A Hostage Crisis and Hotel California

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We in Israel find ourselves sitting in the dark tunnels of the lying media wars that accuse Israel of war crimes and excuse those who kill and rape and burn people alive. And we are supposed to feel sorry for terrorists? Really? We have all been taken hostage…How?

Illustrative art from students of Katzrin highschool gallery

The stress among many in Israel is getting out of hand and it is turning into anger for some of us. Unfortunately, that anger has nowhere to go so let me tell you about it! Just now another two planes are circling overhead with their deafening roar shutting out the normal sounds of small town life. We believe that it is our IAF planes. We trust it to be so. But in our subconscious we ask, what if? And we know that even though they are Israeli planes, they are responding to sudden attacks by missiles from outside.

All of nature has gone away. It seems the birds have hidden and the flowers hide their brilliant colors.

We honestly don’t know what the HELL is going on. If we read the news, we see things that make no sense. There are lies inside and outside of this war, we see our own diplomats and statesmen telling us things we can’t fathom—things we would never support. And another cliffhanger is that Israel has scrambled our GPS so that if we need to travel to a town an hour away, we open our apps and find ourselves in Beirut or Cairo. We don’t know where in G-ds green earth we are. And I said we feel like hostages. Except we still have enough to eat and we are not being raped physically, not yet. BUT, it feels like betrayal from within and without. It feels like our souls have been raped. And we are actually starving for words of hope. Words we can trust.

We tell our friends that going back to America or Europe would be much worse, that Iran or Russia will nuke America first. Shall we kid ourselves?

No I don’t want to leave Israel, but it really seems like we have been taken hostage. Or should I say Israel has become Hotel California. We hear that we have to prepare the bombshelters for three days. We hear that they are going to cut off our electricity and water. Ok so it may happen and then what?

We look for comfort watching right wing YouTubers who used to support Israel. One by one they are turning their backs on Israel! Almost everyone says we are starving the “poor Gazan children” and that we are killing them along with their mothers. Good grief! Doesn’t everyone know that Terrorists kill their own people? Doesn’t everyone know that the women and children, yes Gazan civilians also participated in the horrendous October 7 massacre and afterwards? It is the civilians that have housed our hostages and forced them to work without food, some raping them as often as they desire.

Should there be no consequence to a people who not only allowed this but are aiding and abetting it?

Terrorists have no consideration for civilian women and children when they place their armaments under hospitals and kindergartens and push the kids and women out in front of their war machines? What do people say about the terrorists who have shot children for “stealing” food from the multitudinous trucks that bring them “free food?” Just imagine, if we laid out tables filled with all the food that is coming into Gaza they would be lined up all the way to the Nile and back! We know they are not starving, but many of our cousins in America and England think otherwise…Why? Because they believe what they hear. Because they refuse to be upset by anything. When will the stupidity stop? When will people stop believing the propaganda on the News and mainstream media? When was it ever a crime to tell the truth? When will people realize that perhaps, going to church or synagogue to hear words of comfort is “blue pill” that puts them to sleep as they ignore the very real threats that stare them in the face?

Back in the Covid days, the propaganda in the media was nauseating, as if the vaccine was saving lives and “you will probably die without it!” Didn’t people learn from this? Unfortunately there are many who still believe they were protected by a triple dose of big pharma, even though they still have side effects. And for those who did learn, why don’t they realize that this is the same hired media that is covering and promoting this propaganda to please whatever powers are paying them to do it?

What we need is smarter people. People who ask what is NOT being said. Who when they hear the same lines repeated, conclude that there is an agenda and that they are being played.

Why don’t they ask us here in Israel what is really happening? Maybe they are afraid to know the truth? Maybe it is easier to sit back and let the world take care of itself. And maybe they will still be in their comfortable recliners when all hell breaks loose for them as well.

“ The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ~~author unknown

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Purim–Queen of Chutzpah–What about Hamas?

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Purim 2024! The Middle East war is bombarding us on every side, is there anything significant for us in Purim and the book of Esther? Right or wrong, this time we are handling the sneaky Haman (Hamas) differently. Maybe because we do not have a covert Jewish woman sitting as queen in Iran’s palace. Esther prayed and fasted and knew how to don her most beautiful garments to be attractive enough to break the King’s rules about illegal entrance into the throne room. She had no invitation but she took a chance and went before the king. What Chutzpah! Really? She sounds a lot like a normal Israeli once you know the culture. Nobody takes no for an answer here, nor do we always follow protocol. How did we learn this? And did Esther (Hadassah) teach us something about rules that make no sense and the right to refuse something that does us harm? 

Some Biblical scholars say that the book of Esther is a myth. Even if it is, there are lessons we can learn from its teaching about Jews in exile. Must Jews always take things into their own hands to be able to defend themselves? Is the Most High Eternal God of the Universe somehow gone on leave of absence? Or is He trying to get us to use our God-given wisdom and cunning to run the enemy out of our Promised Land? Is He somewhere in the shadows standing alongside us as we fight? Does He bring circumstances about so that even corrupt leaders are forced to make right choices about how and where to fight and whom to resist, even if it be the United States and Great Britain? Can we trust that things will go well in the long run? I often wonder what will happen when the United States decides to cut off all military aid to Israel–aid that they promised to their greatest ally in the Middle East. It is a horrifying thought and one that our leaders are trying to avoid by what appears to be stupid agreements with mediators who have betrayed Israel. And many of these mediators are actually Jewish!

So, Israel has offered 700 terrorists, some of them murderers, in exchange for 40 hostages! That is more than 17 to 1!  Are we serious? But as we watch, I wonder if something will happen that will change the circumstances.. Are we really alone in this? Is the Great YHWH absent from this war? Or is He working behind the scenes?

Yesterday my husband and I attended a Purim Megillah reading. The normal Purim treats and drinks were on the table. Visitors from out of town were present as well as friends from our town in the Golan Heights. The Megillah reading was a normal 2000+ years traditional reading except for the fact that we sat outside and as the chazan was reading the scroll, IAF planes flew over every minute or so, continuing throughout the day in response to hundreds of attacks from the enemy. Many of us had figured in advance that with Ramadan in place, Purim 2024 was going to be under fire from Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria.

The loud sound of the F-15s overhead was enough to make some want another drink of the hard stuff. The Chazan tried to space the reading so that the planes would drown out the name “Haman”. I guess it was meaningful. For me, the service was a reminder that we were in another encounter with Haman, but this time we are in our Holy Land and the looming question is…”Why do we suffer Amalek after we return to our homeland?” Are we still exiles? Did we import some of that mentality from the diaspora? The celebration, if you will call it that, became meaningful to me when I began to contemplate what is happening on a spiritual level. 

I recently questioned the need to continue Purim festivities. Must we remember that we are still in Persia–Iran?  Amalek is, in fact, still in our midst! And 75,000 enemies killed at the command of Esther and Mordechai was still not enough to put an end to the hatred that has generated through the centuries.

Seventy-five thousand is a lot more than the MSM claims as Israel’s victims! Some reports say 32,000 Gazans killed.Maybe it would be better for Israel if this was true! Where is our thinking? Why are we pussyfooting around to save “innocent civilians” when we know what those same “civilians” did to our people on October 7? The old saying “never forget” seems to be forgotten. Why are we trying to make peace with those who have our necks on their chopping block? Where is the Chutzpah of the Queen of Persia? She did not, after all, try to be politically correct when she had Haman and his ten sons hung on the gallows!

When will we realize that something is walking out of step with the Eternal? How can we expect His full intervention? Maybe we should stop fasting to fulfill tradition and start fasting for a renewed vision as to what Hashem expects of us!

And then, we shall ARISE and take back that which was promised to us in the strength of YHWH, the Almighty God of the Universe!

 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of YHWH rises upon you.  See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but YHWH rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isa 60:1-3 

Shalom in the Midst of War,

Ariella

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Cómo ser un individuo y seguir siendo religioso

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¿Es posible tener una religión basada en la Biblia sin inclinarse ante alguna jerarquía? ¿Qué pasa con el judaísmo? ¿Es mejor que otras religiones?

Hay varias ramas del judaísmo, algunas más complejas que otras. Cada uno tiene su propia Halajá, Mitzvot o conjunto de normas que sigue. Algunos judíos o aspirantes a judíos todavía están en el desierto reuniendo información sobre qué camino tomar. Yo afirmaría que la mayoría de esta clase son de ascendencia judía (quizás perdida en el proceso de la inquisición) o de las 10 tribus perdidas. Pero ¿cómo se sabe a qué grupo seguir y cuánto derecho tiene una organización a ejercer influencia sobre sus seguidores?

Quizás estemos cansados de instituciones creadas por el hombre que nos gobiernan sin que nosotros decidamos al respecto. Vemos jerarquías en el catolicismo, y en cualquiera de las principales iglesias cristianas, en los diferentes niveles del judaísmo ortodoxo y también en los movimientos más liberales del judaísmo rabínico. ¿Qué tal el caraísmo? ¿Está esto exento? Me doy cuenta de que hay al menos tres o cuatro grupos de caraítas, cada uno con su propio enfoque del Tanaj y la Torá. Hay siddurim para algunos de estos. Algunos exigen una estricta observancia de su Halajá.

Si bien personalmente sugiero individualidad en nuestro enfoque en la Torá y su Tanaj interpretativo, no recomiendo el caos. Lo diré, aunque a menudo parece un caos cuando la gente considera su propia religión natal y la encuentra defectuosa. Y cuando se dan cuenta de que cosas que antes consideraban leyes fundamentales de pronto se les presentan como si tuvieran poco valor bíblico, se desilusionan. Algunos descartan por completo la religión, otros buscan otras religiones y otros intentan encontrar la verdad por sí mismos. Pero, considerando este gran renacimiento religioso que está ocurriendo en todo el mundo, ¿estamos entre los que abandonan todas las formas y ceremonias y desechan por completo lo que consideramos religión organizada? ¿Cómo vamos a tener una religión si no tenemos algo en lo que estemos de acuerdo?

La forma caraíta de judaísmo, a diferencia de otras ramas del judaísmo, parece permitir la libertad más bíblica, que es lo que muchos buscan. ¿Pero podemos estar de acuerdo en algo? ¿Podemos aceptar estar en desacuerdo y seguir unidos? La verdad fundamental del caraísmo es que todo debe basarse en la Torá dada en el Sinaí y las obras de los profetas en el Tanaj. En el caraísmo hay un rechazo universal de lo que se llama la Torá Oral o תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל־פֶּה.
Esto se basa en las instrucciones a Moisés de que Israel no agregue ni quite de las palabras que YHWH le dio a Israel.

“No añadirás a la palabra que yo te mando, ni quitarás de ella, para que guardes los mandamientos de Jehová tu Dios que yo te mando”. – Deuteronomio 4:2

La ortodoxia, así como otras ramas del judaísmo que siguen a los rabinos, afirman que los sabios recibieron la transmisión de la Torá y se les dio el derecho de reinterpretarla y aplicarla como mejor les pareciera. La siguiente cita lo resume:

“La tradición judía identifica la cadena histórica interpretada por individuos a quienes se les confió la transmisión de la Ley Oral desde Moisés hasta el período rabínico temprano: “Moisés recibió la Torá y la transmitió a Josué;
Josué a los Ancianos; los Ancianos a los profetas; y los profetas lo transmitieron a los hombres de la Gran Asamblea”. (mira aquí).

Pero muchos de nosotros vemos tanta desviación de las palabras originales de Moisés que buscamos un acercamiento a la Torá que resista la prueba del tiempo. Y, por supuesto, hay problemas para aplicar toda la Torá incluso hoy en día porque no hay Templo ni sacrificios. Esa parte de la Torá parece haberse perdido al menos hasta que se construya otro Templo. Algunas de las normas actuales no permiten cosas como la poligamia, lo que significa que tenemos que mirar de nuevo y comprender los principios detrás de lo que estaba permitido. A veces la Torá permitía algo pero no había ninguna ley que dijera “lo harás o no lo harás”. Así que la aplicación de la Torá tiene un desafío continuo y así debe ser. No hay ningún deseo de que recreemos una nueva religión jerárquica que decida por nosotros lo que debemos o no debemos hacer. Después de todo, Moisés dijo:

“Ahora bien, lo que os mando hoy no es demasiado difícil para vosotros ni está fuera de vuestro alcance. No está en el cielo, de modo que tengas que preguntar: “¿Quién subirá al cielo para recibirlo y proclamárnoslo para que podamos obedecerlo?” Tampoco está más allá del mar, de modo que tengas que preguntar: “¿Quién cruzará el mar para conseguirlo y proclamárnoslo para que podamos obedecerlo?” No, la palabra está muy cerca de ti; está en tu boca y en tu corazón para que puedas obedecerlo”. Deuteronomio 30:11-14

Entonces, ¿qué se requiere de nosotros hoy? ¿No sería un buen punto de partida si empezáramos a estudiar seriamente el Tanaj por nosotros mismos y dejáramos de aprender tanto de rabinos y pastores? No digo que no haya razón para dejar de aprender y sí, otras personas deben tener influencia, pero ninguna tiene derecho a ejercer autoridad espiritual sobre el individuo en este momento. Y cuando el templo se restablece y se instala el Sacerdocio junto con un tribunal levítico apropiado, entonces los juicios estarán en orden. Aún no estamos allí. Y no creo que ninguno de nosotros sepa cómo será exactamente.

Lo que se requiere en este momento es que estudiemos y oremos, pidiéndole al Eterno que escudriñe nuestros corazones y nos mantenga ante Su vista mientras nos entregamos voluntariamente a obedecer Sus mandamientos. Después de todo, ¿es posible que estas leyes ya estén escritas en nuestros corazones y mentes?

“Porque este es el pacto que haré con la casa de Israel después de aquellos días, declara Jehová: Pondré mi ley dentro de ellos, y la escribiré en sus corazones. Y yo seré su Dios, y ellos serán mi pueblo. Y ya no enseñará cada uno a su prójimo ni cada uno a su hermano, diciendo: ‘Conoce a YHWH’, porque todos me conocerán, desde el más pequeño de ellos hasta el mayor, declara YHWH. Porque perdonaré su iniquidad y no me acordaré más de su pecado.” – Jer 31:33-34

“Él te ha dicho, oh hombre, lo que es bueno; ¿Y qué exige YHWH de ti sino hacer justicia, amar la bondad y caminar humildemente con tu Dios? Miqueas 6:8.

Enfocando en la Tora

Ariella

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How to Be an Individual and still be Religious

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Is it possible to have a Bible-based religion without bowing to some hierarchy? What about Judaism? Is it better than other religions?

There are several branches of Judaism, some more complex than others. Each has its own Halakha, Mitzvot or set of standards which it follows. Some Jews or wanna-be Jews are still in the wilderness gathering information about which road to travel. I would assert that most of this class are either Jewish by descent (perhaps lost in the process of the inquisition) or of the 10 lost tribes. But how does one know which group to follow and how much right does an organization have to exert influence over its adherents? 

Perhaps we are tired of man-made institutions that rule over us without our decision in the matter. We see hierarchies in Catholicism, and any of the mainline Christian churches, in the different levels of Orthodox Judaism and also in the more liberal movements of Rabbinic Judaism. How about Karaism? Is this exempt? I realize that there are at least three or four groups of Karaites, each with its own approach to the Tenakh and Torah. There are siddurim for some of these. Some require strict observance of their Halakha. 

While I personally suggest individuality in our approach to the Torah and its interpretive Tanakh, I do not recommend chaos. I will say, though it often seems like chaos when people consider their own natal religion and find it flawed. And when they realize that things they have formerly considered as fundamental laws suddenly loom up before them as having little Biblical value, they become disenchanted. Some throw religion out completely, others look for other religions, still others try to find the truth by themselves. But, considering this great religious renaissance going on around the world, are we among those who abandon all forms and ceremonies and throw out completely what we consider organized religion? How will we even have a religion if we do not have something that we agree on? 

The Karaite form of Judaism, in contrast to other branches of Judaism, seems to allow the most Biblical liberty, which is what many are seeking. But can we agree on anything? Can we agree to disagree and still stand together? The fundamental truth of Karaism is that everything must be based on the Torah given on Sinai and the works of the prophets in the Tanakh. In Karaism there is a universal rejection of what is called the Oral Torah or the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל־פֶּה. 

This is based on the instructions to Moses that Israel not add nor subtract from the words he was given by YHWH for Israel.  

“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” – Deu 4:2 

Orthodoxy, as well as other branches of mainstream Judaism, claim that the sages received the transmission of Torah and were given the right to reinterpret it and to apply it as they saw fit. The following quote sums it up:

“Jewish tradition identifies the unbroken historical chain of individuals who were entrusted with passing down the Oral Law from Moses to the early rabbinic period: “Moses received the Torah and handed it down to Joshua; Joshua to the Elders; the Elders to the prophets; and the prophets handed it down to the men of the Great Assembly.” (see here).

But many of us see so much deviation from the original words of Moses that we look for an approach to Torah that stands the test of time. And of course there are problems applying all of the Torah even today because there is no Temple and there are no sacrifices. That part of the Torah seems to have been lost at least until another Temple is built. Some of today’s norms do not allow things like Polygamy which mean we have to take a new look and understand the principles behind what was allowed. Sometimes the Torah allowed something but there was no law saying “Thou shalt, or thou shalt not.” So Torah application has an ongoing challenge and must be so. There is no desire that we recreate a new hierarchical religion that decides for us what we shall or shall not do. After all, Moses said:

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” Deu 30:11-14 

So what is required of us today? Wouldn’t it be a good place to start if we began to study the Tanakh in earnest for ourselves and stop learning so much from rabbis and pastors? I do not say there is no reason to stop learning and yes, other people must have an influence, but none have the right to exercise spiritual authority over the individual at this time. And when the Temple is reestablished, and the Priesthood is installed along with a proper Levitical court, then judgments will be in order. We are not there yet. And I don’t think any of us knows how it will be exactly. 

What is required at this time is that we study and pray, asking the Eternal to search our hearts and keep us in His sight while we willingly surrender to obey His commandments. After all, is it possible that these laws are already written in our hearts and minds?

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘KnowYHWH,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares YHWH. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” – Jer 31:33-34 

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does YHWH require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Mic 6:8.

Yours,

Ariella

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Gaza, Ramadan, Hezbollah… and We should Make Peace?

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Hundreds of Hezbollah rockets are pounding the Northern part of the State of Israel and Ramadan is just around the corner, in fact just a few hours from now! None of us knows whether our towns in the North will be still standing tomorrow. 

I am a Zionist and I hope you are, even if you are not Jewish. But what is the concept of Zionism all about? 

“Zionism is the movement for the self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel.” ADL

If I did not believe that Zion (the land of Israel) belongs to the Jews, I would not be here. And when I hear sympathetic Jews in this land expressing a desire to make peace with those who want to murder, rape and burn the Jews and take away their G-d given home, I want to send these people packing back to the nations where they were once exiled. If they love the idea that there will ever be peace coming out of Gaza as long as Gazan’s live there, then, go on back, kiss the feet of Biden, and like-minded leaders of other nations! Perhaps they will welcome another Jew back to where political groups want to string them up while chanting “from the River to the Sea.” (Frankly not many of those who march in these groups even know which river they are talking about!)

Peace activists who lived in some of the kibbutzim near Gaza learned a fatal lesson. For some it was too late to change their minds. The following clip is from Times of Israel (to read the entire article, click here.)

“In the wake of October 7, Lahav and other Israelis who had supported and campaigned for territorial compromises with the Palestinians as a pathway to peace now say they are being forced to reconsider their views. “‘I used to think Palestinians were good people, like you and me. That Hamas were thugs who got in the way of the population’s desire for a good life: a pretty home, a good car, a good job, a nice yard; good schools for the children.’ Lahav said from the temporary home she shares with her daughter Lotus, a new three-bedroom apartment on the fifth floor of a residential project in Kiryat Gat where many Nir Oz survivors have relocated to. ‘After October 7, I realized I was wrong. Just as the Israeli government represents Israelis, Hamas represents the people of Gaza.’”

This is only one testimony. There are many. The idea of Jews making peace with those who have a religious conviction that Jews are blood sucking vampires who have falsely claimed a land that belongs to them (the Palestinian Arabs) makes no logical sense. 

But how will the Jews rise to become a light to the nations? Can they ever become a light when they are bowing their own knees to America and giving away that which belongs to the Creator of the Universe to those who have no respect for that One who made His Covenant with Israel and His People? Why do we keep trying to please the nations? Is there no faith in the G-d of Israel anymore? Have our politicians no respect for the promises made to our forefathers? We keep selling out to those who have no respect for us over and over again.

We gave away the Temple Mount which belongs to our G-d. How did we dare? And we will pay with blood to get it back. We gave away Gaza, which was not ours to give and look at what has happened? Perhaps we could calculate the cost in lives and money over the years, let alone the fact that the Gazans took that paradise that we turned over to them in 2005 and turned it into a garbage heap run by slum lords named Hamas. Now what do we expect will happen with Judea and Samaria? How in Heaven’s Name did anybody let those crooked politicians give our land away? And now, only by G-d’s coming alongside will we ever get it back, let alone have a nation of our own. And how will we get Heaven to listen to us now? Does G-d even believe us anymore?

No, it boils my blood to listen to long-time Israelis and Jews from America and England spout off with their liberal rant about learning to be more peace loving, about helping the poor hungry Gazans. Better they get out of Dodge!–Better they leave before the same thing that happened to Be’eri happens to the towns in the North. After all, Hezbollah has a lot more rockets than Hamas in Gaza ever dreamed of having. 

One thing is clear, this war is separating between those who believe in Israel as the land of the Jewish people and those who do not. There are a lot of other issues that are revealing who is who, if you will, separating the “sheep from the wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

There is one way only to gain the respect of the nations and to become a light to the world. The world stands in awe of power. When they see a warrior who is invincible they applaud. When they see that people cannot “mess with Texas”, so to speak, they respect. Now may Israel rise to “the brightness of our calling”, there should be no weakness shown in dealing with murderers and rapists. There is no room to accommodate those who support those who are bent on doing evil. 

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Isa 60:1-3 

עם הנצח ינצח

May we see a better day for the Land of Israel! Standing together we will win. 

Ariella Golani

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