Picture of the Day

The Me'iri House in the old city of Zfat (Safed) in northern Israel.

Photo: Miriam Woelke

Riots in Zfat (Safed) - Part ...

B"H

Despite the claims that there were not riots between Jews and Arabs, some locals did tell me about violence going on. Arab youth throwing stones and bottles near Jerusalem Street. One Jew took out a gun and fired a bullet in the air in order to scare the Arabs and make them run away. However, the police came and arrested the Jew. As far as I heard, no Arab got arrested.

Zfat definitely has a problem with Arabs moving in. Today someone told me that a Jewish landlord from the Canaan neighbourhood rented out his house to Arabs. The Canaan neighbourhood is populated by secular and religious Jews and finding an Arab there is just strange. Furthermore I was told that the percentage of Arab youth marrying Jewish woman has risen in Zfat. Mainly due to Arabs and Jews studying together at the local Michlalah (Academic College).

Jerusalem has been facing the same problem, as more and more Arabs are moving into Jewish neighbourhoods such as Pisgat Ze'ev, Neve Yaakov or onto the French Hill. Those Arabs show up with suitcases full of cash and are willing to pay more rent then any Jewish Israeli. Unfortunately, most Jewish landlords go according to the cash and slowly slowly we will have to face the bad results.


Further Information:

YNET

Germans favouring Israeli gay Singer but ignore Judaism

Gay Teddy bears

Photo: Picasa

B"H

The Israeli Embassy located in Germany is one of my friends on Facebook and what they usually do is publishing important news from Israel. Yesterday the embassy spread the news that Israel's famous gay pop singer Ivri Lider is winning an international award.

The Germans got really excited about the message on Facebook, as some philosemites love anything coming from Israel. You can be a piece of garbage but as soon as you tell these philosemites that your are from Israel, they embrace you wildly. No matter how bad you smell.:-)))

However, I criticised the Facebook message spread by the Israeli Embassy in Berlin by saying that Israel shouldn't be proud of a gay singer, as there are more important and especially normal people to be proud of.

I foresaw the reaction of the German philosemites and, of course, found lots of criticism. I am only referring to Germans here because I don't know about other countries:
Those Germans who are not pro - Palestinian identify with Israel. For several reasons but, however, there are those who are really sticking to Israel and anything Jewish like glue. Not in order to missionize Jews but to just admire them due to a psycho - like Holocaust guilt feeling.

Two Facebook reactions did surprise me:
A woman, I don't know if Jewish or not but living in Germany wrote that when I criticise gay Ivri Lider, I cannot be from Tel Aviv.

I find this statement rather stupid, as not every Tel Aviv inhabitants is naturally so terribly tolerant to embrace the gays. In fact many people from Tel Aviv don't agree with the unlimited freedom in their city at all. And, I did live in Tel Aviv.

Another comment came from a gay guy from Norway. Not Jewish and ignoring the Jewish religion totally. The worst was that he, as a homosexual, compared my anti - gay opinion to the Nazis killing gays. Actually he claimed that Jews should be more tolerant because they were killed in the camps and so were the gays.

The Norwegian comment is one of the worst statements I have had in my life. A comparison between gay "suffering" and the Jewish Holocaust. This is just outrageous but shows us how wide parts of the Gentile world ignores Judaism and those Jews sticking to it. Germans love the Jews to shut up and assimilate. Jews involved in culture and some Martin Buber but no real frum Jews. No Chabad and no Haredim at all but only assimilation.

Photos from Zfat (Safed) in Northern Israel

Zfat by Night.

View from the old city onto the hills around Meron.

 

View onto the famous cemetery of Zfat.

Photos: Miriam Woelke

Picture of Day

Seen in Zfat / Northern Israel

Photo: Miriam Woelke

AWARENESS

There are things happening all around us all day. Things that keep our attention from being internalized. Things that keep us from becoming aware of what is going on around us. Because there is so much stimuli we tend to block it out and by doing so we block out the stimuli that can actually benefit us the stimuli that keeps us informed of what the Creator wants from, us what nature wants from us. Every moment in which we find ourselves has been designed specifically for us, individually, so why not take advantage of it and start to realyze what that moment is coming to teach us.

How do we become aware? By becoming observers. We must learn to Observe what is going on around us in a way that it does not affect us unless we choose for it to do so. You can become an observer by simply closing your eyes wherever you are and training yourself to experience the sensation of the five senses without reacting. 

From: CREATION MEDITATION

http://thinktov.blogspot.com/

"Wave Cafe" in Talpiot / Jerusalem is a Christian Missionary Place

B"H

"Jewish Israel" has a new warning out: 

The "Wave Cafe" in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighbourhood is a Christian missionary place. The cafe is run by Richard "Ayal" Frieden and HERE is their clear missionary policy.

The embracing community life of Zfat (Safed)

B"H

I have never seen this before. Not even in Jerusalem. 

A new person is moving into a small town such as Zfat (Safed) in northern Israel, the person gets to know some people, finds a place to live and already those people she got to know, refer the person to others. "Ah, you are going to live there and there ? Okay, I know this and that person also living there. You know what: Why don't you phone up so and so and they will take you to classes or a Synagogue ?" 

This way you find friends in Zfat when you are really looking for a community life. Not only with Chabad but also with further Orthodox or even chassidic communities. I once went to the famous cemetery of Zfat and had a Breslover woman talking to me inviting me to her community. 

After making Aliyah to Israel, one of the most important things for you is "finding new friends". In most cases you start with those speaking your language and maybe identify with your mentality. Thus, the small town of Zfat is just perfect for frum English speakers although the crcumstances around are not too perfect. Flats are relatively cheap and available but jobs are more than rare. However, you will not be too long without new friends.

Nothing but Donations

B"H

There is hardly anyone today, neither a Rabbi nor an institution, who is not after your money. Everyone needs donations and some Rabbis don't care how the money is floating in. The main issue is getting the donations no matter how and a Rabbi can be as frum as he wants but when it comes to money, some Rabbis are worse than any secular Jew. However, they still justify their actions with keeping up their services and institution. 

When I go somewhere today, first of all I make it clear that I don't have much money. Even if it is not always the case. However, as soon as you signalize that you may have a few hundred Shekels in your pocket, someone asks you for a donation. For instance: A few weeks ago, I went to a Shiur. A pretty boring one, I have to say and I worked really hard not to fall asleep. At the end of the lecture, the Rabbi told us a story about receiving a letter by mistake where someone is asking for donations in order to get a new Torah scroll written. 

I didn't really get it but the Shiur Rabbi somehow took it upon himself to also collect for the new scroll and asked us Shiur participants for a 20 Shekel (approx. 6 Dollar) donation. To be very honest: I didn't believe a word and I am still convinced that the Rabbi wanted the money for himself. Nevertheless, all of us (at least four people) gave him the 20 Shekels and he stressed that now we have the big S'chut (merit) to own an Ot (letter) in a new Torah scroll. 

Halacha says that although we may have given a "wrong" donation (where the person is using the money for himself), we still earned the merit and the Mitzvah is ours. On the other hand, I can't stand such parasites making money in the name of religion. 

Moreover, as soon as many Rabbis hear that I write on the Internet, they immediately ask me to write about their institution or doings. Usually I don't do it unless someone has really something to offer and is contributing to society. Generally speaking, I am very careful today, to whom I donate money and in the case of the Torah scroll, I still regret that I gave money because my feeling tells me that the money went somewhere else. 

Graves of Rabbi Chananel and Rabbi Yochanan in Tiberias

B"H

When you take a walk through Tiberias (in northern Israel, at the Sea of Galilee / Kinneret) it is nothing unusual that you suddenly run into ancient graves. Ancient famous graves in the middle of the city. This happened to me last Thursday when I took a look around in order to get to know the city. Behind a shopping center and in front of a huge housing complex I saw this:

The graves of some Amoraim such as Rabbi Chananel or Rabbi Yochanan.



Photos: Miriam Woelke

Who spread the rumour of the riots in Zfat ?

The old city of Safed (Zfat).

Photo: Miriam Woelke

B"H

Just recently I wrote about the "riots" between Haredim and Arab youth in Safed (Zfat) / northern Israel. Some Israeli news sites had mentioned some violent clashes between Arabs and Haredim (one site wrote "Chabad").

I have arrived in Safed today in order to enjoy my two or three days vacation and just relax and maybe do something spiritual. However, I asked some Haredim about the clashes and all of them told me that there was nothing going on. One Chabadnik told me that obviously someone has an interest by spreading rumours and favouring the Arabs.

The Chief Rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, made a decree that it is forbidden to rent out apartment to Arab students studying at an academic institute in the Old City of Safed. I was also told that the municipalty told the inhabintans of a city owned apartment block to leave and what happened was that Arab students moved in instead. No wonder that some haredi inhabitants of Safed see a whole conspiracy of the local municipality coming up by rejecting the Haredim but favouring Arab students from the villages around.

As soon as there are more news, I am going to write about the subject again !

How Water becomes Wine

Source: Saleil Blog