tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25768255870730591872024-03-05T17:22:33.369-08:00JNF National Rabbinic Mission to IsraelUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-88926696486785955572009-02-20T13:42:00.000-08:002009-02-20T13:45:07.735-08:00Rabbi Jonathan Muskat, Young Israel of OceansideI was privileged to participate in a short but meaningful Rabbinic solidarity mission sponsored by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) from January 13th - 15th. During this week, the participants in the mission visited various places in southern Israel that have been affected by rocket fire from Hamas, some during the past eight years and some from the beginning of the Israeli operation to stop the rocket fire.<br /><br />We visited a yeshiva (Torah academy) in both Ashdod and Sderot, spent a night in a hotel in Ashkelon, visited injured soldiers and civilians at the Be'er Sheva Soroka Trauma Center, met soldiers in an army base in Kfar Maimon and tried to comfort trauma victims in Sderot. I had the opportunity to see firsthand both the impact of the rocket fire on the daily lives of Israeli citizens and the solidarity and unity of my Jewish brethren in Israel.Allow me to share a few examples of how Israel has been impacted by the rocket fire. Unfortunately, because the Hamas rockets are weapons of terror that hit random targets, many schools in the south were closed as a precautionary measure since the beginning of the Israeli operation to stop the rocket fire.<br /><br />The Be'er Sheva Soroka Trauma Center had to move entire unprotected units of the hospital (such as geriatric & neonatal care) to makeshift areas because of the threat of rocket attacks. When we visited Sderot, we were told that if we hear a "red alert" siren, we have 10 seconds to find a bomb shelter and if we could not locate one in time, then we should lay flat on the ground... and pray. Nobody in Sderot wears seat belts, because if the red alert siren goes off, then removing a seat belt can take a precious extra second or two. In the community of Nitzan (another community in southern Israel), for a long period of time, the members of the community could not gather together to pray because there was no community center that was rocket-proof so the government did not allow groups of individuals to gather together in an unprotected area should a rocket hit that area. In Sderot, I went to the house of a trauma victim, Chana Chadida, who has lived in Sderot for her entire life. The houses of her brothers and her parents were all damaged by rockets and even though nobody was killed, she is traumatized. She has difficulty sleeping; she dreams about "red alerts" at night; music used to fill her home but now she cannot listen to music for fear that she won't hear the red alert siren. She is too scared to travel outside Sderot for fear of being hit by rockets. She told me to tell my community in Oceanside that "hahayim po aino hayim" - life here is not really life. My short visit to Israel made me witness firsthand how the lives of regular citizens had been turned upside-down by a terrorist state after Israel unilaterally had made the difficult decision to evacuate its citizens from Gaza three and a half years ago.<br /><br />Fortunately, I was privileged to witness the unity and strength and support that Israelis have for each other, for the sick, for the wounded, for its soldiers and for this difficult operation to deal with a terrorist state that uses human shields to protect itself and then claims that Israel is committing war crimes. We visited the home in Sderot of a Rabbi, named Rabbi Tawil. This home had been hit and damaged a few days earlier by a Kassam rocket. A foreign news reporter then interviewed Rabbi Tawil and asked him if this attack reminded him of something, thinking that this attack meant to recall the unfortunate pogroms and persecutions that our people have endured for 2000 years. Rabbi Tawil explained that this attack did not remind him of pogroms or persecutions - why? Because we're fighting back. "It's okay if we are hit by a rocket," said Rabbi Tawil, "if we are fighting back. But if we don't fight back, then it would remind us of persecutions and pogroms."<br /><br />My trip to Israel was a trip of solidarity and unity with my Jewish brethren of Israel, but it also was a time when I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the sacrifice that the average Israeli citizen endures simply by living in our ancient homeland and that sacrifice makes me beam with pride.Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-67152359262401205842009-01-24T21:14:00.000-08:002009-01-24T21:15:47.056-08:00From Bud Levin, Los Angeles, CAA wail of the siren shatters the evening calm. <br /><br />people grab an old man an urge him to run to the shelter. <br /><br />That old man was me and we were running for our lives just inside the Saroka Hospital in Beer Sheva.<br /><br />I reached the shelter off the main lobby and I stopped for breath.<br /><br />It is so difficult to describe the emotions that tore through my mind as I stood with patients nurses, and the members of our group.<br /><br />First and foremost, I felt great fear. <br /><br />I had spent 7 years in the U.S. Army Reserve some 50 years ago,<br /><br />But I had never had to fire a shot in anger. More important, this was the first time that anybody was shooting at me.<br /><br />Then I felt anger.<br /><br /> How could this beautiful hospital,<br /> with all of these patients<br />Israeli, Palestinian and Bedouins<br />be a target for terror by Grad missals.<br />Three rockets had already struck near the hospital in the last five days. <br />Could this be the one that hits? <br />But then something wonderful happened. <br />Rabbi Uri Topolsky,<br />one of the 18 Modern Orthodox rabbis that I was traveling with;<br />took up his guitar and began to play a popular Israeli folk song. <br />Before you knew it, we were clapping hands, and dancing in the bomb shelter. <br />I was amazed to see the nurses and patients join in. <br />There we were,<br />a community formed in a bomb shelter. <br /><br />I had experienced fear that I could not show. <br />Anger that I could not express. <br />And finally tears of joy and celebration<br /><br />all in the span of 5 minutes. <br /><br />I had tasted war Israeli style.<br /><br /><br />We were in the Negev on a JNF sponsored solidarity mission of Modern Orthodox rabbis,<br />Joined by some of their fellow Modern Orthodox rabbis from Israel. <br /><br />I keep saying Modern Orthodox because<br />In contrast to Haredi rabbis<br />these rabbis are ardent Zionists who have fought in all the Israeli wars. <br /><br />Some of them were wearing pistols for our protection. There must be a song about pistol-packin rabbis. <br /><br />They all spoke perfect Ivrit and they were the best interpreters that I had ever had in Israel. <br /><br />This was my 68th trip to Israel since 1973 and my Hebrew skills have never gone beyond being able to find a bathroom. <br /><br />We were visiting wounded soldiers in the hospital. <br /><br />We were split into small groups as we went on our visit. <br />I remember that four of us were crowded in a small room with a soldier and his parents. <br /><br />He was badly bruised and his left leg was broken in several places. <br /><br />We were the first Americans that had visited him and he wanted to tell his story. <br /><br />He went on to tell us that he was saved by a miracle.<br /><br />He was searching for the bad guys in an apartment house near Gaza city. <br /><br />He was on the third floor balcony around midnight of his first day of combat. <br /><br />Suddenly, a blast occurred inside of the apartment. <br />He was blown off of the balcony and was falling head-first for the street below. <br /><br />He felt that he was going to land on his head and would surly die on that dark night in Gaza. <br /><br />Suddenly his left leg hit one of the balconies below and he was spun around. <br /><br />He landed on his back with his backpack and ceramic plated flak Jack hitting first. <br /><br />His leg was badly broken but he was alive. He told the rabbis that HaShem had wanted him to live. I left that room with the picture of his parents<br />both crying with tears of joy.<br /><br /><br />After our brief stint in one of the hospital shelters,<br />we hopped on our bus and headed for the border of Gaza. <br /><br />We began to see and hear the sounds of war,<br />so our guide gave us our security briefing. <br /><br />In every village or town that we stopped in, there was a system of siren warnings. <br /><br />There was always a shelter nearby.<br /><br />If we were on the bus and not near a siren, we had a signal that would be sent by radio to the bus.<br /><br />If there was a missal in our vicinity<br />we were instructed to jump off the bus and lay face down besides the road. <br /><br />The funny thing was---nobody seemed rattled. <br /><br />I saw workers going to and from their jobs as if everything was normal. <br /><br />There was a war going on two kilometers away and nobody seemed to give a damn. <br /><br />You should note that the Israelis had invested huge sums of money in shelters since the Gaza pull out. <br />Every bus stop was made of reinforced concrete.<br />Every house and building had a shelter built in<br />Human life was sacred in Israel,<br />but so was the people’s determination to live life as usual and hang on in Eretz Israel.<br /><br />By the way<br /><br />The Hamas had not invested one penny in civilian protection<br /><br />What does that tell you about our enemy?<br /><br />We drove down to a temporary tank base on the Gaza border. <br /><br />We visited soldiers from the Golani Brigade. <br /><br />These were tough-battle hardened army veterans who seemed thrilled to see us. <br /><br />I couldn’t understand why they were so happy to see me. Then I found out why. <br /><br />We had brought them precious gifts---<br />Under wear and socks. <br /><br />This was like gold to the combat soldier. <br /><br />One of them told me that he grabbed his back-pack from his Tel Aviv apartment<br />and headed for war.<br />The army had issued him 2 pairs of socks and two pair of boxers.<br />He thought he was going into combat for just two days. <br /><br />For the next 14 days they lived in or next to their tank. They had come out the day before we arrived. <br /><br />You would have thought we were Santa Claus. <br /><br />Well I guess not Santa Claus. <br />But they loved us just the same.<br /><br />I was talking to one tall blonde and blue eyed tanker. <br /><br />He looked more like a Norwegian ski instructor than an Israeli. <br /><br />But he was Sabra through and through. <br /><br />He told me that the army never targeted civilians.<br /><br />But that was very difficult because Hamas used that Israeli trait to hide behind women and children. <br /><br />School rooms, Mosques and dense civilian populations were the best place to ambush Israeli soldiers.<br /><br />Even though the Army dropped leaflets and made phone calls to the enemy<br />an hour before their attack,<br /><br />He knew that they had still had to fire on some non-combatants.<br />This was tragedy<br />But it was war<br /> <br />When Hamas killed Israeli children then they won. And when they lost their own children<br />---they would still win.<br /><br /><br /><br />I must tell you that in spite of it all<br />----the morale among soldiers was sky high. <br /><br />Two and one-half years ago<br />I was on the northern border between Israel and Lebanon in 2006. <br /><br />the war had just ended.<br /><br />I knew some of the soldiers that had fought in that war. <br /><br />On the nights just after the cease fire we had long discussions about the conduct of that engagement. <br /><br />In some cases they were not properly equipped.<br />Many of their high ranking officers seemed confused about their mission. <br />They kept changing tactics and goals everyday. <br />Their intelligence had not prepared them for the strength of Hezbolla.<br /><br />Two and one half years later it was a totally different story. <br /><br />The call up of reserves showed a compliance rate of 115%. <br /><br />Even those with exemptions wanted to fight. <br /><br />Many were sent home. <br /><br />The intelligence was extraordinary. <br /><br />Shin Bet had done its job. <br /><br />Today, as we speak, there are scores of murders going on by Hamas<br />because they are convinced of security breaches. <br /><br />And in many cases<br />they are probably correct. <br /><br />Our tanks were equipped with new electronic anti-tank rocket deterrence. <br /><br />Our soldiers were fully equipped. <br /><br />And best of all,<br />The soldiers that I talked to had complete confidence in their military leaders. <br />I could see it their eves. <br />The soldiers that I met Wednesday before last were ready and able to go back into combat.<br /><br /><br /><br />After our stay with the army we arrived in Sderot. <br /><br />Sderot is a town of 30,000 people on the border with Gaza. <br /><br />Today, after eight years<br />and 4500 Quassam rockets,<br />it is now a town of 20,000 determined people. <br /><br />A lot of the people<br />who could afford it,<br />had moved north. <br /><br />Hamas was determined to destroy the will of the people of Sderot. <br /><br />We saw homes and businesses all struck by rockets. <br /><br />Actually, the Quassam rocket war head is not designed to destroy most buildings. <br /><br />It is designed to spread terror. <br />In every Quassam war head there are as many as 500 ball bearings. <br /><br />After the explosion, you can easily see the pattern of ball bearing smashing into the nearby walls. <br />These rockets are designed to maim and shock its victims. <br /><br />When we arrived in Sderot<br />we received our ubiquitous security briefing. <br />Only this time we were told that we had only 8 seconds to run for shelter because Sderot was only 1 kilometer away from the Gaza border. <br /><br />I can’t even get up out of a chair in 8 seconds. <br /><br />But again everybody seemed calm and collected.<br /><br />We broke into very small groups and we went to visit different homes that had been damaged in Sderot.<br /><br />We were met by a delightful family who had moved from Morocco to Sderot in 1960. <br /><br />They were incredibly hospitable. <br />Best Berekas I ever tasted. <br /><br />The parents couldn’t speak a word of English,<br />But two of their four children were fairly fluent. <br /><br />The rabbis came to my rescue again as I talked to Abba. <br /><br />He had moved to Sderot as a very young child. <br />This was the only home town he could remember. <br /><br />His house had been hit four times in the past 5 years. <br /><br />You cannot imagine the terror that these people had survived. <br /><br />They broke my heart when they told me that we were the first visitors that they had in a long time. Even their own family would not travel to Sderot to be with them. <br /><br />Abba had been wounded twice,<br />but that alone cannot describe the terror that they had experienced. <br /><br />We saw where they slept every night. <br /><br />They did not trust that the warning siren would give them enough time, to get out of bed and head for the safe room.<br />So all 6 of them slept in the small safe room in the center of the home. <br /><br />The 6 mattresses literally filled the room. <br /><br />As Abba was talking,<br />I kept wondering how we could fit all 10 of us in that tiny room. <br /><br />His was story of true Zionism. <br /><br />He understood what kind of victory the Hamas wanted, and he was determined not to give it to them. <br /><br />If this town was anywhere else in the world, it would probably have been evacuated by now. <br /><br />But this is Eretz Israel. If they left Sderot,<br />What would be next.---Tel Aviv. <br />This is not just a problem for Israel. <br />This would be disaster for Jews everywhere. <br />For that matter the whole world.<br /><br />Just as John Kennedy once said that he was Ein Berliner<br /><br />I believe that you and I must become citizens of Sderot. <br /><br />Our people have waited 2000 years to return to Israel. <br /><br />This is our time to stand up<br />And declare that we have returned<br /> <br /><br />If not in body<br />Then at least in spirit<br /><br />Even if you will never visit Israel, the Negev, or Sderot , you are here and now a citizen of Sterodt.<br /><br />The Jewish National Fund understands this stake that we have. <br /><br />That is why we have launched Operation Security Blanket: southern Israel. <br />We are funding a secure indoor recreation center in the middle of Sderot.<br /><br />My family and I visited this indoor center last August.<br />It was a thrill to see how much progress had been made in a few short months.<br /><br />This project was conceived last April and will be open for Purim<br /><br />The mayor had told me that this is what they needed to get the kids out of their homes and go to a secure place to play.<br /><br />This will be the largest and best of its kind in Israel.<br />The families that we talked to cannot wait for the play-ground to open. <br /><br />In safe times and dangerous time this will serve as a magnet for the kids of Sderot<br /> and the returning families<br />after a cease fire is secured.<br /><br />The money that we raise through Operation Security Blanket will be used to fund this play ground<br /><br />In addition<br />Operation Security Blanket will provide the following:<br /><br />To send families from SDerot to JNF summer camps to provide respite from the constant attacks.<br /><br />To build a new fire station in Sderot and provide five new fire engines for the southern Negev.<br /><br />That is in addition to the 78 fire engines we have already provided since the last Lebonan war.<br /><br />To build a new security road along the border with Gaza to protect the area’s residents as they travel to work and school.<br /><br />We must do all of this and still maintain our commitments to Beer Sheva and Alle Negev as part of our plans for Blue Print Negev.<br /><br />I know who I am talking to. <br /><br />I am there with you. <br /><br /><br />Many of us are not financially in the same place that we were a year ago.<br /><br />But this is when we the Jewish people reach for new heights. <br /><br />We have shown that we can handle what ever comes our way. <br />We may or my not be the Chosen People but we are a special people. <br /><br />You should know who I am<br /><br />I am passionate giver to the Jewish National Fund<br /><br />Therefore, I am a passionate fundraiser<br /><br />I feel very much a part of our fight to return to and to hold on to this tiny precious land called Israel.<br /><br />In the gentlest way that I can<br /><br />I am asking you to join me in support of our fund<br /><br />Give to Operation Security Blanket<br /><br />Let us take on this sacred task together.<br /><br /><br /><br />I would like to leave you with one more poignant memory of my forty-eight hours in the Negev. <br /><br />Our group stayed the night the in Sderot Hesder Yeshiva.<br /><br />In fact, we slept in cots in a very cold but very safe bomb shelter at the Yeshiva. <br /><br />I don’t know which was louder<br />The sounds of war a kilometer away or the snoring of my rabbis.<br /><br />The kids in this Yeshiva were fantastic. <br /><br />At Hesder yeshivot<br />kids studies for 2 years after high school<br />and then they go to the army for two years.<br />Most of them choose combat units. <br /><br />They come back to the Yeshiva after service to finish their rabbinic training <br /><br />As I said, these kids are special. <br /><br />They have been an anchor to the beleaguered town of Sderot. <br /><br />They spend much of their time performing acts of kindness for the people of the town.<br />Because of them<br /><br />I will leave you with one beautiful picture. <br /><br />I climbed up six flights of stairs to be with the boys on the roof of the main building. <br /><br />I looked out towards Gaza<br />On that crystal clear night<br />and I saw and heard the war that was going on that Wednesday night,<br /><br />The rabbi spoke and then the boys began to sing and dance. <br /><br />This time I just stood there and drank it in. <br /><br />I suddenly had a feeling Hamas was watching us. <br /><br />They were trying to terrorize our people and drive them out of the Promised Land. <br /><br />And instead of being terrified, these boys were dancing. <br /><br />Through my tears I looked up to sky to ask a simple question. <br /> When will the world know that our word is stronger than their sword?Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-82061838374539832102009-01-16T12:34:00.000-08:002009-01-16T12:57:54.136-08:00Rabbinic Mission Day 3- From Rabbi Uri(I have attached pictures relating to my last email at the bottom of this letter.)<br /><br />January 15, 2009<br /><br />Dear Friends,<br /><br />I ended my last email with a naïve hope that I would be getting some sleep in the Kurtzberg home in Sderot. But let me ask you, how do you possibly shut your eyes when you know that if a rocket is launched from Gaza you have exactly ten seconds to get into a shelter?<br /><br />Ten Seconds.<br />I watched a YouTube video yesterday depicting a young girl playing hide and seek – counting down from fifteen (- as the rockets have improved, the time has been reduced to ten seconds since this film was made). During those fifteen seconds you see all the children running… but when the counting is over, all you hear is a big boom. Just to give you a sense of how short those seconds might be.<br /><br /><a title="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=" msgid="125461&act=" c="157837&admin=" destination="http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-RFd0O-v0WY" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RFd0O-v0WY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RFd0O-v0WY</a><br /><br />So there I am, in our chazzan Ofer’s bedroom, two floors above their private shelter. Could you wake yourself up quickly enough, in the dead of sleep, and get down those two flights, in the dark, in time? Would you even be awake enough to hear the air raid siren within ten seconds?<br />It’s not easy to sleep your first time in Sderot…<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291994187907681442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9JRoINP16v7LiBPpyxny4pntFMQyL4CCDAs9_94G1KC18LHfhKxLz5IIdwr2x6Uy17jZfgNiskh8r0a0G0RqapnYVwvo86g7qSKUWqi7BGrE2hx24vvjW7zWTILRbk4TniuktdAwHQa13/s320/1.jpg" border="0" /> Frankly, it’s not easy to sleep any night in Sderot for the past eight years.<br />One family we met, the Da’ans, have slept for the past two years, every night, in the private shelter in their basement. Just to give you an idea, these shelters are about 8x8 feet square. It’s only enough to squeeze three little cots side by side. The Da’ans are a family of six. Abba and Eema, Eden(18 yrs), Lidor(16), Morag(13), and Zohar(8). Every night, for the past two years, they sleep on top of each other in their shelter, because they’re too afraid to sleep anywhere else. Here is a picture of Eden and Zohar in their decorated shelter. Zohar is holding some of the stuffed animals I gave her. (Special thanks to Shoshana!)<br /><br />Let me get back to that Ten Seconds.<br />In case, you are still confused, allow me to explain. I had the unfortunate personal opportunity to count down from ten yesterday morning at about 8:00am. I was outside the Yeshiva in Sderot, packing my bags up to move on to our next destination, when the siren blared, “TZEVAH ADOM! TZEVAH ADOM!” – “RED ALERT! RED ALERT!”<br /><br />It was the first time I had heard an alert in Sderot and I was confused for a moment. That cost me three seconds. Suddenly everyone was shouting, “RATZ B’FNIM!” -“RUN INSIDE!” I turned to run with them. Six seconds left.<br /><br />I was first to the building just about 35 feet away (I’ll credit that to my long legs and the adrenaline rush), and I tried to push the door open when I was supposed to pull.<br />3 seconds left.<br /><br />I pulled and about 13 of us rushed inside.<br />0 seconds left.<br /><br />BOOM!<br />Our eyes opened wide. This was very real.<br /><br />The yeshiva students, seasoned to this experience, headed right back outside. Those in our group were still frozen in shock in our places. A good thing too, because immediately, another TZEVAH ADOM ALERT went off, and they all rushed back inside.<br />Ten seconds later, the BOOM was much louder, which meant it was much closer. We felt the ground shake upon impact.<br /><br />Last night, as we watched the news, we discovered that the second rocket went through the living room wall of a family in Sderot. The family was home, but miraculously, nobody was hurt… at least physically.<br />Oh, did I mention that the rockets are each filled with ball bearings, so that when they explode, steel balls shoot out from the point of impact? You can see those ball bearing marks throughout the city...<br /><br />Every resident we met in Sderot spoke of the countless miracles they’ve experienced surviving these rocket attacks. But of course, not everyone has survived and the entire city is traumatized for life. Young children have grown up only knowing a world of raining rockets. Right now, one million Israeli residents are within the 40 kilometer range of Hamas’ terror. How do you live like that?<br /><br />Eden Da’an is now in her first year of National Service and is teaching in a school in Sderot (post-high school women have the choice of enlisting in the army or serving in the National Service program – a non-military option). Eden told me that she could have chosen any place in the country to serve – and even in America. But she chose to stay in Sderot (after sleeping two years with her entire family in a shelter!).<br />Why??<br /><br /><br />In her words, “I did not want to leave Sderot remembering it only as a place of terror. This was my beautiful home for 18 years. I wanted to stay as long as it would take until I could learn to confront my fear and overcome it. So here I am.”<br /><br />By the way, all schools within 40 kilometers of Gaza are currently closed. Eden spends her days indoors at home, hoping…<br /><br />This is my final email from our mission. I leave with a new awakening of the situation in Southern Israel. An intimate awareness of the daily life of residents in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot, Gediera, and Be’er Sheva. I have a better sense of what is going on in the minds of our young, holy soldiers as they hope they won't have to discharge their weapons each day. I have met countless individuals and organizations who spend their time trying to help provide a unique form of support. And I have seen with my own eyes a country that just wants peace, struggling to live next to neighbors that just want us pushed into the sea.<br /><br />How do we respond?<br />In so many ways, but let me share with you briefly a few that I encountered:<br />We visited Carmit - which is just acres of dirt in the desert, but will soon be the next big city of the South. One member of our mission, Rabbi Asher Lopatin in Chicago, has already signed up with the Carmit planning officials to make Aliyah there in two years, hoping to bring 50 families with him and build more Jewish homes in the Holy Land. Let's turn the swords into plowshears! Here is a picture of myself and Rabbi Lopatin doing a mock ground breaking of where his home might one day be.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArJgutDPcy99ymbQnFZ5ATyL4gYsPI1uZcq91kqmosXMvn3C6kzOaQlo853d4_w4UJR6BCznaCaUKmpfMzUXYaS8c6zU4KzCvySpsdkzrg5Ujx1zn9eRXvx4CX48LL36iUZpno9OhFatw/s1600-h/2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291995404930319186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArJgutDPcy99ymbQnFZ5ATyL4gYsPI1uZcq91kqmosXMvn3C6kzOaQlo853d4_w4UJR6BCznaCaUKmpfMzUXYaS8c6zU4KzCvySpsdkzrg5Ujx1zn9eRXvx4CX48LL36iUZpno9OhFatw/s320/2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Another response: to respond to Terror with love. Here is a picture of a mini shelter in the new town of Nitzan - created with caravans to house the residents that were expelled from Gush Katif in a move to give land for peace to the Palestinians. Today, rockets are being launched from the former homes of Jews in Gush Katif and landing throughout Southern Israel. Residents of one such former town, Nisnit, have painted their mini shelter with peaceful doves and their town's hebrew name on its side.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTj29oE4o1Ncc6O2OfSoNrTwRUt7v5vdhlxWF3LlTuLhEhyphenhyphenbA-nKmkVL6mPN89TzzyKgAYKUdV-qk0cw64KGiFT1QEzNhZnutWb_T4l-JspsFDDImI_2gvsq7qhfqTo0-Jl7x9tTPSQClP/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291995873556301746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTj29oE4o1Ncc6O2OfSoNrTwRUt7v5vdhlxWF3LlTuLhEhyphenhyphenbA-nKmkVL6mPN89TzzyKgAYKUdV-qk0cw64KGiFT1QEzNhZnutWb_T4l-JspsFDDImI_2gvsq7qhfqTo0-Jl7x9tTPSQClP/s320/3.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p> </p><p>Someone I know in Philadelphia put together this YouTube video - his attempt at a response to terror raining down on our people: <a title="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=" msgid="125461&act=" c="157837&admin=" destination="http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DE4FBQKmcvgo" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4FBQKmcvgo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4FBQKmcvgo</a></p><p> </p><p>Here is a picture of me with soldiers from the Tank Brigade operating in Gaza. We brought them warm fleeces, new underwear (they can spend up to 2 weeks in Gaza without fresh clothes), warm hats and gloves, and homebaked chocolate chip cookies :) </p><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff_J_iewAgvGEvXKJTUQ4gE99fG9VbQrOd33hy3C6LaazJmLtUkd8v8YyO36YPhX5ysVJccVtjfQSaNTDTFmvwe-qKHILBqc8Lq2BHXjC-xgsD8vwQ6eRm5dbR4WExil4DVsk5PH2OLZC/s1600-h/4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291996476071042290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff_J_iewAgvGEvXKJTUQ4gE99fG9VbQrOd33hy3C6LaazJmLtUkd8v8YyO36YPhX5ysVJccVtjfQSaNTDTFmvwe-qKHILBqc8Lq2BHXjC-xgsD8vwQ6eRm5dbR4WExil4DVsk5PH2OLZC/s320/4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Here I am with Ohr, the Israeli soldier who I mentioned in my last email, who has shrapnel wounds throughout his abdomen from a mortar attack. He and sang together with his family songs of peace, healing, and strength. This humble Rabbi can only fight war with love and a guitar!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVB68GcKTYe74CRLcuEaH90xp0u1nbUQk6RluTblE2ucWGz0S1REzo0-M1etcxtb6aUq4dSWsgzydgOqIOEF-9dNuxoFzCEtW95qxWbcVNLq262uYqirqbtpu12v_U44gUBskaMmrpET-/s1600-h/5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291996843575718962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVB68GcKTYe74CRLcuEaH90xp0u1nbUQk6RluTblE2ucWGz0S1REzo0-M1etcxtb6aUq4dSWsgzydgOqIOEF-9dNuxoFzCEtW95qxWbcVNLq262uYqirqbtpu12v_U44gUBskaMmrpET-/s320/5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />And one final treat... 3 of Ofer's siblings - Ariel, Orit, and Meirav, during our late night kumzitz in their home in Sderot. I couldn't sleep, so we sat up late and played!</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfgp50N9wfJlXCqL87utbKqz0boBKAWz3CrbvinTj57xe3s7J_Q-_4QrKjQlLaM2JXGKPz6QTcbsBWB9YyJkSMgu1z03YTVMWcKoHxgiwFIqmWzZvVy95-GLNvimTAmUhX0EhwDFhoydf/s1600-h/6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291997215068117330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfgp50N9wfJlXCqL87utbKqz0boBKAWz3CrbvinTj57xe3s7J_Q-_4QrKjQlLaM2JXGKPz6QTcbsBWB9YyJkSMgu1z03YTVMWcKoHxgiwFIqmWzZvVy95-GLNvimTAmUhX0EhwDFhoydf/s320/6.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Thanks for taking the time to read through this whole email... I plan to return on Monday, January 19th, and I will speak about my experiences next Shabbat. Miss you all... especially my beautiful family.<br /><br />Blessings and Shabbat Shalom,<br /><br />Rabbi Uri<br /></p>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-54217199080706631142009-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:002009-01-16T09:30:25.045-08:00Photos from Rabbi Barry Gelman #3<div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br />Trauma beds ready at the heliport<br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291944684210505010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85McMywoWF8Lp6Gd9Jfej7YyUVuujA7QfVDVyPu9UJfsnuhA5OVjyHCsvm6g9_7mg4OesHzwEA44dxRTkNb___9jLxdzte1KccJAFPAOKyCG2Hbc_pg0UGHJxmu0btGvLHkbOr-Hi3rBn/s320/13.bmp" border="0" /> <p align="center"><br />Tour of Trauma room at Soroka medical center<br /></p><div align="center"> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291944680718567602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHz33ekagq8OZTmU3BlV9h4itg66hYa3qH-9VWwl0LxfyjHzim5H4LF2C4_D_znATbmF8MIuBp6JJDADhPiuDAEszqkYoECl0CX07Ki9bAfWaBmA97zUjB1hQzl-uk1UAv9FghEQUZ5IN/s320/12.bmp" border="0" /><br />Mincha with member of a tank battalion<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291944675960883442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Met9-3T4qxdA-zRs-o3X5c2HSLNuBqyTlcA2XMbczUnpFrrpb1K30Np_00eMS6Rkmm7DEHTW3A7a93VrZManCE7uwr3RRLKVMVZ45cEzNO0u60cBktG8y3G-pj2BfIfYYeZZvgtDP-li/s320/11.bmp" border="0" /><br /></div><p> </p><p> </p><p align="center">Soldiers daveing mincha at a small army base</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291944670679493394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2HXWZTbH5-1ZhCazojXKFUyZTod0aVhKyMlvJHcKcDaismyPHzVz96lS2yudo6KB-7afjpD-pZ28JpYpv2XLtyR1q8GGrdsUThfmR4lYE6mrJ5w9yjFb22TKHQ3yuGNra8zqqh9HxLuy/s320/10.bmp" border="0" /></p>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-76798847127612829962009-01-16T09:21:00.000-08:002009-01-16T09:26:47.618-08:00Mission Photos from Barry Gelman #2<div align="center"> Rabbis visiting with a woman in sderot who has been living with contstant kassam rocket fire.<br /></div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291943329994807874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXoT3jiBKA00lJe2Ot-djdSI1UGtuM4jrNawHeu6JzXVu16H3EdhVl7H81APw2YAb5-YfvENoWW9iuVHcWpSp0vIQw7xpyTPs86k4L8-nim5wBXM6htZtOjmk4yWVDPrlpuKDm7NJAqi4/s320/9.bmp" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"> Message of support for soldiers and residents of the south. You can see these all over the south.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291943323812325250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEmBYuekUYtss9vITTyGFqQMZu9dRAVXmxQmcA_t-qG4mLoViWAHZPHcer1plGcn62r-Y59PI7sbsQE2vGSr66i-U5jXITBupanv8cXN443jkON4gcpeUnEMPjzuuMQolRzrby2odTq70/s320/8.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br />Meeting with a commander form the Golani Brigade and getting ready to hand him books of letters from RMBA students to Israeli Soldiers.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291943318852296402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyFj35kdyDgib12wEIvhV-Ijp2FzYELYL-lNMr4r2suJP6JQp1utBh_iUUnqPsmc-JntwvhFMVMa1bihumqumMe2sABNVIPtDTiAizSL_Vl3-MUOmpIj6-f4Ku2si_oe5YUxHf5ng11iB7/s320/7.bmp" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXHrlH8kVOTX1P8PSOI48fJWsPESF9RxgMkyIiHT1vBPDWqYyzhb-4nIMbodEoEBFJNA-WTJCkO4TSJJ26uXbmJCpSl7QYZkQcA4f0TZ4n9-XO317CyiWTC8dwTuTwvRLHJeuXxJWk6LA/s1600-h/5.bmp"></a><br />While we were at Soroka Medical Center there was a red alert for an incoming kassam. It fell on a man road. In this picture you can investigators measuring the impact. Thankfully no one was hurt.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291943314930408962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ndEMtUcc8ZskpP40i16sOrWGYOIh-SfFD4uxxg-cyo9zKbXJm1WEZDuxAEfIOIhpfJ_BEKfJQR9OZH7B-BN3r_mA1_qCE5fdc4xbJlJ0xryAvGA_BOwO2k6mlSpylpigXmg4RaSqLZM3/s320/6.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-35079884596943407772009-01-16T09:15:00.000-08:002009-01-16T09:21:40.831-08:00Mission Photos from Rabbi Barry Gelman #1<div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Golani Flag with a message fro Lee’els fellow soldiers<br /></div><div align="center"> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291942028293193314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggMGJ4U6h2KPnQqevYhF58uRiElxX9Wy-_iefPwzzArh-IsbzrEaobOJ8Ba-_snigToZHRfn4ie8X4Zwz6NR-iDl_1yYTr4m5V6zXqPPPZI-fAcmrvUDPp00XnuSUMaz49MM8uH0Ogu4GV/s320/5.bmp" border="0" /><br />Talking to Lee’els mother and mother-in-law<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291942019798356978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gPCb66Lheo-Orqjhy4HV5Ya9r9PY7pGHlpRmqQM57SKeVzW1QK67qbDVtzWelVYLHnZF_kezJ2qYROUOqNds9hN4ocbugnt8oMDA00Q4iXqCUbgVbd2fZm8AOjk0mwduOahQS5dLIOnJ/s320/4.bmp" border="0" /><br />Talking to Lee’els commander<br /> <div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291942014862682610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OeOqEcYk9M77vHfhvW1aAY997Z-7tvdxKdSJr03CDwgM9gxIZA2xkDu-DvkP7-Fkqq5PFq7w1LzNVjRlaQbC1vFZbcss1Cd89yMQ_NQ28hqaOKgsODfg-jNEOfnZ6hHgFB16-OFxqPor/s320/3.bmp" border="0" /><br />Participants of the mission saying Tehillim for Lee’el Cohen<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291942013930171874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fXSavx_ktpCvAAxS6JYoJLLZwY6QS2G7WRzLNqex47ocRtHgqHdh3xg5P1qawz-8GKsf0N6hlmKDrpUm28eHoHNp_aEmnRjN1MXWuSaI7Q7wE96b6tdUT8efvg8iLYc-qjLHaPn2Eo6n/s320/2.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>In this picture rabbi Ephraim Epstein of Cherry Hill, NJ and Rabbi Barry Gelman of Houston, Texas are seen speaking with the father of Lee’el Cohen, a soldier seriously wounded in Gaza.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291942009650769778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4k1prTxQtX4FG8DaYvP3nsJ42jYEIpv4mgFBVie8JEqvEtkIX6AH6M1UZKG9slsST7oDQ4coHFuqHLER1GAlugJgJvJRKFGFte8ogKqbhFVw1PAVJ13HJg_fUD4jCjtrMNni8TzfHQXA/s320/1.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div><br /></div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-61714611685583513882009-01-16T07:11:00.000-08:002009-01-16T07:39:14.325-08:00The Torah of Israel, a post trip reflection by Rabbi Hyim Shafner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9Vhw7bL06nzGv133-v547_K4ItqOz7o1LLnXK9s6lFqwgLAT7W6j1aYofwP1Ezc45dhE86qoWvxHarNEXtxAT9Xy6i0ANx9OXiinfhyphenhyphenWk_4XXA0eBRTWJZRIqV3BNSTZv3zE1xa2VpnT/s1600-h/pics+from+iphone+304.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9Vhw7bL06nzGv133-v547_K4ItqOz7o1LLnXK9s6lFqwgLAT7W6j1aYofwP1Ezc45dhE86qoWvxHarNEXtxAT9Xy6i0ANx9OXiinfhyphenhyphenWk_4XXA0eBRTWJZRIqV3BNSTZv3zE1xa2VpnT/s320/pics+from+iphone+304.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291912443864583170" /></a><br />Photo of myself and my chavrutah, one of the students at Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dikalim where we stopped on the first day to study, eat dinner and begin our ongoing dialogue with the rabbis of Tzohar. The yeshivah is now situated in Ashdod after its beautiful building in Gush Katif was destroyed following the pullout.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Our 40 hour mission was to visit those wounded in the recent rocket attacks, comfort mourners, sleep with the people in their bomb shelters and study torah with them in schools only 10 seconds by missile from the border. I expected a country war torn, angry and depressed, but instead I saw one of nobility and spiritual vision. One that is continually being built, infused with moral and spiritual vision.<br /><br />I saw that only in a Jewish land can the living of torah in the every day facilitate the emergence of Judaism’s values and meaning into the real world. The torah of Israel is not like the torah of the Diaspora, which is often simply a proscription for doing all things ritual and interpersonal. The torah of Israel is much more and only it has the potential to be, as God explicitly commanded each of our forefathers, a blessing, “to all the peoples of the world.” <br /><br />One small example of which I experienced many: The city of Lod has become over the past 30 years an inner city blighted by Arab drug trade, some violence, the influx of many poor Jewish immigrants and much “white flight” to newer suburbs; over the past 10 years though 200 religious Jewish families have moved to Lod. In conversation with the rabbi of the community, in his comfortable but modest home, I asked why religious Jews would move to a city with little observant infrastructure and much difficulty. Was it for lower housing prices? Was it to establish an observant presence and thereby bring their non-observant brethren back to torah? Is the government paying them to move here? His answer was no on all counts. He said observant Jews were moving to Lod for something much more basic, to help stabilize the city.<br /><br />I was in awe. In the United States, Jews for whom torah and observance are central do not move to the inner city “to help stabilize the city.” But this Orthodox rabbi and 200 Orthodox families had moved on their own to live here with noble and outward looking values in their hearts. Not to make their own community separate from others taking advantage of cheep housing prices, but to help stabilize a town that needed them. I was witnessing the torah’s values brought to bear on the real world in a way they could never be in the Diaspora. I realized that only in Israel, because all of life there is by definition an expression of the Jewish People, can we live a Jewish life that is not separate from our life in society and the greater world. Only there can we cultivate a world vision colored by torah and focused through Jewish lenses that truly has the potential to be a blessing to other peoples. <br /><br />My farewell to the land as I looked out the airplane window was seeing the baggage handler putting my bags on the plane. He was dressed in a jumpsuit, orange safety vest and kippah. A Jewish ritual head covering indicating the awe and humility we have before God. A strange sight for an American such as me, but not for a Jewish land. Only in Israel, only in a Jewish land can a Jewish society informed by Jewish values possess the potential, perhaps not yet fully realized, to be truly of the world and thereby a blessing to it.Asher Lopatinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02242007556237641980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-46671520031905220472009-01-15T19:30:00.000-08:002009-01-15T19:37:09.669-08:00Back in the U.S.- Rabbi Asher Lopatin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyD-KDc1Hoc5gO376PkHNzbcvgrxyULy5_aqkz8gCbvxplU1dSCu0FAV01WDEx15nkU1ZXoI1HHAvNjZbumCtmwpYSRiyCOi2Ch6jbIarozGo109hMMHdUIXqGh9xMauCrGeE-dW-se5Lg/s1600-h/Asher+Lopatin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291729603879896578" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 139px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyD-KDc1Hoc5gO376PkHNzbcvgrxyULy5_aqkz8gCbvxplU1dSCu0FAV01WDEx15nkU1ZXoI1HHAvNjZbumCtmwpYSRiyCOi2Ch6jbIarozGo109hMMHdUIXqGh9xMauCrGeE-dW-se5Lg/s320/Asher+Lopatin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Friends,</div><br /><div></div><div>We are back from the Negev and Southern Israel! I meant to blog at Ben Gurion Airport this morning before leaving, but even though they have excellent wifi, my computer drained and plugs were scarce. A nice woman selling travel insurance had no problem that I unplugged a change machine to recharge, but somehow I couldn't pull it all together.So I'm writing from a snowing New Jersey, waiting to get back to Chicago. I think all of us are unpacking what we did for the 40 hours that we were in Israel. </div><br /><div></div><div>After an uplifting evening with Yeshiva students going into the army and dancing at the Kotel, we woke up early on Wednesday to daven and sing. One of the most moving parts of the t'filla was Shomer Yisrael - a prayer said after tachanun, after falling down to express all our frustrations in life. Shomer Yisrael is a prayer of confidence that God is the guardian of Israel. But to sing it in Israel itself, in a war zone, had particular relevance. One of the powerful parts of this war-time trip, were the prayers that came to life. We not only song Shomer Yisrael in the Asheklon hotel synagogue, but we repeated at the hospital bed of a chayal who was suffering what are called "light" injuries. Uri Topolofky, rabbi from New Orleans, then changed the meaning slightly, but deflecting the song from God as the Guardian of Israel, to speak to the soldier directly: Ata (you, soldier are a) Shomer Yisrael (a guardian of Israel)! A little bit different, but that line stayed with me for a long time: Our soldiers are God's guardians, keeping Israel strong.</div><br /><div></div><div>We had a quick breakfast of danish and coffee and got on the road for Nitzan a community that is hosting a large group of refugees from Gush Katif. Those people who had a powerful, fully employed, community in the Gaza strip, now are highly unemployed and living in "carvillot." They are 600-900 square foot paper thin homes for families with several kids. Rabbi Rimon led us on an empassioned tour of this community which is under missile fire - with about 30 seconds of warning if a missile is coming. This is a community that was forced out of The Gush - which for them means Gush Katif, not Gush Etzion, where Jews were forced out (and slaughtered) in 1948 - because of an argument for Israel's security need to disengage from Gaza, and now they find themselves under fire again from Gaza. Rightfully, they are frustrated. On the other hand, they seem like a community with tremendous passion and conviction and strength. We were hosted in the one building safe enough, an old Field School, and actually the breakfast was wonderful- kind of what I thought we would get in our hotel! Everyone wanted to talk to us. This is a community that feels they are forgotten by Israel: they still do not have their new homes, in the future Nitzanim that will go up, but hasn't yet. Moreover, someone had the clever idea (?) of using giant cement sewage pipes as missile shelters. Now in theory they are convenient and open, but safe, and they are all around the community, on every block. But to be forced to run for cover into what everyone knows is a giant sewage drain pipe - even though it's clean - so many times a day is demoralizing. The symbolism is hard for the Nitzan people to take. At least one of these giant cement pipe pieces was beautifully painted and they all have two benches inside, but symbols are important, and the sense of abandonment is pervasive in this community. On the other hand, this didn't look - at least on the outside - like a demoralized community. Actually, they seemed very close knit and well aware of each other's stories. Moreover, many of them fully expect to return to Gush Katif - and we saw signs like this on, where else, the missile shelters. In some ways, to an outsider, this seems so out of tune with reality; on the other hand, they argue that Israel returned to and rebuilt Gush Etzion after being away for 19 years, and so why not Gush Katif as well. But this wan't a political mission: It was a mission of solidarity and comfort and gaining inspiration from people who are not letting dislocation, lack of jobs, lack of homes and lack of a safe environment destroy their energy. </div><br /><div></div><div>We left the breakfast discussion following the Table to Table truck which was in a rush to destribute food donated from wedding halls, restaurants and hotels to Nitzan and then to Sderot. We stopped to help them unload, and then headed for Beer Sheva, to the great hospital that has both been under missile attack, and, at the same time, recepiant of many wounded from the front and from missile attacks.Next installment: The heroes of Soroka and Building Carmit.</div><br /><div></div><div>I am almost back in Chicago, but Israel is still with me. And I am envisioning the faces and voices of so many that touched us and inspired us and gave us strength and hope in Israel: a land at war that desired peace and getting on with building the Jewish dream.</div><div></div><div>Asher Lopatin</div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-65089005488912322782009-01-15T19:28:00.000-08:002009-01-15T19:36:44.289-08:00Final Post- Rabbi Barry Gelman<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Tje5hRutlUfHYc0SLdcsRsnXXYBub-z9MSxow-FFahyOhEnOL6xl0SIMXfCEMpjzLUM_eJtGH0upgQUwqLeZBCGsAxYVrjSIrs0n-LG8kgQgvQbrcVHI1CPTLALEivIIxEr9hYEqv2S0/s1600-h/Barry+Gelman.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291728662797631298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Tje5hRutlUfHYc0SLdcsRsnXXYBub-z9MSxow-FFahyOhEnOL6xl0SIMXfCEMpjzLUM_eJtGH0upgQUwqLeZBCGsAxYVrjSIrs0n-LG8kgQgvQbrcVHI1CPTLALEivIIxEr9hYEqv2S0/s320/Barry+Gelman.jpeg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This is the final segment of my blog of the JNF Rabbinic Mission to Israel. I am writing from the plane heading to Newark airport. I am very tired, having slept only 8 hours over the last 2 night.<br />Our final stops on the trip were in Sderot. We visited with a woman who is suffering anxiety and stress from the thousands of Kassam rockets that have hit Sderot. She was personally affected when a kassam hit her brother's house while her immobile mother was trapped in bed. . She, and many others are unable to function normally due to the stress. She too welcomed our visit and thanked us for coming at this time. </div><div><br />Our final stop was at the Heder Yeshiva in Sderot. I was so taken by the inner strength of the students there. They live under constant treat of kassam attacks, but, nonetheless have stayed at the yeshiva. They are full of spirit and pride in the State of Israel. Hey all serve in the IDF and have a great love of the land.<br /></div><div>The students greeted us with open arms and wide smiles. We danced and sang on the roof of the Yeshiva in open defiance of Hamas and their missiles. We sang songs of faith and hope.<br />I am always taken when I visit a Hesder Yeshiva. The combination of Torah study and army service combines two values that I hold so dear, Torah and the religious significance of the State of Israel. by the sacrifice and maturity illustrated by young Israelis. We also met with soldiers from non-traditional backgrounds. They were equally committed to defending Israel and have a deep love of the Jewish people.</div><br /><div>One of the highlights of the trip was having the opportunity to spend time with and get to know the group of 20 American rabbis who comprised the mission. I was inspired and humbled to be with a group of spiritual leaders who see themselves as not only part of the American Jewish community, but as part of, and responsible to Am Yisrael, all Jews. While we have varied backgrounds and opinions on important matters of Jewish life and community, we came together to bring a message of solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Israel. We all cried together as we met the wounded soldiers and their families and we were all equally motivated by them and by the students and soldiers we met. </div><div><br />We all went with the hope that we could provide a small degree of encouragement to those we would meet. I believe that we did. I also know that we were spiritually and emotionally moved by the people we met.</div><br /><div>I am so grateful for the opportunity to go on this mission and to my congrregation for understadning that it was important for their rabbi to represent them. I thank all of the sponsors for supporting us and Rabbi Asher Lopatin for conceiving of the mission and for taking care of so many of the details. I also thank the rabbis of Tzohar for providing support and guidance to make the mission a success. A special thank you to Frumie who works with Tzohar. Without her efforts, we could not have done this.</div><br /><div>To sum up as to why we went: One of the rabbis put it best when he was asked by the passport control officer in Israel: "what is the purpose of your visit," his reply was: "family."</div><br /><div>Am Yisrael Chai!</div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-64090882930164246102009-01-15T19:04:00.000-08:002009-01-15T19:25:50.311-08:00Breaking Ground in CarmitThe JNF Rabbinic Solidarity Mission visits the area of the new community of Carmit. Participants conducted a ceremonial groundbreaking and learned about this planned community for a mix of English speakers primairly from North American olim and current residents of Israel who will relocate to the Negev. Carmit is one of a number of new communities being built with many partners including Jewish National Fund and the Or Movement, among others. JNF's Blueprint Negev master plan is a driving force for Negev development with a goal of bringing 250,000 new residents to the southern part of Israel in the next decade.<br /><br /><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Bf8l3bbXMtYtQJtqedCfF__hlaj6r1inwUFwqcXuaapSD5V01OfBlc7hAA2C4YOAeRTymDFeK6-lnLu_FT3xiqE9szQNpaEESslaltwVvFtT_yno5zxn_Fl-TY9Hylek3DxFV5zSxff/s1600-h/003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291724312910334338" style="WIDTH: 369px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 254px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Bf8l3bbXMtYtQJtqedCfF__hlaj6r1inwUFwqcXuaapSD5V01OfBlc7hAA2C4YOAeRTymDFeK6-lnLu_FT3xiqE9szQNpaEESslaltwVvFtT_yno5zxn_Fl-TY9Hylek3DxFV5zSxff/s320/003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpXPEoWyJwq4CdAWm65OZaKP-cDb7Rkru4f0nOI8PRXseP1kAl-TiglmX8mTFkYM_Q8KBw7LMzXj5BGK-kA0O_v1Z9YruNa_-qVrOFh_UHsj3Y5jOv8Fz_aBjV5hA9AHHZqxF0S9kq20k/s1600-h/009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291724073490585842" style="WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 345px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpXPEoWyJwq4CdAWm65OZaKP-cDb7Rkru4f0nOI8PRXseP1kAl-TiglmX8mTFkYM_Q8KBw7LMzXj5BGK-kA0O_v1Z9YruNa_-qVrOFh_UHsj3Y5jOv8Fz_aBjV5hA9AHHZqxF0S9kq20k/s320/009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsqg1eaps5Ew0E8dAP6EZ0jEprMN-Ww803Oke2GvoG9mxWli0r1SujMqWdUyrHoyFcYcXYMNZkvIdmErGo6cV7TlyyX8v6s1zSoCCRtMuTnmbRHq-hiVUBKOot0-lQP7Vznm9NPO9sXEW/s1600-h/010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291724069707252146" style="WIDTH: 249px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 352px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsqg1eaps5Ew0E8dAP6EZ0jEprMN-Ww803Oke2GvoG9mxWli0r1SujMqWdUyrHoyFcYcXYMNZkvIdmErGo6cV7TlyyX8v6s1zSoCCRtMuTnmbRHq-hiVUBKOot0-lQP7Vznm9NPO9sXEW/s320/010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioF_SajthelNsYRv7glIVyZvQzeP9uYHLb6O5SorqtkEtrjX4CsaO161scPzCy_DKxy0lEd8cnZr9EJY2eQEbU1gXGgNcEn9iH9sbt25QJWiAiLKUOZ3eeXDDpRTQZ4uV3uit6sgM9SueQ/s1600-h/012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291724067037219666" style="WIDTH: 416px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 243px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioF_SajthelNsYRv7glIVyZvQzeP9uYHLb6O5SorqtkEtrjX4CsaO161scPzCy_DKxy0lEd8cnZr9EJY2eQEbU1gXGgNcEn9iH9sbt25QJWiAiLKUOZ3eeXDDpRTQZ4uV3uit6sgM9SueQ/s320/012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIo9ET1TkYql4EBj7TVjssdDlMjVZBGbvXq-dMLX_6_s0UbmrcKFlzVQ5t5LHIQP1qppzgEnhECYe78XpCKeKnkoSDAs9VJcCNxXootiomqpy-WzlApvsgEQxJfbgD8Vy9lErTHFXVsw6V/s1600-h/North+M+3+(1+of+2).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291724061107356834" style="WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 342px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIo9ET1TkYql4EBj7TVjssdDlMjVZBGbvXq-dMLX_6_s0UbmrcKFlzVQ5t5LHIQP1qppzgEnhECYe78XpCKeKnkoSDAs9VJcCNxXootiomqpy-WzlApvsgEQxJfbgD8Vy9lErTHFXVsw6V/s320/North+M+3+(1+of+2).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-40196944566296809332009-01-15T05:00:00.000-08:002009-01-15T05:02:24.329-08:00Day 2- From Rabbi Gelman<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQzyq6WwdGGrcOZ6VjHsyDwBvGiEvF-NyOd0KxTQacrSCDo_yDqJiDSHRHzLb9RdGrkyUWWXbKr8w4yGSOD2s8cYAikTMX9FhZfqz1qkR60MVVWADJakeAnN8ehMHWnolOG4PcnNcHlLP/s1600-h/Barry+Gelman.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291505072012289042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQzyq6WwdGGrcOZ6VjHsyDwBvGiEvF-NyOd0KxTQacrSCDo_yDqJiDSHRHzLb9RdGrkyUWWXbKr8w4yGSOD2s8cYAikTMX9FhZfqz1qkR60MVVWADJakeAnN8ehMHWnolOG4PcnNcHlLP/s320/Barry+Gelman.jpeg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Today was an amazing day and the final day of the JNF National rabbinic Mission to Israel.<br />We visited Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva today. Soroka serves as the main trauma center for wounded soldiers fighting in Gaza. The hospital has been turned into a command center in order to deal with increased number of patients. A situation room has been set up and the heliport is staffed and supplied with numerous trauma stretchers.. Having said that, it is important to note that there have been, relatively speaking, few casualties from this war. Many of the Israelis we spoke to attributed that to the excellent preparation and tactics exercised by the IDF. </div><br /><div><br />We learned how a war affects a major medical center. In the one hand, all hospital personal are prohibited from being further than 30 minutes from the hospital. On the other hand, since schools were closed many hospital staff were unable to come to work for lack of child care. Add to that the fact that many doctors have been called for reserve duty and you have a very complex staffing crisis. To deal with the child care problem the hospital arranged for on site child care.<br />Some of the other difficulties included the need to move an entire maternity unit as it was not in a missile safe building. Additionally 8 operating theaters had to be closed for the same reason.<br />After a briefing from the Deputy Director of the Hospital our delegation split into three groups so we could maximize the number of wounded we could visit. The group I visited with went to see the family of Lee'el Cohen who suffered a serious head and brain injury in Gaza last week. We prayed together and spoke about Lee'el and his wife. Lee'el's father requested that we lead our congregation in prayer for Lee'el , the other wounded soldiers as well as all the soldiers of the IDF.<br /></div><br /><div>Lee'el has been married for 14 months. His family is praying that he will soon recover and continue building his family. His father called this struggle only and " intermission" in Lee'els plans. We explained that our delegation came as representatives of the American Jewis community so soldiers like Lee'el would know that they are supported and loved by Am Yisrael. We explained that we were only representatives of our communities and in reality there thousands of Jewish families represented in that room. Although It is hard to believe, Lee'els father told us that our presence warmed his heart and gave them added strength to carry on.<br />There was a constant flow of uniformed young men and women coming to visit Lee'els family. They were all members of his Golani Brigade unit. I have reached a point where these fighting men and women look like children to me.<br />Lee'els father constantly spoke of God, together with the doctors, who he called angels in white coats, who would hopefully heal his son.<br /></div><br /><div>For me, this was the most powerful part of the trip. To spend time with a family that is suffering so much anxiety and uncertainty, but who at the same time handle themselves with such poise and express such deep faith is an unbelievably moving experience.<br /></div><br /><div>Time to say good night.</div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-42433689896011127202009-01-14T22:21:00.000-08:002009-01-15T05:03:39.455-08:00More Day 2- From Rabbi UriJanuary 14, 2009<br /><br />Dear Friends,<br /><br />So here I am again. It's 2:15am, and I'm trying to unwind and process all that I've seen and experienced today. Also, due to technical difficulties, I cannot upload pictures for this email... so I'll have to send them out another time...<br />As I write this, I am sitting in our Chazzan Ofer's bedroom in Sderot! There is a cute picture of our illustrious cantor, at the age of six - I would guess, over the bed I hope to sleep in at some point tonight. I have been warmly welcomed by Ofer's family, and I just spent the past 4 hours polishing my Hebrew with his parents and playing guitar with his siblings, Orit, Meirav, and Ariel. The other sister, Gila, is married Itai and lives elsewhere. (This would be an appropriate time for me to pass on a message to Ofer from his family that they love him, miss him, want him to get married, and still wonder how he ended up in New Orleans!) Ofer's family has also extended a warm welcome to any of you that wish to visit here. They have a wonderful home, beautiful voices, great food, and overflowing love...<br />I have been given the full tour of the house - including the quickest path to the bomb shelter on the ground floor, and the beeper by my bed that is sure to wake me if for some reason an air raid siren does not! Though no rockets have fallen on Sderot today, I'm not sure that makes me feel any more at ease. Every few minutes, all of the windows in the house rattle loudly from the aftershocks of Israeli tank fire into Gaza. And supposedly, it has been a relatively quite day on the front..<br /><br />But we did have a little excitement in another city in Southern Israel this morning. Our group went to Saroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva and visited with those that have been affected by the current operation. There I met Yiftach (ben Amos and Ruti), who was in good spirits despite the bullet wound in his foot. And I spoke with Naftali (ben Raizel), who fell three stories off a building during movements within Gaza. I also met Ohr (ben Rachel), who was recovering nicely from a morter attack that left him with shrapnel embedded in his abdomen. On these visits, I brought along my guitar, some gifts and card, and our group brought many smiles to many faces. Yet, in the end, it was these young men who inspired us with their courage and sacrifice, and their love for their country.<br /><br />Then, as we were heading down the main corridor to leave the hospital, an air raid siren began screeching. In Be'er Sheva, which is nearly 40 kilometers away from Gaza, you have 60 seconds to find shelter before the rocket is expected to land. I have never seen a group of 25 Rabbis move so fast in my life! Scary for us, the first door we tried to open leading to a secure area, was locked! I must attest to the lump in my throught... But we quickly slid across the corridor and ducked into a safe hallway. Inside we were surrounded by Jews and Muslims, young people and old, Bedouins and settlers, new babies and teens... And a guitar. It seemed clear to me what we should do. While the siren sounded, we played and sang and danced to songs of peace. People's tears of fear turned to tears of joy, and we seemed to transport ourselves, even if just for the moment, to another reality all together. One that I hope will be realized soon throughout the region.<br /><br />We then traveled from the hospital to Sderot, where we were met by the Head of the Sderot Yeshiva, Rabbi Findel. He gave us a tour of Sderot and pointed out our proximity to Gaza. As we were walking through neighborhoods that have been repeatedly hit by rockets, I caught up to him and he asked me where I was from... I told him, "New Orleans." To which he responded, "New Orleans!? Isn't it dangerous there?!" That got him a double take.<br /><br />There is so much more that I can share - such as the the experiences we had distributing baby supplies to families in Nitzan (a community who used to live in Gush Katif, and are now within range of missiles fired by Hamas out of their old homes); or handing out warm clothes not provided by the army to our holy soldiers; or the stories of children we met who are seven years old, and only know a world of bomb shelters and rockets; or the countless examples of miraculous survival and goodwill that we have witnessed throughout the days here.<br /><br />But for now, I need some sleep.<br />Blessings,<br />Rabbi UriRick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-34164610116753961152009-01-14T22:16:00.000-08:002009-01-15T05:03:00.860-08:00Day 2- From Rabbi Uri<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9w4KJq313AvPYXrY4B1i0gW1Xp1dyurzr4FWkBHlUn1q4O3Vkwurc68arLlHvMVeiRuCXt06qQQeP1Y2AnJ9RfKp65Ecf-B-xB2uZAoN9SAjZjsTmuCpZFZmQg7OOPaC4JagaxEiF_KJ8/s1600-h/day+2jpeg.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291401622657686690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9w4KJq313AvPYXrY4B1i0gW1Xp1dyurzr4FWkBHlUn1q4O3Vkwurc68arLlHvMVeiRuCXt06qQQeP1Y2AnJ9RfKp65Ecf-B-xB2uZAoN9SAjZjsTmuCpZFZmQg7OOPaC4JagaxEiF_KJ8/s400/day+2jpeg.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br />January 13, 2009<br /><br />Dear Friends,<br />It's 2:30am, and our Rabbinic Mission has just pulled into a hotel in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon. OUr group arrived at 5pm today, and our journey was quick to begin.<br />First, I met a representative of the Ethiopian Jewish community of Gideira, another town in the Negev, and was able to pass on to him all of the school supplies donated by our community, which I managed to cram into two, 90lb duffel bags. His name is Kassahus, and his smile was only matched by mine, as I handed him a lot of love from New Orleans. He was so thankful and explained that the supplies will be distributed today to families throughout his city, so that children can continue their schooling at home - away from the unprotected school buildings where missiles have threatened in recent days. Then...<br />...those of us that arrived first in Israel on the earlier flight, traveled to the nearby city of Lod, which is a crime ridden town, with a uncertain future as a religious community. We met with the RAbbi of the city and the President of their synagogue, and their families, as they explained how they hope to revive their synagogue community. Rabbi Saret (of Lod) and I shared a deep connection, as we each discussed how meaningful it was to live in a smaller size Jewish community, where everyone counts and makes in a difference in communal life. They have grown the religious community from 70 to 200 families in the past four years. We shared community building strategies, and I suggested a cafe with kosher beignets...<br />Rabbi Saret also took us to the local kindergarden, where pipe bombs had been thrown two days ago from rioting Arab locals protesting the war. Thank God no one was hurt.<br />We thanked the Sarets for their hospitality, and rejoined the larger mission that had now grown to 22 Rabbis from all around the United States. We traveled south to Ashdod. The Rabbis there spoke to us about a young woman who was killed last week, when she ran from her car to a bus stop, seeking shelter during an air raid siren. The rocket landed directly on the bus stop. We were then asked to pray for Aharon Yehoshua ben Chaya, a young man who was married just two weeks ago, then called up from reserves for officer duty the morning after his wedding, and spent this past Shabbat in the hospital with severe brain damage from a Hamas attack on his unit on Friday. May God watch over his soul...<br /><br />But our visit to Ashdod was also uplifting, as we visited the Neve Dekalim Yeshiva and paired up one-on-one with the Yeshiva students for a half-hour of Torah study. I was paired with Yitzchak Azran, who was proud to share that he was a Chris Paul fan! The Yeshiva was originally located in Yamit, which was evacuated for peace with Egypt, then it was moved to Gush Katif, which was evacuated for peace with the Palestinians, then they moved the Yeshiva to Kfar Maimon, but consistent shelling from Hamas forced them to move again to Ashdod. Today, they study, sleep, and eat in the basement of a synagogue in Ashdod because their temporary Yeshiva caravans are also unprotected from missile attacks from Gaza - a solid 30 kilometers away! But these boys have heart and they shared with us how they hope that in the merit of their Torah study, their older comrades will be successful in their military operations to bring peace to their homes. Here is a picture of me and Yitzchak - I am holding a picture of their original Yeshiva that he gave me as a gift to bring home:<br />Our group was also introduced to the Mayor of Ashdod and the local Rabbis and political leaders who discussed their current security situation and how they try to keep their city functioning as normal as possible...<br />From Ashdod, we headed to Jerusalem for a few minutes of peace and serenity at the Western Wall... Our group is poorly pictured here:<br />And now, it's 3am, and we're back in the south in Ashkelon, with a full day ahead tomorrow visiting hospitals, shelters and families throughout the southern region.<br /><br />One final word: Every group we've met here has had two things to say: 1) Kol Hakavod - Thank you for coming. And 2) Thank you to your communities for sharing you with us, and making a strong statement that we are all one Jewish family.<br />I pass on their love and thanks to you.<br />Good night.<br />Rabbi Uri<br />This message was sent from Rabbi Uri to rabbi@bethisraelnola.com. It was sent from: Congregation Beth Israel, 4000 West Esplanade Ave, Metairie, LA 70002. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.</div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-11174346872427333712009-01-14T09:49:00.000-08:002009-01-14T10:05:24.450-08:00Barry Gelman of Houston and Gil Troy of Montreal at the JNF Sderot Indoor Recreation Center (under construction)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6j1rGqqVmRUmeCSU7VyjebSdzsr-eL86O9NLBhS9dlkyT8T7hA8pWVpqbmLmZUWlSTQkqEHbmKCVrMp5Ie_hb-I6Mf-sffPBwE6u7HNR5nXG7_YxVMwWep38cDYLNAIb2ezc9Rmf6TBL/s1600-h/IMG_0472.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291210333376144850" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6j1rGqqVmRUmeCSU7VyjebSdzsr-eL86O9NLBhS9dlkyT8T7hA8pWVpqbmLmZUWlSTQkqEHbmKCVrMp5Ie_hb-I6Mf-sffPBwE6u7HNR5nXG7_YxVMwWep38cDYLNAIb2ezc9Rmf6TBL/s400/IMG_0472.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The main entrance<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdjhkxreLKtqVLRIXq8PTj9EgfW_JJw9l8H932_8auowlSZHmqBzasBImLrgwUL2j4XWjXNoCsLJBAJwsACN0F-N15IrAYFpqohmjn0ln-aq7yVnfXE-KChaIgeDwbL-sDorBL36UtqK5/s1600-h/IMG_0470.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291210323851640018" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdjhkxreLKtqVLRIXq8PTj9EgfW_JJw9l8H932_8auowlSZHmqBzasBImLrgwUL2j4XWjXNoCsLJBAJwsACN0F-N15IrAYFpqohmjn0ln-aq7yVnfXE-KChaIgeDwbL-sDorBL36UtqK5/s400/IMG_0470.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Children's rest area and food kiosk under construction<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVJFxKRnMGO1ujYX1D8Tvxh590rTnPthQtZ_9jPQSfeMyg9MqSCaN-jNdfQfBh9TgB1TsVkdzoDfwNfGYrOY9cyVvtgvmDJMWZqVlrLFE9hjO12as3cy6Jy0Wd3FWCB22OmvGlX8hkFFZ/s1600-h/IMG_0469.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291210318121242274" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVJFxKRnMGO1ujYX1D8Tvxh590rTnPthQtZ_9jPQSfeMyg9MqSCaN-jNdfQfBh9TgB1TsVkdzoDfwNfGYrOY9cyVvtgvmDJMWZqVlrLFE9hjO12as3cy6Jy0Wd3FWCB22OmvGlX8hkFFZ/s400/IMG_0469.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Children's rest area in forground and theatre/shelter in background<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-igUUlZZ4NtKLP-vg18EWcDgOo8vTwEIvR8gFVeUXUyxPGEVPn_DqELbzVtEDJV96TbjxIKnoOEa7YchRM5wmqzYautwhOXG-UvhoTK9-45vKvUDsK1mc-Un2VCHggLmCY4KG7IS75iiS/s1600-h/IMG_0467.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291210315097809522" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-igUUlZZ4NtKLP-vg18EWcDgOo8vTwEIvR8gFVeUXUyxPGEVPn_DqELbzVtEDJV96TbjxIKnoOEa7YchRM5wmqzYautwhOXG-UvhoTK9-45vKvUDsK1mc-Un2VCHggLmCY4KG7IS75iiS/s400/IMG_0467.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Barry Gelman of Houston and Gil Troy of Montreal<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VHUmi63xIreXoocKTkAYLbj7tm_JWLqti8t8hWPi76MdQGHNCETof5L29_unICfl0Rlz9bO27ZQtTwaEhqIs-AbskP0qP0qeHpnwpZ590sgo7tzE6zggdK0aGbfA1ORxv-ZvjTkzjJuU/s1600-h/IMG_0464.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291210311242857202" style="WIDTH: 397px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 308px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VHUmi63xIreXoocKTkAYLbj7tm_JWLqti8t8hWPi76MdQGHNCETof5L29_unICfl0Rlz9bO27ZQtTwaEhqIs-AbskP0qP0qeHpnwpZ590sgo7tzE6zggdK0aGbfA1ORxv-ZvjTkzjJuU/s400/IMG_0464.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Barry Gelman gives an interview to a local reporter<br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-11925030546194677102009-01-13T19:27:00.000-08:002009-01-13T19:37:55.509-08:00From Rabbi Asher Lopatin- Day One<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSD7eavOG2Rg5Y8-OUGBXAtHhpvehRDWU7xSiL5O_ZCaZquPdQkCVMmKmLJsT6UmuwbStCdIAltBwxShNCdt908ftzVj8tXwx1yqI7vE4vGEX6s7ZhBbnIVsYjyBf9rBWFw4kz2_Kkc5Vf/s1600-h/Asher+Lopatin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290986287823628962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSD7eavOG2Rg5Y8-OUGBXAtHhpvehRDWU7xSiL5O_ZCaZquPdQkCVMmKmLJsT6UmuwbStCdIAltBwxShNCdt908ftzVj8tXwx1yqI7vE4vGEX6s7ZhBbnIVsYjyBf9rBWFw4kz2_Kkc5Vf/s200/Asher+Lopatin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hello from Ashkelon! Yes, it's 4:00 AM, but I couldn't let our first night go without saying a word. First, Israel and the Israelis have been great. From customs and passport control at Ben Gurion that took literally 5 minutes total till pizza in our hotel at 2:00 AM that the front desk people made for us; everyone has been wonderful. </div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>From Rabbanei Tzohar who came in force to Ashdod to meet with us and talk to us, to the Yeshiva Neve Dekalim that had us learn in the bomb shelter of the shul with their students to the six Ethiopian young professionals who came with us to Yerushalayim - a day before one of them was going back into the army - everyone has made us feel that we are one people.Second, the energy that we have felt is fantastic. The fact that we were able to fly in, go to Lod (some of us), then Ashdod, then Yerushalayim, then back to Ashkelon, and still stay up - about a third of our group - to take on the great Halachik and communal issues of today's synagogues means that Israel has an incredible energy - and that this is an incredible group that we are with.</div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>No one is in the hotel besides us, and they are going to throw together a breakfast just for the group of 25 of us or so. But that adds to the familiarity that I think we all feel with ... being home! The hotel has been nice enough to give us north facing rooms so that we don't end up with any missiles facing us from the south, but besides this it feels comfortable and just like the Israel all of us have been to in the last months or years.I just want to share my take on the experience at the Yeshiva in Ashdod. </div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>First of all, the Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Gavrieli, was terrific: a man of modesty and warmth for the students in his Yeshiva, and a man of real greatness. The students in the Yeshiva of course are incredibly young - it feels almost like high school; yet these students are real men: they are going to go into the army in two months. Yes, in March they will be risking their lives to fight for the destiny and future of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.</div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Bud Levin and I were fortunate enough to learn with Ori, a second year Hesder student who will be going into the elite paratrooper (tzanchanim) unit in two months. The material we learnt was from the great Netziv. I mention the Netziv frequently in shul: he is a 19th century rabbi, head of the Volozyn Yeshiva, who believed in the power of Torah, and especially Torah innovation. The three of us, well really Bud, Ori, the Netziv and I, all sat around learning what is usually seen as an esoteric introductin of the Netziv to his work on the obscure Gaonic work the She'iltot. I immediately looked to the top of the page where it talked about halachik innovation becoming an integral part of the Jewish legal tradition.But Ori taught us a few lines down, where the the Netziv talks about Torah as a weapon of war: that to face the Assyrian king Sancherev, the Judean king Hizikaya drafted everyone to learn Torah. And the Netziv - all the way from 19th century eastern Europe - writes that the Jewish army needs people who can pray and learn Torah to be right there at the front lines. Now, I have learned this before, but back in New York at Yeshiva University; I have never learnt it before with a young man who was about to fulfill the words of the Netziv. Ori was going to be this man of Torah who goes to the tents of the fighters to give victory to the Jewish people not in the times of Sancherev, or the 19th century, but right now, today. Wow! Here was the dream of the Netziv, a Jewish fighting force steeped in the spirituality, ethics and strength of Torah, coming true. I told Ori and all the students how inspired we were in meeting and learning them, and how proud the Netziv would be from what they were doing - learning Torah and then going to fight for the Jewish state and the Jewish people.</div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>We have heard about the war effort, and tomorrow we expect to see it up close, including the injured Jewish soldiers and a grieving family of a Jewish soldier.But tonight we could see the power of the Jewish people: How Jews of today were fighting in the tradition of King Hizikaya and with the blessings of the Netziv. And we gained confidence, that just as God gave King Hizikaya victory over his enemies because of his efforts, so God will give our soldiers victory over their enemies, and keep Israel safe and along a path for peace.I go to bed, for 2 and a half hours knowing that even if there is a missile siren, that our State is being protected by the noblest soldiers coming out of our great tradition, and that "God will give strength to God's people and God will bless them with peace."</div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Layla tov from the land of Torah and peace,</div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Asher Lopatin </div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-89300908832259515162009-01-13T19:25:00.000-08:002009-01-13T19:27:49.166-08:00Thermal Undershirts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuf_i8saD5Vvla-4TRq1355er9006TZdzBkTwbGzyYowZ2vdA33rJAuRpYe6uzpu1ioQVVIFPu9CpL1PIbcUxFlXQ31LCyWB1eQzVNIWR-o_81o1aLKmxAYcEXapIwTEK4xULEngTppiX2/s1600-h/Barry+Gelman.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290985562524956482" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuf_i8saD5Vvla-4TRq1355er9006TZdzBkTwbGzyYowZ2vdA33rJAuRpYe6uzpu1ioQVVIFPu9CpL1PIbcUxFlXQ31LCyWB1eQzVNIWR-o_81o1aLKmxAYcEXapIwTEK4xULEngTppiX2/s200/Barry+Gelman.jpeg" border="0" /></a><br />Please excuse the typo…it is 4:30AM…<br /><br />Dear Friends, I thought I would share with you one of the immediate outcomes of the rabbinic mission I am currently participating in. Please see the email below from a friend of mine who helped with part of the mission. These shirts were purchased by funds brought by the rabbis participating in the mission.<br /> RBG<br />Barry:<br />great seeing you before. Thermal shirts were sent at 6 pm, and are on their way "in". Please tell your donors that "within 2 hours of when you arrived," the shirts were already on their way down. The soldier was waiting for me at my home when i left the airport. Hopefully, one more unit will be warmer tonight. I'll send you a picture soon.<br />seth<br />-----Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-64247200807624971712009-01-13T19:23:00.000-08:002009-01-13T19:24:55.829-08:00From Rabbi Barry Gelman- Day One<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrYCw6N_Ka70h9VHIL-2_63rCgJYfV4EXJoV05xXwqTd6JXjBqhvB8rzHByPqz3c8bF2VHTjdMW373v3nnK4MvHaDfTjgXZvcqmjfvOFZRNuWl9veb3q_UPbFFT6h3M2dnBXomxi8d2UC/s1600-h/Barry+Gelman.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290985181943764882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrYCw6N_Ka70h9VHIL-2_63rCgJYfV4EXJoV05xXwqTd6JXjBqhvB8rzHByPqz3c8bF2VHTjdMW373v3nnK4MvHaDfTjgXZvcqmjfvOFZRNuWl9veb3q_UPbFFT6h3M2dnBXomxi8d2UC/s200/Barry+Gelman.jpeg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The JNF National Rabbinic has had a very meaningful start. Most of our group arrived at Ben Gurion airport at around 4PM. By 6PM we were on our way.<br /><br />We began by sharing our hopes for the mission. One of the Rabbis whose son is serving in the army and is currently in Gaza told us that is son mentioned that he considers it a great privilege to serve in the Israel army. The father responded that if thw son considers serving a privilege then the father considers it a privilege to be his father.<br /><br />Another rabbi said that he came on the mission because he feels that life cannot go on as usual in a time like this.. He compared our trip Moshe’s admonition of the tribes of Reuven and Gad who wished not to cross the Jordon. Moshe declared that it was not appropriate for the rest of the nation to fight to conquer the land while Reuven and Gad do not participate. Similarly our mission, in a small way, wishes to participate in this war by bringing good will and encouragement.<br /><br />While we have come to offer encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Israel we are well aware that we will be inspired by the bravery and courage of those we will meet.<br /><br />Our first stop of the night was a visit the Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dekalim. Students in Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dekalim, like all Hesder Yeshivot combine Torah study with army service. Yteshivat Hesder Neven Dekalim was originally in the city of Neve Dekalim (for 23 years), the largest city in Gush Katif (Gaza) and was part o the disengagement, Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dekalim. It was most well known for he Beit Midrash which was in the shape of a Magen David. Now the Yeshiva is housed in temporary trailers. It was quite sad to compare the current dreary and plain building with the once grand and unique Magen David building.<br /><br />Upon arrival we visited the site of the relocated Yeshiva. Upon arrival we noticed that the campus was deserted and the study hall was empty. We were told that since there we no bomb shelters there that studying there was not permitted. We also learned that all schools in that area have been closed for weeks as they do not have adequate shelters.<br /><br />We then walked to a local synagogue that was temporarily housing the Yeshiva in the bomb shelter. The bomb shelter served as study hall, dormitory and dining room. studied in small groups with the students at the yeshiva. We studied a piece written by Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin on the important of Torah study as a protective in time of trouble. It was an appropriate topic as we studied with young men who combine Torah study with army service.<br /><br />While at the Yeshiva we learned about a young man who after being married for just one day was called upon to lead his unit of paratroopers in Gaza. He was seriously wounded and remains in the hospital with a bad head injury. This is just one example of the many sad stories related to this war. It was pointed out to us that perhaps it is time to expand the definition if Tzadik - righteous, usually reserved only for the most religiously pious, to include those young men and women who put their life on the line for the Jewish people.<br /><br />After leaving the Yeshiva we drove to the kotel for a late Maariv service and some brief dancing at the kotel plaza. We were joined by Rav Yosef Carmel of Kollel Eretz Chemda, a religious Zionist kollel in Jerusalem and by UOS member Alexander Jefferson. Even thought the kotel was well out of our way we felt it was important to visit Yerushalayim as a way of declaring our devotion to her as the eternal Jewish capital.<br /><br />It has been an exhilarating afternoon and night. I am left inspired by the students at the Yeshiva and their story of courage and perseverance in difficult times.<br /><br />Tomorrow we head for Nitzan, Soroka medical center in Be‘er Sheva, Sderot and a visit with IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza. We will be distributing packages of food, clothes toys and other necessities that we purchased with the help of our partner on the mission, Table To Table and Yashar L’Chayal.<br /><br />It is now 3:20AM and we settled in our hotel in Ashkelon. Time for bed, Shacharit is at 7:00AM<br /><br />Layla Tov,<br />RBG </div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-41941999517468967752009-01-12T19:31:00.001-08:002009-01-12T19:32:10.178-08:00From Rabbi Barry Gelman<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_HuYVMEbPedrrbt8oYxF86PBtMxIfEtHc2r4hCgvQskPdDQOvuR_dsib-AYTKPxt_5IhdHUQ3BeM16x_bjD9N69_BRWm3BxyCnFTmOdo38s01I08oh0fZrDYz1P0YsVIkFpWGy-SFpUU/s1600-h/Barry+Gelman.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290615942265510018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_HuYVMEbPedrrbt8oYxF86PBtMxIfEtHc2r4hCgvQskPdDQOvuR_dsib-AYTKPxt_5IhdHUQ3BeM16x_bjD9N69_BRWm3BxyCnFTmOdo38s01I08oh0fZrDYz1P0YsVIkFpWGy-SFpUU/s200/Barry+Gelman.jpeg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I am sitting in the airport in Newark New Jersey getting ready for our flight to Israel. A group of Rabbis are on the same flight and our camaraderie and excitement are building. It is so wonderful to be traveling with a group of colleagues (we have some lay leaders as well) for a common cause. Our group is diverse in terms of where we come from and the types of synagogues we serve in. What we share is a passionate love for Medinat Yisrael and a sense of awe for those who defend her.<br />We hope to bring a message of unity to our brothers and sisters in Israel so that they know that American Jewry is with her at this difficult time.<br />Last week our community (Houston) had a rally for Israel as did many other communities. I would like to share with you the remarks I made there as they also speak to the ideal behind this mission.<br /><br />We Stand With Israel<br /><br />When it comes to Israel what matters is that we stand united with her. Tonight there is no UOS, no Beth Yeshurun, no Beth Israel, tonight these is only Am Echad, one nation, declaring that WE STAND WITH ISRAEL.<br /><br />Tonight there is no Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, tonight and for Israel, always, there is only Am Echad, sending forth the messaged to the world that WE STAND WITH ISRAEL.<br /><br />A preacher in the previous generation was asked: “How do we know if the Jewish people are one united people or a fractured people?” His answer was that if Jews in one part of the world are hurting and Jews in another part of the world do not ache then you know the Jews are a splintered people. If, however, Jews suffering in one place elicits crying and pain by Jews in other places, far and near, then you know that the Jews are united. We stand here tonight to declare that we feel the pain of our brothers an sisters in Israel. We stand here tonight, together, united, to proclaim that WE STAND WITH ISRAEL.”<br /><br />In the Amidah prayer we ask God to: “accept the prayer of Your nation Israel with mercy.” We talk of the prayer of Israel, not the prayers of Israel, for God hears and heeds the unified prayer of a united Jewish people.<br /><br />Our brothers and sisters, the brave members of the Israel Defense Force understand this. I visited Israel in the summer of 2006 during the Second Lebanon War. While there I had the privilege to visit with a wounded Israeli soldier who told me that when he goes into battle he does so with the acknowledgment that he fighting not just for Jews in Israel but on behalf of all Jews everywhere. He grasped the notion of Am Echad well and tonight we declare that we do as well as we announce to all who are listening that WE STAND WITH ISRAEL.<br /><br />I leave next week on a 40 hour rabbinic solidarity mission to communities in Israel under siege and to Israeli soldiers fighting on our behalf. I will share with them the message of solidarity expressed at the rally. I will make sure to tell them that the Jewish people are one, that we are Am Echad and most importantly, WE STAND WITH ISRAEL. </div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-77061068235036229002009-01-12T19:21:00.000-08:002009-01-12T19:23:27.167-08:00Kol HaKevodHi Rabbi Lopatin, Naomi mentioned you were making an extremely brief trip to Israel this week, and I just wanted to say, Kol hakavod! I so admire and respect you for doing this. It means a lot to me, the people of Sderot, the soldiers, and those of us in Israel in general, to know that we are being supported from afar (or up close on the front lines!). It's hearing about things like this that helps keep me going in these times, to be less intimidated, to feel strengthened by the current situation, instead of diminished by it. So thank you for being here, and for organizing an entire group of concerned and committed rabbis to join you. That's a powerful display of solidarity if I ever saw it, and, as I said before, it really does mean the world to us here in Israel. I sincerely hope your trip goes well and that everyone, including yourself, gains from this experience. May Hashem protect us and bless us with peace within our borders (and within ourselves) soon. B'shalom,Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-84001667240360754562009-01-12T13:12:00.000-08:002009-01-12T14:52:50.999-08:00Why am I going?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-YPeTDYVZGd_AKp2-Rkj0yQHIEO7b0cGI6Z82aCPuNxsKlc8AJ-X-95yfm015ViIuP4OXtjjVMuVgo7CovZmM2HQjFRwONhTdnTQyVAUd7-0g06UJNGAse2XxJoxRmhXHrYH8VdfKoDD/s1600-h/Asher+Lopatin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290543969300960642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-YPeTDYVZGd_AKp2-Rkj0yQHIEO7b0cGI6Z82aCPuNxsKlc8AJ-X-95yfm015ViIuP4OXtjjVMuVgo7CovZmM2HQjFRwONhTdnTQyVAUd7-0g06UJNGAse2XxJoxRmhXHrYH8VdfKoDD/s200/Asher+Lopatin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I am blogging from O'Hare about to get on the flight to Newark that will God willing take me to Israel! I am sad to leave my family for the next few days, but as far as Israel, I can't wait. A few days ago someone asked, why are we all going to Israel now? I cried and cried. But today, my seven year old Shayna said, "Abba, why are you going? Just stay in Chicago?" And while I didn't cry, my answer was heartfelt: It is the least we can do. We should not risk our lives unnecessarily. But when our brothers and sisters are sitting in bomb shelters fearing the next missile, when our soldiers are fighting terrorists, successfully, but still fearing the next militant around the corner, or hiding in a school or a UN compound, then the least we can do in America is to go over there and tell them: we are with you, we are not afraid to stand with you, we love you and we wish your success all the way. That is the message I want to send to everyone I see: we in America feel with you, hope with you, cry with you, and yearn with you in Israel for a safe home for the Jewish people.<br /><br />Time to board and head for Newark,<br /><br />May God bless us all with peace, Shalom al Yisrael,<br /><br />Asher</div>Asher Lopatinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02242007556237641980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-16925226331706013702009-01-11T23:15:00.000-08:002009-01-12T01:22:17.437-08:00Here is a foretaste of the JNF National Rabbinic Solidarity Mission to the Negev.<br /><br />Irene and I spent this past Shabbat, Parshat VaYechi in Kfar Maimon, just a few kilometers from Gaza. I was invited by the local rabbi, Rabbi Eliezer Igra, who is also an Av Beit Din in Be'er Sheva (for some 18-19 years now). The visit was arranged by a mutual friend, Rabbi Azriel Ariel, rabbi of Ateret and editor of the Tzohar journal. Azriel remembers how lonely it was in Ateret during intifada periods, when people were afraid to visit in Ateret (in the heart of Shomron), and hoped that by arranging for visitors to Kfar Maimon it would encourage the local population. Sixty of the 200 Kfar Maimon families had gone north, for some relief from the war, and two busloads of young people and their madrichim had gone for a few days' respite to Hispin in the Golan.<br /><br />It has become a cliche in Israel to say "I went to strengthen [the local population], but I came away strengthened [myself]." However, in this case, we went to a population of strong people, who did not feel any need for being strengthened. So we went primarily to demonstrate that they need not feel abandoned; that is, we went just to be with them. ("We came to strengthen you" has a somewhat condescending tone... "Expressing solidarity" is a much better choice of words; it really means "we're with you".) Only one other couple came to visit for Shabbat, daughter of a community member and her husband.<br /><br />As we drove south along the coast Friday afternoon, it became clear, beginning from about Ashdod, that we were entering a war zone. Tall columns of smoke rose from Gaza. As we proceeded southward, the thick, dark smoke at the base of the columns became clearer, and the civilian traffic on the highway dwindled down to almost nothing (more than the usual thinning to the south, even for a Friday afternoon). As we passed the Sa'ad junction we saw many foreign news vans and camera crews working on the high ground that has a direct view of Gaza below. <br /><br />From the moment we arrived until we left on Motzaei Shabbat, our visit was accompanied by the undending sounds of war, throughout night and day: helicopters, the buzz of unmanned observation planes in the air, punctuated frequently by explosions from the direction of Gaza, that thoroughly shook the doors and windows of the houses.<br /><br />I spoke in the Sefardi minyan Friday evening, about one of our defining characteristics as Jews, descendants of Yehudah, being hodayah - giving thanks. Both Leah and Yaakov said this of Yehudah. Rabbi Kook pointed out that what is unique about gratitude is that you express it in the awareness that the one you are thanking did what he did for you of his own free will, that is, he could just as well have chosen to not do it. Until Leah thanked G-d for giving her Yehudah, it was widely thought that G-d does whatever He does because His nature makes it necessary. To this day it is said that G-d made us because He is perfectly good, and the most perfect good must do good to others. Yet R. Shimshon Refael Hirsch points out that two fundamental principles of our Jewish belief are G-d's freedom and human freedom (see his commentary to Humash at the end of Parshat B'reishit). Indeed, Hirsch argues there that the danger of denying G-d's personality is greater than the danger of anthropomorphisis. What characterizes idolatry is the belief that by performing certain rituals or by saying certain magic words one can force the divinity to fulfill the will of the idolater. We believe G-d is truly free - and so we must be grateful to Him for all that He chooses to do for us. Nothing is self-evident; hence we must be grateful for everything. And so I thanked the people of Kfar Maimon, for being there, for living the beautiful authentically Torah lives that they live, and for their gracious hospitality. (I recalled how they had hosted Irene and me, and tens of thousands of others - albeit in sleeping bags spread out on the ground - for several days three and a half years ago, when our police and army laid siege to Kfar Maimon to prevent us protestors from marching to Gush Katif.)<br /><br />Irene and I ate with Rabbi Igra and his family, Friday night. The Rabbanit, Ruchama, is a school counselor who works in Sderot. It appears that the population of Sderot is not as strong as that of the moshav. There are people without food at home. I hope the contacts that have been made with various organizations in advance of the national solidarity visit are such as will make it possible to bring some relief to those people who are really in need. Ruchama indicated that teachers or rabbis may have a better idea of who those people are, more so than the welfare services or other government institutions. Of course, it should be done as a matan b'seter. Rabbi Fendel of the yeshiva in Sderot will surely know apporpriate recipients, too.<br /><br />Friday night there was an oneg Shabbat for one of the groups of soldiers stationed in the Kfar (I cannot give details). Rabbi Igra, the navy rabbi (Rabbi Bnayahu) and I each gave them a supportive, encouraging Torah message. I spoke of our young men as being the guarantors of our Jewish future, in the millenia-long chain of Jewish life, as Rabbi Igra had spoken of chazal's noting that Yaakov Avinu lives on through his descendants. I mentioned that G-d wants each of us to develop his personal strengths independently - as did Yaakov Avinu - since it is G-d Who depends on us to make this a better world. We all prayed for their success in their missions and for their successful returns home, safe and sound. Our divrei Torah were interspersed with appropriate songs, led by a member of the Kfar who brought song sheets. Many of the boys were not religious at all, but our words seemed to fall on receptive ears. We were all moved, each in his own way. May Hashem protect them all.<br /><br />Before davening Shabbat morning, I taught a shiur, using Rabbi Kook's commentary to "Gadol haneheneh mi'ygi'o yoter mi'y'rei shamayim" etc. He speaks of "the holy middah" of wanting to achieve things using one's own strengths. He refers to Rabbeinu Nissim's observation that the Torah does not prohibit saying "Kohi v'otzem yadi asah li et kol ha-chayil ha-zeh", but only forgetting G-d. One <span style="font-weight: bold;">should </span>say "Kohi v'otzem yadi" etc. , while remembering that it is G-d Who has given us the "koach la'asot chayil". He also refers to R. Hayim MiVolozhin's idea that olam haba is not a pre-existing state in which we merit a share, but rather that it is an existence that we <span style="font-weight: bold;">create </span>in the course of our lives. Thus the desire to do things using our own strengths is praiseworthy both in its material form - working to support one's self and one's family - and even more so in its serving as the driving force that elicits a person's moral and spiritual creativity.<br /><br />There is usually a single minyan on Shabbat morning in the Ashkenazi shul, but this Shabbat they davened in two shifts, since they had to daven in the bomb shelter, that didn't have room for everyone. I spoke after layening, about the meaning of our state's name, Yisrael, and the fact that Yaakov continued to be called Yaakov, as well. The gemara at the end of the first perek of Berakhot points out that Yisrael became his principal name, while Yaakov was his secondary name. Similarly the gemara says that Kibbutz Galuyot of our final redemption - which we believe we are in the midst of experiencing - will become the principal miracle and link to G-d, while Yetziat Mitzrayim will never be forgotten, but will be of secondary importance. Thus, I suggested, we must stand up tall, as Yisrael, in our "struggle against the mighty" and in our conviction that "we will be able [to prevail]", but we must not forget that we are not almighty, and that there are things we cannot do, in particular where others' free will is critical. <br /><br />After davening I gave a brief shiur in halakha, introducing the unique, little-known marital agreement I created some twenty-five years ago. It has won the approval of R. Y. Sh. Elyashiv shlit"a, of R. Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, of R. Shlomo Amar yiblcht'va, and others, and has proved helpful in preventing iggun. It is fundamentally different in character from all other marital agreements "on the market", including the RCA's, and has been described in a number of publications.<br /><br />We had lunch - between shiurim - with another family, and learned more about their own history, that of Kfar Maimon, and of its ongoing growth and development.<br /><br />After lunch I gave a third shiur. I presented 1 - Rabbi Kook's vision of a perfected world, 2 - a concrete story in the gemara that points to one way it can be approached, and 3 - a teshuva by R. Chaim David Halevy zt"l that demonstrates several of the practical principles necessary to achieve that vision today.<br /><br />Irene told our children we were going to provide a little relief for the rabbi, and I'm glad to say that he did note he enjoyed the brief respite from having to give the drashot and shiurim I gave in his place.<br /><br />Between mincha and ma'ariv Shabbat afternoon, the call "Tzeva Adom" - the alarm warning that a rocket had been launched in the direction of the kfar - was heard throughout the kfar (besides the PA system outside, every home has a warning unit.) In the midst of Rabbi Igra's gemara shiur , he paused for only a second and continued, since we were in the shul's bomb shelter. Irene, in Rabbi Igra's home with Ruchama, joined them between two inner walls of the house, and waited a bit after they heard the rocket's fall and explosion, before returning to their chairs and their conversation....An older son went out to see if he could see where it falls!<br /><br />Best wishes - we look forward to seeing you later this week.<br /><br />David Mescheloff<span style="color:#888888;"></span>David Mescheloffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14415397137159722954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-26529801212653189992009-01-09T12:47:00.000-08:002009-01-09T12:49:10.154-08:00UPDATED ITINERARY<div></div><div><strong>Below is the most up to date itinerary.</strong></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>JNF Rabbinic Solidarity Mission to the Negev: Giving Chizuk, Getting Chizuk<br />January 13- January 15<br /><br />Sponsored by the Jewish National Fund<br /></strong><br />Co-sponsored by: Rabbanei Tzohar, Hadassah, Chicago Israel Philanthropic Fund, Rabbi Josh Lookstein, Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation, United Orthodox Synagogue of Houston, TheWilliam and Sarah Siegel Foundation, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Rabbinical Council of America, Anonymous for Jerusalem, East Hill Synagogue, Temple Sholom of Chicago.<br /><br />Participants include: Yonatan Cohn, Rabbi Zvi Engel, Ephraim Epstein, Joel Finkelstein, Marc Gitler, Barry Gelman, Asher Lopatin, Jason Herman, Akiva Herzfeld, Yamin Levy, Jonathan Muskat, Zev Reichman, Don Seeman, Hyim Shafner, Adam Starr, Brian Thau, Uri Topolosky, Daniel Yolkut, Mr. Bud Levin, Dr. Don Kramer, Mr. Brian Haimm. In Israel: Ruby Spolter, Yair Silverman, David Mescheloff, Irene Mescheloff<br /><br /><br /><strong>Tuesday, January 13:</strong><br /><br /><br />6:00 PM: Leave Ben Gurion Airport in dedicated bus. We will have a personal security briefing both on the bus and when we arrive in Ashdod.<br /><br />6:45 PM: Arrive at Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dekalim in Ashdod for dinner and learning with the Talmidim. Neve Dekalim was evacuated from Yamit, evacuated from Gush Katif, and now under missile threat.<br /><br />8:00 PM: Program with Rabbanei Tzohar: 20 of the leading Rabbanei Tzohar will meet with us for discussions on topics relevant to Israel’s current situation. Reports from the field. If there is, chas veshalom, a shiva house, we will visit it.<br /><br />9:30 PM: Bus to Yerushalayim for Ma’ariv at the Kotel. On the bus, Dr. Jeffrey R. Woolf Senior Lecturer, Talmud Department Director, Center for the Study of Post-Talmudic Halakhah Director, The Rashi Project Bar-Ilan University, our chaveir will speak to us. Walk through the Old City to the Kotel to be greeted by rabbanim in Yerushayim and talmidim of Yeshivat Hakotel. Ma’ariv, Tehillim, singing, dancing. Meet with a group of Ethiopian Jews representing the southern town of Gedeira who will be receiving school supplies sent with us from America.<br />Overnight at the Dan Gardens in Ashkelon, double occupancy<br /><br /><strong>Wednesday, January 14:</strong><br /><br />6:20 AM: Shacharit (Neitz is at 6:42 AM)<br /><br />7:15 AM: Breakfast<br /><br />8:00 AM: Depart with Rav Yosef Tzvi Rimon for Nitzan, a settlement of the refugees of Gush Katif. Meet with the residents, have a “aruchat eser”, hear from Rav Rimon. Opportunity to distribute food and items to the residents who really need them.<br /><br />10:00 AM: Groups will be splitting up. Half will depart for Soroka Hospital, Be’er Sheva to visit the injured, meet with members of the municipality to express support. The other half will pay a shiva visit.<br /><br />12:00 Noon: Lunch in Soroka Hospital where the hospital staff and students who have remained on campus at Ben Gurion University will be our guests.<br /><br />12:45 PM:<br />Head for S’deirot with Rav Menachem Waldman as a guest and make a stop in Carmit on the way: Breaking ground for a new city in the Negev with 10,000 residents. First 400 homes built by summer of 2011. “Terrorist missiles will not stop our dream of building up Eretz Yisrael.”<br /><br />1:30 PM: Arrive at the outskirts of S’deirot to freshen up at the community center and then see the JNF Protected Multi Use Center.<br /><br />1:45 PM: On the bus, the lead social worker for Operation Embrace will organize five home visits. We will be splitting up into 5 groups to visit five homes of traumatized people. (I have been assured that this is helpful for the people – it will provide chizuk.)<br /><br />2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Bus drops rabbis off at five locations, each group led by a social worker, going into S’deirot homes. Then by 2:45 PM the bus picks rabbis up.<br /><br />3:00 PM – 9:00 PM: We are guests of the Yeshivat Hesder, Rav David Fender, Rosh HaYeshiva. Meet with soldiers, at a base near Sdeirot, see Sdeirot itself. Dinner with the talmidim and rabbanim. Learning and shiurim with chevrei hayeshiva. Opportunities for distributing needed items. If, chas veshalom, there is a shiva house, we will visit it.<br /><br />9:00 PM: Concluding program organized by Rabbanei Tzohar<br /><br />10:00 PM: Kumzitz with our rabbis and members of the yeshiva in the bomb shelter of the yeshiva.<br /><br />Overnight on the Yeshiva campus, in safe missile proof shelters fully equipped by the Yeshiva.<br /><br /><strong>Thursday, January 15: AM:<br /></strong><br />Three taxis and minivans will take participants to the airport throughout the night and early morning. </div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-78284052451873286092009-01-09T08:57:00.001-08:002009-01-09T10:42:47.891-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfYdTkB62ARVVtfPYfFldQtkVl5lJMEU7KKpJOyXwMXdsTCitMNPbMpJVgWcvof2_lZCjghk-alYYXQJ-jdItQEdD3x-EMaLQlQBuVPW0mNvkPgK2pbBy3TkfeNxpIpOsGeOMftLwxLeX6/s1600-h/Asher+Lopatin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289339335270085010" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 133px; height: 200px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfYdTkB62ARVVtfPYfFldQtkVl5lJMEU7KKpJOyXwMXdsTCitMNPbMpJVgWcvof2_lZCjghk-alYYXQJ-jdItQEdD3x-EMaLQlQBuVPW0mNvkPgK2pbBy3TkfeNxpIpOsGeOMftLwxLeX6/s200/Asher+Lopatin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Friends,<br /><div><br />I am going to be sending my notes tonight to our JNF Rabbinic Mission to the Negev Website. Thanks to JNF for donating generously to the mission as well as to their staff for working on logistics and PR. They have set up a web site for us at the URL: <a title="http://jnfrabbinicmission.blogspot.com/" href="http://jnfrabbinicmission.blogspot.com/">http://jnfrabbinicmission.blogspot.com/</a>. We can put pictures etc. there. JNF is also sponsoring 100 fleeces to give out and one for each of us, with the mission logo. Fleeces are big in Israel.<br /><br />Thanks also to Ronen Neuwirth and Frumie and the whole staff of Rabbanei Tzohar who are working hard in Israel to organize things.<br /><br />As of now we have 18 rabbis and 2 lay leaders with tickets, but I have gotten tons of emails and phone calls by rabbis all over the country. We may pick up several. Meeting us in Israel will be 10-15 chaveirim, but maybe many more. Yair Silverman is coordinating that so we should have a better sense by… Sunday! We already have ordered the biggest bus they have, but we may need more.<br /><br />We need to plan the drop offs on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. So please tell me when your flight is so that we can coordinate this and give them names.<br /><br />Any questions of bringing items or $$ for items, please speak to Barry at rabbi@uosh.org.<br /><br />We are working with groups for Chayalim, Ethiopians, injured, students – and this all coming together.<br /><br />My cell phone in Israel is: 0508.721.765. One of our chaveirim is working on a list serve for those on the trip – at least those coming from the States and then we can update it with the Israel contingent.<br /><br />We still have openings for rabbis, cantors and lay leaders. We just ask lay leaders who want to come to pay $500 towards the land cost of this trip.<br /><br />My wife needs me home so I am signing off. Barry and I will stay in touch through Sunday night with e-mails so please stay tuned for any changes. But the times are now solid, iy”H. I am attaching the itinerary with some small additions.<br /><br />Shabbat shalom,<br /><br />Asher</div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-80504569111364447372009-01-09T08:50:00.000-08:002009-01-09T08:53:02.033-08:00Updated Itinerary<div align="left"><strong>National Rabbinic Mission to the Negev: </strong></div><div align="left"><strong>Giving Chizuk, Getting Chizuk<br />January 13- January 15<br /><br />Sponsored by Jewish National Fund</strong><br /><br />Co-sponsored by: Rabbanei Tzohar, Hadassah, Chicago Israel Philanthropic Fund, Rabbi Josh Lookstein, Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation, United Orthodox Synagogue of Houston, TheWilliam and Sarah Siegel Foundation, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah<br /><br /><br /><strong>Tuesday, January 13:</strong><br /><br />We have added to this schedule and will try to move up our departure from Ben Gurion Airport by 45 minutes, if it works with people’s arrivals.<br /><br /><br />6:00 PM: Leave Ben Gurion Airport in dedicated bus. We will have a personal security briefing both on the bus and when we arrive in Ashdod.<br /><br />6:45 PM: Arrive at Yeshivat Hesder Neve Dekalim in Ashdod for dinner and learning with the Talmidim. Neve Dekalim was evacuated from Yamit, evacuated from Gush Katif, and now under missile threat.<br /><br />8:30 PM: Program with Rabbanei Tzohar: 20 of the leading Rabbanei Tzohar will meet with us for discussions on topics relevant to Israel’s current situation. Reports from the field. If there is, chas veshalom, a shiva house, we will visit it.<br /><br />9:45 PM: Bus to Yerushalayim for Ma’ariv at the Kotel. We may first visit a family that lost a son this week. Afterwards, walk through the Old City to the Kotel to be greeted by rabbanim in Yerushayim and talmidim of Yeshivat Hakotel. Ma’ariv, Tehillim, singing, dancing. We may also be joined by Rav Menachem Waldman and a group of Ethiopian Jews representing the southern town of Gedeira who will be receiving school supplies sent with us from America.<br /><br />Overnight at the Dan Gardens in Ashkelon, double occupancy<br /><br /><strong>Wednesday, January 14:<br /></strong><br />6:20 AM: Shacharit (Neitz is at 6:42 AM)<br /><br />7:15 AM: Breakfast<br /><br />8:00 AM: Depart with Rav Yosef Tzvi Rimon for Nitzan, a settlement of the refugees of Gush Katif. Meet with the residents, have a “aruchat eser”, hear from Rav Rimon. Opportunity to distribute food and items to the residents who really need them.<br /><br />10:00 AM: Depart for Soroka Hospital, Be’er Sheva to visit the injured, meet with members of the municipality to express support<br /><br />12:00 Noon: Lunch in downtown Be’er Sheva.<br /><br />12:45 PM: Head for S’deirot with a stop in Carmit on the way: Breaking ground for a new city in the Negev with 10,000 residents. First 400 homes built by summer of 2011. “Terrorist missiles will not stop our dream of building up Eretz Yisrael.”<br /><br />1:30 PM: Arrive at the outskirts of S’deirot to freshen up at the community center and then see the JNF Protected Multi Use Center.<br /><br />1:45 PM: On the bus, the lead social worker for Operation Embrace will organize five home visits. We will be splitting up into 5 groups to visit five homes of traumatized people. (I have been assured that this is helpful for the people – it will provide chizuk.)<br /><br />2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Bus drops rabbis off at five locations, each group led by a social worker, going into S’deirot homes. Then by 2:45 PM the bus picks rabbis up.<br /><br />3:00 PM – 9:00 PM: We are guests of the Yeshivat Hesder, Rav David Federman, Rosh HaYeshiva. Meet with soldiers, at a base near Sdeirot, see Sdeirot itself. Dinner with the talmidim and rabbanim. Learning and shiurim with chevrei hayeshiva. Opportunities for distributing needed items. If, chas veshalom, there is a shiva house, we will visit it.<br /><br />9:00 PM: Concluding program organized by Rabbanei Tzohar<br /><br />10:00 PM: Ku<br /><br />Overnight on the Yeshiva campus, in safe missile proof shelters fully equipped by the Yeshiva.<br /><br /><strong>Thursday, January 15: AM:<br /></strong><br />Bus will leave to bring people in time for their flights, and may make two trips.<br /><br />There should be about 15 of us flying out from the States, and we will be met by about another 10 rabbanim who are either living in Israel or visiting. Our bus seats 30.<br /><br />If you live in Israel, or in America, please, please email <a href="mailto:rabbi@asbi.org">rabbi@asbi.org</a> (Asher) to double check that you have confirmed that you are going to be on this mission.<br /><br />Please bring warm clothes. Casual dress suggested.<br /><br />Nesi’a tova!</div>Rick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2576825587073059187.post-61759742322683144042009-01-09T08:48:00.000-08:002009-01-09T10:42:27.298-08:00Participant ListBelow is the most up to date participant list:<br /><br />Barry Gelman – Houston, United Orthodox Synagogue<br />Asher Lopatin – Chicago, Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Cong.<br />Yonatan Cohn – Berkeley, CA, Beth Israel<br />Zvi Engel – Skokie, IL, Or Torah Cong.<br />Ephraim Epstein – Cherry Hill, NJ, Congregation Sons of Israel<br />Joel Finkelstein – Memphis, TN, Anshei Sphard – Beth El Emeth<br />Marc Gitler, - Denver, CO, EDOS<br />Jason Herman – New York, New York<br />Akiva Herzfeld – Portland, Maine<br />Yamin Levy – New York, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah<br />Jonathan Muskat - Oceanside, NY, Young Israel of Oceanside<br />Zev Reichman – East Hill Synagogue, Englewood, NJ<br />Don Seeman – Atlanta, GA, Emory University<br />Hyim Shafner – St. Louis, Bais Abraham<br />Adam Starr – Toco Hills, Atlanta, Young Israel of Toco Hills<br />Brian Thau – West Hempstead, NY<br />Uri Topolosky – New Orleans, Beth Israel New Orleans<br />Daniel Yolkut – Richmond, VA, Keneseth Beth Israel<br />Mr. Bud Levin – Los Angeles<br />Dr. Don Kramer- Houston<br /><br />In Israel:<br />David and Irene Mescheloff<br />Yair Silverman – Formerly of Berkeley<br />Ruby Spolter – Formerly of Oak Park, MIRick Krosnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02698449338147237025noreply@blogger.com0