over, we sing: “Chadeish yameinu kekedem – renew our days as of old!” Not a paradox; rather, perhaps, the classic Jewish phenomenon of constantly synthesising authentic tradition and observance with an ever progressing modern world. The Jews are a quintessentially resilient people. From the beginning of time, we have been relentlessly propelled with drive, aspiration and hope for the fulfilment of a vibrant future. The quest to achieve has also made us the most obstinately persistent of nations to match. Many today seem to confuse persistence with resilience. They are similar; however, certainly not one and the same. Persistence is the ability to continue and stay the course, despite the obstacles. Resilience is the capacity to adapt to changing and often challenging circumstances. Each demands a

toughness and grit perhaps beyond the average. With varying degree, the Jewish People have indeed displayed both to an incredible measure. We are described as a “stiff-necked (obstinate) people”. Rabbi Dr Nachum Rabinovitch z’l, cited this accolade of obstinacy as the salient feature that leads to G-d forgiving even the most heinous of crimes of the Jews throughout history. After all, who but a notoriously obstinate people would persist as Jews, clinging to the G-d of our faith and our core identity through thick and thin, despite the generational persecutions, trials and travails?

Holocaust survivors have become my greatest mentors in persistence. I have personally questioned hundreds about how they managed to keep going when all was but lost. “My mother/father willed me to go on, to bear witness, to survive as a Jew. ‘Bleib a Yid.’ So I just kept going, one step at a time,” sums up the universal answer. However, Holocaust survivors are not the first, nor shall they be the last to sing Vehi Sheamda at the Seder table, nor Ani Maamin as they marched forward.

A people that knows where it is headed will endure any journey.

The trait of resilience is perhaps slightly more nuanced than that of persistence, albeit no less prevalent among our people. If resilience is predicated on a deep understanding and appreciation that life is full of challenges and that flexibility, optimism and willingness to

change are the fundamental attitudes necessary to steer the course, then perhaps the “wandering Jew” wrote the manual on resilience centuries ago. Haven’t we been schlepping the book around in our suitcases each time we were driven from Anatevka? Are we not

of a fate that waxes and wanes with the vicissitudes of time. Neither the dark of the night nor the resplendence of the sun blinds their collective vision. The hallmark of the Jew is the uncanny ability to constantly reinvent himself and his modus operandi, while maintaining a

“I’d like to suggest that often in life when we find ourselves searching high and low, the key to our quest may be far closer than we think.”

the people who adapted with dogged tenacity each time we moved on, or the regime changed, or the language, the dogma, the dictator, the culture, the Weltanschauung, the government or the borders of the day? This should come as no surprise, since resilience was received as an underlying theme in every chapter of the Holy Book, along with cheesecake at Mount Sinai!

The first commandment given to the Jewish people as they prepared to leave Egypt – charged with the mission to bring G-d’s word to mankind – was that of identifying the new moon. A people whose journey follows the lunar cycle has built into their psyche the ups and downs, trials and tribulations

steadfast fidelity to his creed.

Notwithstanding Michael Dickson and Naomi Baum’s excellent book, Isresilience, which beautifully highlights a whole range of contemporary Israelis who personify resilience, I would suggest it is precisely this trait that kept the Jew and Judaism as immortal as the creator Himself!

Resilience is not a modern Israeli creation, rather an embodiment of the people of Israel itself. The very name Yisrael implies survival alternately through, despite and, at times, because of that very struggle. At Sinai we are referred to as Bnei Yisrael, a reminder of the nobility, the grandeur and the resilience inherent in the blessing that is our name.

In fact, it is the very confluence of persistence and resilience that perhaps can provide us with greatest insight. This Shavuot, Deliveroo will deliver our cheesecake, Amazon our books. We may have missed the IPO for both, however, each of our families received the Tradition at Sinai 3 000 years ago and have stock options in the Book! Our track record would indicate we have the grit, the resolve, the adaptability and the staying power to still be listed 100 years hence!

The prophet Isiah (41,4) describes the Creator as “korei hadorot merosh” – One who calls the generations from the start. A people that knows its destiny from the beginning; a nation that appreciates there will be challenges every step of the way; parents who know to transform and transmit that arduous journey to an epic story on Seder night know too to empower, train and educate its children to transition that story to a song, adapting the score to harmonise with each dynamic movement.

Such a nation suckles both persistence and resilience with its mother’s milk. Such a people around Yom Hashoah and Yom Ha’atzmaut some eight decades later, sing with pride, exhilaration and harmony – an Ani Maamin that flows into Am Yisrael Chai! Such a people this Shavuot can sing a resounding Chadesih yameinu kekedem – vehu yashmieinu berachamav sheinit le’einei kol chai L’shana Haba’a biYerushalayim habenuyah! With resilience and confidence – see you there!

Daf Topics

Ayin Hara – The Evil Eye Bava Metzia 107a

BY RABBI YAKOV SCHONBERG

On Daf 107a Rav is quoted as saying that it is forbidden for a person to stand at his neighbour’s field when the field is filled with ripened produce. Rashi explains that by casting an evil eye (ayin hara) on the field, one can cause it to suffer a loss. This follows the teaching that it is inadvisable to buy a field near a town, where people constantly walk by, and there is the increased possibility of people looking at this field with an ayin hara. The gemora portrays ayin hara as a form of metaphysical power, analogous to a physical force that can cause damage. The laws of damage by neighbours are discussed at the beginning of Bava Basra, where a separating fence four amos high is required between neighbouring yards to prevent invasion of the neighbour’s privacy. If it is forbidden to look at a neighbour’s produce, is a high wall required to prevent looking in?

HIGH OR LOW WALL?

Rambam (Hilchos Shechenim 2:16) writes that whilst the fence between courtyards must be four amos high, the wall between vegetable gardens is only required to be ten tefachim high. Ravad disagrees and insists on a high wall for both situations. Besides Ravad, other Rishonim also disagree and require a high wall for gardens as well, on the basis that gazing causes damage. If one is not supposed to see over the fence, how could a low fence of ten tefachim be effective? This question was posed to Rambam (Teshuvos [Blau] 395) in his lifetime, and he replied that the prohibition in our gemora is only midas chassidus and therefore demarcation is sufficient. Shulchan Aruch (CM158:3) appears to pasken for a low wall like Rambam, although the high-wall view is noted as secondary alternative. On the other hand, CM378:5 rules that one may not gaze at one’s neighbour’s field, without mention of midas chassidus, and that should require a high partition. Sema answers that privacy damage, where the neighbour watching impedes his normal use of the yard, relates to conflicts of interest between neighbours which belong to Hilchos Shechenim, but our halacha is brought in Hilchos Nezikin, which concerns damage by a mazik, where demarcation to prevent infringement of

property rights is sufficient. Some suggest that Chazal would not demand a high wall for the short period when produce is standing fully ripened.

LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE

The question arises whether there would be any liability for damage caused in a non-natural manner - our gemora is silent on this point. The earliest source in this regard is a question presented to Rabbi Chagiz (Halachos Ketanos-2:98, Venice 1704) where he was asked about criminal culpability if someone kills with a Name or sorcery. In an extremely brief teshuva, he responds that: ‘perhaps since through his word he has performed an act, his status is comparable to a person who kills by shooting an arrow of whom the prophet said, “their tongue is a sharpened arrow” (Yirmiyahu 9:7)’. Chida (Devash le-Pi-mem:5) emphasizes that employment of a Divine Name involves a freely willed human act and should therefore be ascribed to that person. Chida addresses the problem that there are numerous Talmudic anecdotes concerning Chachamim who “cast their eyes” upon wrongdoers, who became a heap of bones, yet there is no indication of censure of these Tzadikkim. Chida asserts that their intention was to withdraw the spark of kedusha within that person, and that left him being a heap of bones. Perhaps his meaning is that a body without its innert kedusha is no more than a heap of bones, a body without proper life. Similarly, Aruch Hashulchan (CM-378:1) rules that such claims are not actionable in Beis Din, but there would be Heavenly liability. Ayin hara cannot be viewed as a direct physical act, so at best it would be gerama, which only carries Heavenly liability.

HOW DOES AYIN HARA WORK?

Maharal (Nesivos Olam, Nesiv Ayin Tov) understands ayin hara to be a destructive power inherent in nature. It is a spiritual rather than a physical force, where celestial attention is drawn to the good fortune of the object of the ayin hara and prompts a heavenly review of that individual’s standing to determine whether he is actually deserving of such good fortune. Chazon Ish (Chosen Mishpat Likkutim-21) asserts that one of the forces embedded in Creation is that a person’s thoughts can effect changes even in solid, physical things. When people are perplexed or astonished at something exceptionally successful, that good fortune is in danger of attack. However, everything is fixed from Heaven and if it was not so preordained, it cannot be

caused by someone’s ayin hara. Heavenly decrees can be triggered in different ways and if ayin hara causes revelation of someone’s shortcomings, that may activate a reduction in his entitlement. The Steipler (Kehillos Yakov, Bava Kama45) quotes the above Chida and asserts that the Tzadikkim were not regarded as culpable, as they simply confirmed the wrongdoer’s true status as being without kedusha. However, Kehillos Yakov agrees with Halachos Ketanos that intentionally invoking a supernatural force in order to kill another individual would be a criminal offense. However, but there would be great difficulty in providing Beis Din with hard evidence that he was directly responsible for death, so liability could not be imposed. Rabbi Dessler (Michtav MeEliyahu 3:p313, 4:p5) suggests that the mechanism through which ayin hara works is an ethical one. The blessings bestowed by Hashem upon an individual should not serve as a source of anguish to others. If one allows his wealth, children etc. to cause pain to others less fortunate, and certainly one who flaunts his bounty, arouses a Divine judgement against himself and a re-evaluation of whether he deserves those blessings.

SIMCHA CELEBRATIONS

We find many halachos relating to ayin hara in connection with simchos. It is a mitzvah for all to join in celebration of a bris or wedding, but at the same time this could cause pain to others who are less fortunate and are without children or a shidduch. Two family members should not have aliyos consecutively, names should not be duplicated within the family, and two brothers should not marry two sisters (Sefer Chassidim-477), all because of attracting attention to extraordinary situations which can generate ayin hara thoughts. Rabbi Yochanan Luria, writing in Meshivas Nefesh (Noach) more than 500 years ago, states that it is inevitable that some people may feel their personal lack of good fortune at a wedding and to counter any ayin hara, they respond amen to the blessings and wish ‘mazel tov’ to demonstrate their belief that everyone receives what he deserves in his own time.

BEGINNING AND ENDING WITH NUN

There is an interesting Tefillah often included at the end of zemiros for Motzei Shabbos where one recites eleven pesukim, each of which begins and ends with nun, which is headed with a note that it is beneficial against ayin hara. Rabbeinu Bachya (Bamidbar 32:32) writes that he has a tradition that the Shem

HaMeforesh of thirteen letters emanates from these pesukim and their recital is a protection. It is interesting to note that this list is found in the printed massorah gedola on Vayikra 13:9, but has its origin in the earliest massora work, Ochla VeOchla, which dates back to Geonim. It is the last item written in the Halle Ochla manuscript as illustrated (but is not in the Paris manuscript which was used for the printed edition) but is also found as marginal notes in ancient Ben Asher manuscripts such as Codex Cairo (Yirmiyahu-50:8) and Leningrad (Vayikra-13:9), which are over 1,000 years old. Massora generally controls the spelling of words and this list of pesukim does that because words were modified so that they started with nun. The second pasuk starts with the word

which should really read

but the aleph has been dropped to ensure that the pasuk starts with nun. Possibly the connection with ayin hora is something similar to the use of a pair of inverted nunin at עוסנב יהיו acting as a form of brackets. By enclosing each pasuk with brackets in the form of initial and final nunin, the pasuk is concealed and protected from ayin hora vision. Furthermore, Bava Basra 118b explains why fish (in Hebrew = nun) are a siman beracha, because they are covered in the sea and are not looked at. Rokeach points out that these 11 pesukim contain no samech –symbolising anti-satanic protection.

TIKUN LEIL SHAVUOS

The sequence of the pesukim in the zemiros is different from Ochla. In Masora, the order of quotations will either have the sequence of the 24 books stipulated in Bava Basra 14b or that followed in our Tenachim, according to the chronological order of authors. Interestingly, the order of the reading of sefarim as printed in Tikkun Leil Shavuos is again different and that is because each sefer is associated with a series of Sheimos based on Arizal, which governs their order. Rabbeinu Bachya also referred to Sheimos emanating from these pesukim and that is probably the reason why they have a different order in the zemiros.

Rabbi Schonberg was born in London in 1948 and attended Hasmonean School. He attended Manchester, Chaye Olam and Gateshead Yeshivos. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1972 becoming a partner at Cohen Arnold.

To find out more, you can sign up at mercazdafyomi.com and receive a free gemoroh.

ASK THE RABBI

IS SILENCE GOLDEN?

Dear Rabbi

Growing up my mother used to criticise me for talking too much and used to tell me I should learn when to be quiet. I think it’s because I heard that all the time that I’ve become much more the quiet type, even among family and friends. My wife often asks me, “why are you so quiet?” and gets annoyed when we’re out with family or friends and I spend most of my time listening rather than talking. I’m wondering whether that’s necessarily a bad thing though. I thought silence is a virtue. What do you think?

Benny

Dear Benny

Obviously communication helps establish and strengthen bonds between individuals, fostering a sense of connection and intimacy. But, you’re right. Sometimes silence is golden as well. Rabbi Shimon in Ethics of the Fathers said that he grew up amongst many great people and he learnt that the best thing is

silence. I think you need to find a balance and learn when to communicate and when to stay quiet. Here’s my top ten tips of when silence is golden: 1) definitely be silent in the heat of anger because in such moments the tongue reacts faster than the mind and you’re going to end up saying something that you’ll regret. 2) Don’t say anything if you don’t know the full story. Jumping to conclusions, as we’re all wont to do, can cause misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict. 3) Stay quiet is you know your silence can help save a relationship. Not everything your thinking needs to be vocalised. 4) Definitely stay quiet when you cannot speak without raising your voice. 5) It’s always advisable not to talk when you’re feeling too emotional to be rational. You’ll end up saying the wrong things. 6) Stay silent when you know the words you are going to use are going to be critical and destructive. 7) It’s is definitely beneficial to stay silent when listening and letting the other person be heard is more important than you doing the talking. 8) Stay shtum when there may be an ulterior motif to what you want to say. Sometimes quiet introspection is more worthwhile. 9) It’s good to stay quiet if the atmosphere is tense. 10) I’ll stay

quiet at this point and let you fill in whatever you feel is suitable for number ten.

CAN YOU HEAR WHAT I’M SAYING?

Dear Rabbi

At the giving of the Torah as we read on Shavuot, we are given a detailed account of what transpired. In the midst of it says: “And all the people saw the voices…” I learnt that this means they saw what is normally heard. What does that mean? Seeing sounds is not something we can experience, at least when we’re sober. It seems absurd to even imagine. Is it just poetic licence?

Suzie

Dear Suzie

It’s not poetic license at all. One 16th century commentator explained what we now know, that every word we utter produces sound waves. Usually we lack the tools to detect the waves, but at Sinai they indeed could see the physical manifestation of the sound in the air. What’s the significance of that you wonder?

Sometimes what you’re saying and what the other person is hearing is not the same thing. What you tell your spouse, your child, your colleague, and what they heard you say can be very different. Which is why I must always have the humility to understand not just what I am saying, but to learn what the other person is hearing, what the other person is experiencing. I need to “see the soundwaves” and tune into their frequency.

Can you muster the courage to tune into another’s soundwaves? And even if you can’t, can you have the integrity to at least understand that there is another frequency and other people are hearing different things based on their interpretation or life experience? Do you know how many fights can be avoided between people, if only we could see the soundwaves whereby I can appreciate that your perception of exactly the same reality is completely different than my own?

No two shared experiences are the same. No two results are the same. Do you know why G-d enabled the Jews to “see the sounds” at Sinai? They could see the soundwaves. They could see why some people would hear one thing while others would hear something else.

Torah was given in order to perpetuate peace in the world. “All its ways are ways of pleasantness and its pathways are to peace.” The only way there can be real peace is if I can appreciate the many diverse frequencies in which different people experience different realities and address each person according to his or her frequency.

The message of Shavuot is that they “saw the sounds.” Know that no two perceptions are the same. Even as you can’t see things from another perspective have enough humility to respect that there is another perspective. That’s the underlying purpose of the Torah and how we will experience enduring bliss as G-d intended in His world.

Torah Reading Summary

FIRST DAY

TORAH

READING (SHEMOT 19:1-20:23)

On Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the people arrive at Mount Sinai. G-d tells Moshe (Moses) to inform the people that if they listen to His voice and keep His covenant, they will become “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. The people respond: “All that G-d says we will do”.

On the third day, G-d’s Presence descends onto the mountain. There is thunder, lightning and shofar blasts; the mountain is covered in smoke. G-d declares the Ten Commandments: I am G-d who brought you out of Egypt, do not worship idols, do not use G-d’s name in vain, remember Shabbat, honour your parents, do not murder, commit adultery, kidnap, give false testimony in court or covet.

The people were frightened by the

Nasso

1st Aliya (Kohen) – BAMIDBAR 4:21-37

Last week’s sidra concluded with the detailing of the particular role of the descendants of Kehat, one of Levi’s three sons, in taking down, transporting and re-assembling parts of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Torah now details the same for the descendants of Levi’s other two sons, Gershon and Merari. A census is taken of each of these three families, counting men aged 30 to 50. The family of Kehat numbers 2,750.

2nd Aliya (Levi) – 4:38-49

The family of Gershon numbers 2,630. The family of Merari numbers 3,200.

Shavuot is “The Time of the Giving of our Torah”, so the Torah reading for the first day and both haftarot are about Divine Revelation. The Torah Reading of the second day focuses on the Shalosh Regalim, the three pilgrim festivals, of which Shavuot is one. On the first day, we precede the Torah Reading with Akdamut; on the second day we precede the haftarah with Yatziv Pitgam.

experience and said to Moshe: “let G-d speak with you, but not to us, for we do not want to die”. The fact that G-d then spoke to Moshe later helped the people accept that Moshe’s teachings were from G-d.

G-d told Moshe to say to the people, “You saw that I spoke with you from heaven, do not have other gods”. The reading concludes with the law of making an altar for sacrifices, but not out of hewn stone.

MAFTIR (BEMIDBAR 28:26-31)

The Maftir describes the offerings brought on Shavuot.

HAFTARAH (EZEKIEL 1:1-28 & 3:12)

Rabbi Sacks zt”l describes the haftarah, from the beginning of the prophet Yechezkel’s (Ezekiel) mission, as “dazzling... the most vivid of its kind

anywhere in Tanach, Divine Revelation not to a nation, but to a prophet”.

Yechezkel was already in exile in Babylon, along with many other Jews. The Temple was about to be destroyed, but the message is one of reassurance. We recommend Rabbi Sacks’ commentary in his Shavuot Machzor.

SECOND DAY

TORAH READING (DEVARIM 15:19-16:17)

One is not allowed to work a first-born male animal from the flock or herd; rather, it must be brought as an offering and its meat then consumed by its owner. The nation is to celebrate Pesach in the “spring month”. Some laws of the festival and the special Pesach offering are listed. Shavuot comes after the seven-week counting of the Omer.

3rd Aliya (Shlishi) – 5:1-10

The narrative switches back to the day that the Mishkan (Tabernacle) began to function (Rosh Chodesh Nisan), as first discussed in parashat Shemini (Rashi). G-d tells Moshe to instruct the people to maintain the spiritual purity of the main camp, in which the Mishkan was situated, by sending away anyone who is ritually impure. The nation complies. A person who steals and then takes an oath denying the crime, before eventually admitting to the theft, must bring an offering and add a fifth to the amount stolen when paying back the victim.

4th Aliya (Revi’i) – 5:11-6:27

A married woman who secludes herself in a suspicious fashion with another man, and is warned by her husband not to seclude herself again but ignores the warning, is known as a Sotah. She brings a barley offering to the Temple, where a Kohen gives her water to drink. This miraculously proves her innocence or guilt. If she is guilty, the waters cause her (and the adulterer) to die. If she is innocent, the water will cause her to become more

fertile than before (Rashi).

Point to Consider: Why does the Sotah’s offering not have oil poured on it or frankincense put over it? (see Rashi to 5:15)

A person can decide to take a vow to become a Nazir and abstain from wine and other produce of the vine. A Nazir is also prohibited from having a haircut and from coming into contact with a dead person, including a close relative. The Torah details the procedure if a Nazir mistakenly comes into contact with a dead person in the middle of the Nazarite term. At the end of the Nazarite term (whose length can vary), the Nazir shaves his hair, brings unleavened bread offerings and three animal offerings. Aharon and his sons are commanded to bless the nation with the priestly blessing (birkat kohanim).

5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 7:1-41

On Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the leaders of all of the tribes bring gifts of six wagons and twelve oxen to help the Levi’im transport the Mishkan. These leaders also take turns to bring voluntary offerings, which are sacrificed on the first 12 days of the Mishkan’s functioning. The leader of

Succot is celebrated at the time of year when crops are gathered in from the threshing floors and vineyards.

On each of these three festivals, one has to bring special festive offerings to the Temple. Seven times in this short reading, the Torah says that these offerings are to be brought to “hamakom asher yivchar”, the place that G-d will choose, a reference to the Tabernacle in Shiloh, and later, the Temple in Jerusalem.

MAFTIR (BEMIDBAR 28:26-31) (As first day).

HAFTARAH (HABBAKUK 2:20-3:19)

This Haftarah describes a future revelation, with G-d saving His nation from its foes. It describes “faith at its most sublime” (Rabbi Sacks).

the tribe of Yehuda gives a silver bowl and a silver basin filled with fine flour and oil for a meal offering; a gold ladle filled with incense; a bull, a ram and a sheep as elevation offerings (olah); a goat as a sin offering (chatat) and two cattle, five rams, five goats and five sheep as peace offerings (shelamim). The Torah lists the identical offerings of the other 11 leaders, starting with Yisachar, Zevulun, Reuven and Shimon.

6th Aliya (Shishi) – 7:42-71

The offerings of the leaders of Gad, Ephraim, Menashe, Binyamin and Dan are listed.

7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 7:72-89

The offerings of the leaders of Asher and Naftali are detailed. The total value of all the items offered is given at the end of the sidra.

Haftarah

An angel of G-d appears to the wife of Manoach and tells her that she will bear a son who will be a Nazir and will help save Israel from the Pelishtim (Philistines). She names him Shimshon (Samson).

True Marriage: Peering through the Surface

BY RABBI SHMUEL REICHMAN

Matt was the happiest guy in the world. He had somehow found the most beautiful girl in the world, Jennie, and they were engaged, set to marry in just over a month. They had hit it off from the very first date, and Matt could not get over how beautiful Jennie was and how proud he was to have her by his side. Sure, she was funny, smart, and kind, but wow was she beautiful. He never thought that he would find someone beautiful enough for his high standards, so he was endlessly thankful that he had met Jennie.

Then, the unthinkable happened. It started with a phone call. “It’s an emergency. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. She’s in the ICU.” Matt got to the hospital as soon as he could. When he walked in, he couldn’t bear the sight. Jennie had been in a car accident. She would live, but her face was torn apart in the crash, leaving her scarred and almost unrecognizable. Matt sat next to her for a few hours, comforting her. He then went outside for a breath of fresh air, and contemplated the most difficult question he had ever faced: What should he do? She looked horrible, ugly, repulsive! On the one hand, his gut instinct was to run. On the other hand, how could he be the shallow guy who ran as soon as something happened? What would people think? They would know that he had only been in it for her looks, that as soon as those disappeared, so did he. “No,” he thought, “I have to figure this out.”

That night, Matt did some soul searching. He called, texted, and emailed every person he could think of, asking for their advice and guidance. Most simply tried to comfort him, but finally, he received an email from a rabbi he had been connected with back in his youth. “Listen to this,” the email read, “and you may just find your answer.”

Attached in the email was an audio recording on the topics of love, marriage, and beauty. With no alternative option in sight, Matt began listening. The lecture questioned the Western model of beauty and love, rejecting the notion of love at first sight. While physical beauty is important, inner beauty, spiritual beauty, is infinitely more powerful. When building a marriage relationship, the goal is to build a deep, internal connection, a soul connection, which is built through two partners constantly giving to each other, communicating and building values together, and venturing on a shared journey and mission in life.

Matt was blown away. He had never heard these ideas before, and he began questioning his relationship with Jennie. Sure, they sometimes talked about life, their values, and overall direction, but they had never built a genuine and deep internal connection. Now that he was being honest with himself, Matt realized that he had been so fixated on Jennie’s external beauty that he had never put

much effort into getting to truly know her — who she was, what she wanted in life, her struggles, her virtues and flaws, even her hopes and dreams. At that very moment, Matt decided that he would spend the next few weeks trying to build this type of relationship, and after that, he would revisit his questions about their marriage.

At first, it was awkward; Matt struggled to initiate genuine conversation, to ask real questions, to be vulnerable and honest. But slowly, things began to flow more easily. Matt and Jennie began opening up to each other with increasing ease and trust. Matt was surprised by how deep and thoughtful Jennie was, by how caring and empathetic she was toward him, how much she wanted to learn about his values and dreams. While they used to spend their dates at entertaining events, requiring little conversation, they began to go on the types of dates that fostered deep connection and conversation, creating meaningful experiences. They began seeing each other with new eyes, understanding each other on levels deeper than they ever thought possible. Jennie began to shine with a new beauty — one that her physical looks had never fully captured. They started to grow together, learn together, and inspire each other. Matt decided right then and there that he would spend the rest of his life with Jennie. Her face was scarred, but she was the most beautiful person he had ever met.

Over the next few weeks, Jennie began to undergo surgeries to repair her face, until eventually her face looked just as beautiful as when she and Matt went on their first date. But at this point, Matt had a completely different understanding of beauty. Physical, external beauty is important, but inner, spiritual beauty — a beauty that shines through the external surface and transforms it — is true beauty.

SPIRITUAL BEAUTY

This heartwarming story might be too much for the modern ear. We are all drowning in Western culture, where physical beauty takes the front seat — or the only seat — in life. But to fully understand the present-day challenge of beauty, we must understand the spiritual concept of beauty in all of its depth. To do so, let us review the spiritual concept of beauty, tracing it back to the creation of Man before Adam HaRishon’s sin.

ADAM HARISHON

Before Adam sinned, he looked nothing like you or I do today. When we look at one another, all we see is flesh and bone, but if you looked at Adam before he sinned, his appearance was angelic, transcendent, and luminescent. The Midrash says that he wore kosnos ohr (skin of light). When you looked at Adam, you didn’t see his body; you saw Adam himself: his neshamah, his soul. When you look at a light bulb, all you see is radiant luminescence; only if you look

closely can you make out the surface of the bulb. The same was true regarding Adam: he was luminescent; only if you looked very closely could you just make out his physical body. His body was transparent, with the outside loyally and fully reflecting his inner self. This is true beauty, where the inner and outer melt into a oneness, where the physical perfectly reflects the inner spirituality; where the physical projects something much deeper than itself. Beauty is the harmony and synthesis of different components, resulting in something infinitely greater than the sum of its parts.

When Adam sinned, however, the world fell, and Adam’s body fell as well. The physical no longer revealed the spiritual; it now hid it instead. Now, when we look at each other, we don’t see our true selves; all we see is a physical body. What was once light is now darkness. People can’t see your inner world — your thoughts, your consciousness, your emotions, your soul; all they see is your external body. Now, in order to reveal yourself to other people, you must actively use the physical to reveal the spiritual; only through your words, actions, facial expressions, and body language can people gain a glimpse into who you truly are. The body used to be incandescent and reveal; now it only hides. It is up to us to reveal what lies inside.

SARAH IMEINU

After the sin of Adam HaRishon, genuine beauty became elusive, found only in a select few individuals. Sarah Imeinu was one of the few who achieved this lofty feat. We know Sarah was physically beautiful, i.e., that her beauty was not just of an ethereal, spiritual nature. When Sarah and Avraham descended to Mitzrayim, the Mitzrim, and even Pharaoh himself, desired her (Bereishis 12:14–15; see Rashi). The Egyptians were steeped in immorality, interested only in beauty that ran skin deep. However, we know that Sarah Imeinu was immensely spiritual as well — that she reached the loftiest of spiritual levels. (See Rashi, Bereishis 23:1.)

At the end of Parashas Noach, Rashi (Bereishis 11:29) explains that Sarah was also called “Yiskah.” A name always reflects essence, so we must ponder the meaning of this name and what it reveals about Sarah Imeinu. (The Hebrew word for name (shem) shares the same root as the word for soul (neshamah), because a person’s name reflects their very essence.) “Yiskah” means transparent, and Sarah’s true beauty lay in her transparency. Her inner beauty completely permeated and was loyally reflected through her physical body. Genuine beauty is embodied in transparency, where the physical body reflects the inner, spiritual beauty, something infinitely greater than anything external. True beauty is oneness, where the physical and spiritual melt into a oneness, where the physical doesn’t hide the inner self but reveals it.

TZ’NIYUS

One of the most misunderstood ideas

in Judaism is the concept of tz’niyus (modesty), especially in regards to women. Many think that tz’niyus means to hide, that the ideal is not to be seen. However, there is an infinitely deeper approach to tz’niyus. In this age, beauty has been corrupted. The term “beauty” generally refers to outer beauty, a surface beauty that distracts from and hides the inner self. Physical beauty is neither good nor bad; it is merely a vessel with the potential to be used for good or bad. While our physical body is immensely valuable, our true self is our neshamah — our mind and consciousness. Our inner world, thoughts, ideas, choices, beliefs, middos, and emotions are the deepest and most genuine parts of our “self.” True beauty is when the physical serves as a vessel that expresses one’s true self, their inner essence, into the world.

The focus must always be on the inner beauty as the ikar — the essence. The purpose of tz’niyus is not to hide you, but to reveal you! The true you. Tz’niyus shifts the focus from the external trappings to the actual self, the neshamah, which lies beneath the surface and illuminates the physical vessel. True beauty requires a beautiful root and core, and the physical must be then be used to project that inner beauty outwards.

IDEAL MARRIAGE

When the Torah discusses the prohibition against illicit relationships, these relationships are generally referred to as gilui arayos, literally translated as “revealing one’s nakedness.” What does this mean? Why does the Torah refer to a forbidden relationship in such a manner?

An ideal marriage consists of two people who endlessly break down the barriers and walls between them, creating ever deeper levels of existential and spiritual connection and oneness. Physical connection is part of a spiritual relationship, and when used correctly, it is uplifted to something transcendent. While a true marriage relationship creates a transcendent bond, an animalistic relationship consists only of a physical, surface connection, devoid of anything deeper. It has no purpose or meaning, no direction, and no transcendent element. When one commits an act of gilui arayos, they proclaim that the intimate realm is nothing more than a means for physical pleasure. In doing so, one reveals that they are merely an animal, a physical being, lacking connection to the spiritual and to that which is higher. By entering into an illicit relationship, one expresses their view that they are purely a physical being — that their body is all that they are. As a result, by revealing their body to the world, they are revealing their “nakedness,” i.e., that they are merely a piece of flesh and nothing more. They have self-identified as an animal, a physical casing that does not reflect their neshamah, one who does not wish to use their body to reflect anything higher. This is the ultimate shame, which is why the Torah repeatedly refers to gilui arayos as an act of shame (See Vayikra 18:8,10).

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman is a bestselling author, international speaker, and CEO

Is the cup half empty or half full?

BY RAFI SMITH

Everyone has heard of the age-old line: “Is the cup half full or half empty?”. The sentiment behind that is something like: “Be more positive!”. “Why do you have to focus on the negative?”. What do YOU see when looking at the cup? (You can try it now!). Some may notice both the full and empty halves, some may notice only the half full. But many of us will notice that it is half empty. Why? The short answer is something called “The Negativity Bias”. The negativity bias concept is the fact that we are neurologically programmed in our minds to notice and remember the negative much more than we will notice and remember the positive. Why that is, will be explained shortly.

Where else could the negativity bias be affecting us?

When reflecting on your day (e.g. today), do you notice and remember what you achieved today, or what you didn’t do or would’ve done differently? When planning a trip/event, or focusing on a work project, do you find yourself overplanning and considering every possible pitfall or issue that may arise, getting anxious about it, procrastinating, or even shying away from it because of those remote possibilities of

failure? When it comes to making decisions, are you weighing up the potential benefits, or busy trying to determine which one is the ‘lesser of 2 evils’ and will be the less harmful or risky option? When you talk (or think) to yourself to get yourself to make changes, do you find that rather than encouraging yourself to do better you are being overly critical and judgmental in an effort to ‘pull your socks up’ and make changes in your life? Do you find you naturally take to heart criticism more than compliments? When you think about yourself do you tend to notice more of your flaws or strengths? And if you notice both, which do you seem to be more aware of? What aspects do you notice more in people around you?

You may find when thinking about some of these scenarios the negativity bias at play, causing us to be less productive, less adventurous, and not really notice strengths and accomplishments in ourselves or others.

In my next article, I will try to provide some techniques we can use to try and reinforce the positive side of our mind to help us be in a more balanced place, with the result being increased feelings of self-worth, the ability to make more positive and adventurous decisions in our lives, and to be able to appreciate the goodness of people and experiences. But for now, rather than trying to just run away from this issue, it can be healing to embrace the positive functions our negativity bias helps us with. Seeing the positive in our negativity The function of our brain’s negativity bias is a survival mechanism to try and keep

us safe and be weary of danger. There are also some other things we gain from our minds being aware of the negative. If we were unable to see the negative, we wouldn’t notice that we could add more to the cup. If we didn’t plan for possible bumps in projects or plans we would encounter them before we could ever plan how to avoid them. If we didn’t have a sense of critique of ourselves how would we ever notice where our personalities can improve and flourish? If we didn’t notice our mistakes, how would we ever change into better parents, spouses, and friends or make amends?

So that negative part we can see serves some really important functions. It is the fact that the positive part is less nurtured that causes us to imbalance to the side of negativity with the relevant consequences, and as mentioned, I will try to provide some techniques to nurture that positive part of us.

Rafi Smith is a Clinical Counsellor/ Psychotherapist, living in Jerusalem. For questions, feedback, topic suggestions, or inquiries about online/in-person therapy email emotionalhealing311@gmail.com, or Call/Whatsapp +972527160858

Family FunNASSO

Gershon, Kehos and Merari, each has their own stuff to move and Ahron’s son Isamer is the man in charge. We speak about that and then how the Leviim have sooo much more to do.

Not pure? You can’t be in the three camps (Klal Yisrael, Leviim and the Mishkan) you had to go outside till you were pure again. This is a holy people.

Stole something? You can’t replace it, you must return it. Sold it to the Chinese mafia? Have fun but get it back. He sold it to the Russians and now suspiciously no one knows what you’re talking about and oops, this thing has too many bullet holes in it, and that was one bullet too many, it’s dust?

Pay for it with a 20% interest. If a married lady’s husband thinks she has done some naughty stuff, she is given a chance to admit, if not she has to drink a special mix of water from the kiyor and earth form the mizbeach and verses of Hashem’s name. If she’s guilty she’ll explode, if not she will have many healthy children after that.

A person can take on a special promise to stay away from all wine, vinegar, grape juice and grape products. He should stay away from parties and even from vineyards so he won’t accidentally consume grape products. He can’t cut his hair either. He shouldn’t care about how he looks and try to just have

Parasha Stats

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B S K N A Z I R F F Z S

Y Y G E B A W F X J N O

F Q D C O Y T K H P M G

X O L C G B J E S X L F

D F B G K F V Y V V Q S

a good time. He spends a month thinking ony holy thoughts and not caring about this world. It’s a very special thing but at the end he brings a few korbonot. One is a sin offering,because whilst it’s special to be a Nazir, G-d wants us to live in this world with all that that means and still be holy. He has his own malachim, angels.

If you went to shul on Shavuot, you heard the priestly blessing, birchas kohanim. This is where it comes from. Hashem reveals the words that Aharon and his sons should use to bless Bnei Yisroel:

Yivorech’cha Hashem V’Yishm’recha “May Hashem Bless and Guard You!”

Ya’er Hashem Panav Elecha V’yechunecha

“May Hashem shine His face on you and may He let you find favor!”

Yisa Hashem Panav Elecha V’Yasem L’cha Shalom

“May Hashem lift up His face to you and give you peace!”

The Kohanim lift their hands so that the two middle fingers are separated and the thumbs are spread, touching each other. We don’t look because the Shechinah in the times of the temple was openly revealed, it isn’t openly revealed now but we still don’t look.

Facts about Parashat Nasso

Number of Verses - 176

Number of Words - 2,264

Number of Letters - 8,632

Jewish Riddle

This week’s Question:

“On one historic Yom Kippur, the entire Jewish people ate and drank and were praised for it by Hashem.” When did this occur?

Last week’s Answer: Which weekly Parasha is never read (outside of Israel) on Shabbat afternoon.

Parshat Bereshit. Outside Israel, Simchat Torah always falls on a weekday. So the only Shabbat when Parshat Bereshit is read is the following Shabbat in the morning. In Israel, however, when Simchat Torah falls on Shabbat, we read Parshat Bereshit that very same afternoon.

*WELL DONE TO MR YAIR FINK!!!*

Tangram Challenge!

Using all the shapes, can you make the shape on the right?

Word Wheel

The goal of a word wheel puzzle is to create as many words possible with the letters in the word wheel. Each word must contain at least three letters. You can only use each letter once and every word must have the letter in the centre of the wheel.

Last edition’s words

Here are some words you may have found from last week – you may have found more!

R F E O N O T N A

Use the area below to write the words you have found.

Jokes

Q: Why couldn’t the bike stand up?

A: It was too tired!

Q: Why did the scientist remove their doorbell?

A: They wanted to win the no-bell prize!

Q: What did the calculator say to the maths student?

A: You can count on me!

Riddles

1. You heard me before, yet you hear me again, Then I go, ’till you call me again. What am I?

2. What starts with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it?

3. Until I am measured I am not known, Yet how you miss me when I have flown. What am I??

Our Bar and Bat Mitzvah Project ensures that young people, on their special day, can share it with a child Holocaust victim who was denied a future.

Over the past 10 years we have twinned over 1000 children.

Complete the on-line Twinning Form and researchers at Yad Vashem will use the information to find a suitable twin.

Celebrants will receive a comprehensive Twinning Pack which contains:

• A Page of Testimony, with details of your chosen twin

• A Study Guide

• A Certificate

• Letter from a Holocaust survivor

• A Yad Vashem pin

• Memorial and Shabbat Candles

• An invitation to become a Guardian of the Memory

46 Albert Road London NW4 2SG

Charity No. 1099659

Phone: 020 8187 9881

Email: office@yadvashem.org.uk

www.yadvashem.org.uk

www.guardianofthememory.org

@yadvashemukfoundation

of

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EXPERT ADVICE

The law allows a new resident of all veteran returning resident (as defined in prior blogs) to request an “acclimatization year”. This allows the taxpayer to be considered a non-resident of Israel for a period of up to one year to the day that they moved (back) to Israel, even if they would otherwise meet the definitions of a resident, as discussed previously.

Any taxpayer wishing to make this request must do so within 90 days of moving to Israel. The application is made online via a government portal, and is a fairly straightforward procedure. Once the application is made, the status is granted to the taxpayer; there is no need for any governmental of tax authority approvals.

The acclimatization year allows for the taxpayer to consider if living in Israel is appropriate for them. Should they decide to leave within that year, the law essentially considers it as if the taxpayer never resided in Israel during this period; allowing the taxpayer to come to live in Israel later on in life without having to consider this period as a period of residence.

However, should the individual decide that they wish to stay in Israel, once the acclimatization year has ended, so has the first year of their 10-year exemption period of foreign based income and gains. In other words, the law does not allow for a taxpayer to claim an 11th year of exemption via the “back door.”

Whilst, so far, it sounds like a no-brainer to claim the acclimatization year, it’s not so straightforward.

Non-residents in Israel are still required to report and pay Israeli taxes on their Israeli-sourced income. This will include any work income earned whilst physically in Israel.

Although most Double Tax Treaties with Israel allow for non-Israeli residents to earn monies in Israel without having to pay Israeli tax, this is normally provided that the taxpayer is in Israel for less than 183 days in any tax-year. Someone on an acclimatization year is likely to fall foul of this rule.

Further, people moving to Israel are often looking to cease their tax residency in their country of origin. Claiming an acclimatization year in Israel may well jeopardize this claim.

In our experience, for most olim, the acclimatization year is not something worth claiming, but of course, each case needs to be considered individually.

For a fuller discussion of your particular circumstances, please reach out to us at info@ aboulafia.co.il

Binyamin Radomsky

BUTCHERS

KOSHER DELI

Kosher Deli was established with the intention of making kosher meat and poultry affordable for all with the convenience of multiple locations and a comprehensive delivery service. All this without compromising on kashrus or quality.

Locations in: Golders Green, Hendon, Temple Fortune, Edgware, Borehamwood & Manchester

Contact: 020 8381 4450 info@kosherdeliuk.co.uk www.kosherdeli.co.uk

ESTATE AGENT

Roundtree Real Estate are your local experienced Estate Agent having been established on the High Street since 2009. We are both ARLA and NAEA Propertymark regulated and we are here to offer you expert advice in Property Sales, Lettings, Commercial and Full Management Services, covering Hendon, Golders Green, Finchley, Colindale and surrounding areas. We have built long standing relationships with all our clients and should you have any property related queries please do contact us.

Contact: 020 8203 2111 mail@theroundtree.com www.theroundtree.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

JACOB BERNSTEIN LLB (Hons) CeMAP

A member of the APCC, specialising in financial services compliance for: Mortgage, Protection and General Insurance Intermediaries

• Lenders, Credit Brokers, Debt Counsellors, Debt Administrators and Debt Collectors Wealth Management (Portfolio Management and Advice Services), Capital Markets (Asset Management and Broker Dealers), Wholesale Investment Firms (Fund Managers, Corporate Finance and Private Markets)

• Payment Services, PISP, AISP and E-Money.

Contact: 020 7781 8019 info@richdale.co.uk www.richdale.co.uk

Book a FREE meeting with UKAA’s founder Gary Brown, who will go through your particular needs and wants on a the PRACTICAL side of leaving your country of origin and/or living in/moving to Israel. This is both for pre and post- Aliyah Olim.

This FREE meeting will allow Gary to advise on who you need to speak with for each requirement and when in the year you should approach them. Confidentiality assured.

Contact: +972 (0)2 372 3775 / +44 (0)20 3 989 5080 info@aliyahadvisors.com aliyahadvisors.com/aloh-naaleh/

JEWISH CARE

Jewish Care is the largest health and social care organisation serving the Jewish community in London and the South East. Our vital services touch the lives of 10,000 people every week. We provide services and offer a wide range of support groups to older people, people with mental health needs, Holocaust survivors, people living with dementia, people with a variety of needs and carers support.

Contact: 020 8922 2222 helpline@jcare.org www.jewishcare.org

CHARITY

ALIYAH ADVISORS

ALIYAH ADVISORS - GARY BROWN - PRACTICAL ALIYAH ADVICE

MARTIN FRYDENSON - ROUNDTREE REAL ESTATE

WEALTH MANAGMENT

MARC OVITS – BA (HONS) APFS CERT PFS (DM)

Over 25 years of successful experience in financial services including 11 years of investment banking experience.

Offering expert independent financial advice to individuals, businesses, charities and trusts. Individual services:- Wealth Management, Investment, Retirement, Estate/IHT, protection planning, Tax Mitigation and Cash Management Solutions

Business & Charity services:- Investment Planning, Business Succession & Business Exit Planning, Business Protection, Corporate Pensions, Employee Benefits, Cash Management Solutions, Profit extraction strategies

Alpha Wealth Management

Contact: 020 8203 6920 info@alphawm.co.uk www.alphawm.co.uk

BUILDING AND PARTY WALL SURVEYING

MATRIX SURVEYORS LIMITED

Offering a range of building surveying services and specialising in party wall matters, nationwide, for both consumers and businesses, including; -

• Pre-acquisition Surveys

• Party Wall Matters

• Defect Inspections

• Schedules of Condition

• Insurance Reinstatement Costs Assessments

Contact:

Toli Moscovitz BSc (Hons) MRICS 0161 823 6973 info@matrixsurveyors.co.uk www.matrixsurveyors.co.uk

SHIPPING

STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

MARTIN HEIMAN – SMARTINET

We’ve been providing businesses with all of their communication needs since 2010. We specialise in supplying businesses with VoIP Packages, Mobile Plans, Broadband, Card Merchant Services, Leased Lines, On-Hold Marketing, and Call Centre Services. Smartinet, your reliable and efficient business communications provider.

Contact: 0333 613 0000 connect@smartinet.co.uk smartinet.co.uk

MANAGED I.T. SERVICES PROVIDER (MSP)

SIMON MOSCOVITZ BSC (HONS) – EUROTEK UK LIMITED

• Planned Preventative Maintenance Schedules

• Construction Project Management

• Licence for Alterations

• Insurance claims

With almost 40 years experience, our company has the ability to move household and personal effects and antiques and fine art with the professionalism and care that comes from that experience coupled with an attention to detail.

We construct our own Tri-Wall and wooden packing cases on site and employ full-time art installers and handymen for those ‘extra’ jobs that always need doing on a move or installation. And size is no limitation – we have moved trains, boats and planes across the world and even bridges and a 5,000 seater tent!

Contact: 020 8832 2222 info@shipsms.co.uk www.shipsms.co.uk

We are a well-established and successful Managed I.T. Services Provider (MSP) with a clear sense of purpose. We plan, design and enable the procurement, implementation, protection and management of a wide range of modern technologies through an earned and trusted partnership with our clients across the UK. We enable our clients to be operationally efficient by successfully embracing their digital transformation journey.

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