Eitan Halevy

Substantive Discussion/Debate (or lack thereof)

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:48:15 GMT

This is probably a bit exaggerated. I'm writing out of frustration.
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I've noticed a trend about most public 'discussions' which go on these days about pretty much any issue. The trend is to debate meta-issues instead of the real issues. For instance, both sides will claim to be 'democratic' (or some other 3rd thing which everyone agrees, in principle, is good), and then the two sides will argue whether the proposal is democratic or not, but never actually discuss the merits and de-merits of the proposal itself. In other words, the question 'will it work,' or 'is it right,' is rarely asked by either side of the debate, and if it is asked, only time for a facile, sound-byte response is allowed before the other side starts with ad-hominym attacks because they are probably not prepared to engage in a real discussion.

One good way to sideline the real issue, that being why you think the substantive position the other person holds is incorrect, is to claim it to be a 'rights issue.' In my opinion, the abortion debate in the US (whichever side you take), has been hijacked by the question of whether the issue conforms to the constitution's idea of rights or not. The thing is, the answer will depend on the substance of what one believes about the issue. But instead of engaging in discussion about that, both sides dig down in hyperbole and epithets and wave the constitution as a flag to rally around.

In issues surrounding Israel, at least within the Jewish community, 'Zionism' is often used the same way. Forget which position is actually correct. Which one of us can lay claim to being 'Zionist?' I find that this tactic is particularly misused by J-street (and the like) who spend a lot of energy convincing us that they are, in fact, Zionists, but not a lot of time convincing us why their positions are correct. It becomes a rights issue: that they are free to voice their opinion, that they are excluded from the majority club, etc. Then both sides argue about whether they can and/or should be excluded. Nobody even mentions the real, substantive arguments, because the whole thing has devolved into a 'rights' debate, a debate about freedom of speech within a community (which if anything suffers from too much of it!), instead of the messages both sides really want to communicate.

I long for the day when someone will argue with me, not by saying that I'm saying/doing something 'offensive,' or something 'left-wing' or 'right-wing,' or 'un-democratic,' but just tell me I'm doing the 'wrong' thing, and then trying to convince me why with real arguments.

Hallel, Elul, Vision, Teshuvah

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:16:40 GMT

NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN YESTERDAY MORNING
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BS”D, Elul 5769

It's Elul, the month of Teshuvah; the month of returning to the light, to the source. And I can't help but think how appropriate it is that in this month my son gets his sight, or gets back literally what he lost metaphorically at birth. We say a baby learns the entire Torah in the womb/heaven with an angel before he is born, and forgets it upon entering the world. Life is then a process of remembering that which we already, on some level, know to be true. Hallel was born with severe cataracts, which blocked out all but the brightest flashes of light from his eyes. Two days ago he had surgery to remove one cataract, and yesterday we 'unveiled' the eye from it's bandages, letting undifferentiated light and color flood in for the first time in his life. Today we will go pick up his glasses, with a +20 prescription, and his world will become differentiated into distinct shapes and patterns. He will truly see his Abba (father) and Ima (mother) for the first time, the hairs of my beard, the texture of his mother's skin. It will be shocking and wonderful, but two dimensional. Next week he will, BE”H, have surgery on the other eye, and the next day be granted the gift of depth perception, a three dimensional world.

I can only hope that the process Hallel is going through reflects what I, and all Am Yisrael is going through on some level. May we all be blessed to have our eyes opened and enlightened, to have Truth made clear, real, seen. May we all be blessed to come back to the knowledge we had before we were created, when we sat with Truth and beauty with nothing hidden, and may we do so with the humility and joy of a child.

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Post Script: Last night we got his glasses. :)

This video is when he first opened his eyes after the surgery.

Baby with glasses!

Fatherhood, health-care, traveling to the US

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:39:54 GMT

In response to reader demands (read: Mom), I bring you more musings on fatherhood.

It's fun watching Hallel grow and develop. He's figured out more advanced ways to identify a breast than sucking and waiting to see if milk comes out. He can now identify his mother's voice, smell, and the look of the desired body part. He now knows that Abba (Daddy) does not provide milk, and rejects my finger out of hand when he is truly hungry.

Other than that, we have been having adventures with the medical establishment. Getting vaccines, going to doctors, getting things checked out. Apparently not going to a hospital during or immediately after the birth means you have to make a gazillion separate appointments to get the kid screened for all the things they normally do at the hospital. Well worth it. As far as I'm concerned, hospitals are for sick people and are to be avoided unless you have no choice.

The medical system for babies is strange here. There are essentially two, overlapping but not entirely redundant systems. Before everybody in the state was covered by the national health-care plan, the state had a program called 'Tipat-Chalav' which provided medical care for babies. It was a great system, and made sure that all babies got vaccinated and screened for serious problems, even if they had no insurance and couldn't normally afford health-care. Since the introduction of the sal-ha'briut (national health basket), doctor visits are free for all citizens. But, the individual health-care providers don't want to take the responsibilities of Tipat-Chalav onto their books, so they only provide doctor visits, and make you go to Tipat-Chalav for weighing/measuring, vaccinations, etc. So, we have monthly appointments with Tipat-Chalav to get shots (for the first year), and we have check-up appointments with the doctor through our national insurance at the normal times (1 month, 2 months, 6 months). In theory I don't have a problem with all this medical care, but I don't think they could make it less convenient if they tried...

B"H, so far he's healthy as a little, tiny horse.

Also, we're planning a trip to the states for the first few weeks of August. I am intently looking forward to travelling for a day and a half with an infant... We'll be stopping in NYC, Denver, and Tampa/St. Petersberg (Florida). If you're in any of those places and want to meet up, please let me know!
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B'ahavah,
-Eitan

Israeli National Consensus

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:12:59 GMT

One of the most common questions I'm asked by people abroad (outside Israel) is what the mood is like in Israel. I would say that this article, by Barry Rubin, pretty much captures what most Israelis are thinking and feeling. I think the essence of the mood can be captured in this quotation:

"This new posture is not one of desperately asserting Israel's yearning for peace but rather saying: We're serious, we're ready, we're not suckers but we're not unreasonable either. We want peace on real terms, not just more unilateral concessions and higher risk without reward. Not experimenting with our survival to please others. Not some illusory celebration of a two-state solution for a week and then watching it produce another century of violence."

And in this one:

"A second notion this new paradigm rejects is the argument that either Israel is so strong that it can give without receiving or so weak that it must do so. Equally wrong is the notion that time is against Israel, a strong and vibrant society surrounded by weak and disorganized neighbors. The strategic situation has dramatically improved over the decades. It is a strong, confident society visibly meeting the challenge of the modern economic and technical environment."

To re-phrase into my own language: We're ready to make REAL peace when our neighbors are willing to make reasonable compromises and recognize our right to exist, ending all hostilities. We're not suckers, but we're not unreasonable. If our enemies are not willing to do what it takes, screw 'em. Time is on our side, and we're doing just fine.

Tariffs for Judea+Samaria Products, Peace Now, etc.

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:36:42 GMT

Settlers to be reimbursed for EU tariffs

MY RUNNING COMMENTARY IS IN BRACKETS, [like this]

The government plans to pay settler farmers and business owners NIS 32 million to compensate them for the tariffs they pay to export their goods to the European Union, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

According to Peace Now, which released a detailed report this week on state spending over the pre-1967 Armistice Line, this is just a small fraction of the approximately NIS 2 billion the state intends to spend on settlements over the next two years.

[500 million dollars=2 billion NIS, is not a lot of money to support the infrastructure of a quarter of a million people. Roads have to be maintained, water pipes, garbage collection, payment for bureaucrats who run all those things, etc. The number is reasonable even without any "expansion"]

Under a free-trade understanding with the European Union, Israeli business owners are exempt from tariffs on exports, most agriculture products will soon be tariff-free as well.

Israel's practice of stamping goods with a label that allows the EU to determine their origin enables the EU to apply the free-trade deal only to those products which come from within the pre-1967 line. Products from the settlements are charged the regular tariff.

According to Peace Now, the NIS 32m. set aside by the state in the 2009/10 draft budget is just part of NIS 1b. that is clearly marked for settlement activity and for projects in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.

[East Jerusalem is not a settlement. It's a full and complete, legal part of the state of Israel. Most of the 250,000+ 'settlers' live in this area]

But it is likely that the full amount the government plans to spend over the Green Line exceeds NIS 2b., Hagit Ofran of Peace Now told The Jerusalem Post. She said this ran counter to Israel's obligation to freeze settlement activity.

[Why is the Green Line the sacred cow of this conflict? It's the armistice line in one conflict started by the Arabs. What makes the armistice line of later conflicts started by the Arabs irrelevant? If Jordan can take over the West Bank (which according to the UN partition plan was supposed to be part of the independent Palestinian state) in a war of aggression, and have it be recognized as theirs, why can't Israel take it in a war of defense and have it be ours? The double standards here are too many to number.]

Initial queries by the Post to a number of ministries yielded no information regarding funding for Judea and Samaria.

The Finance Ministry explained that funds earmarked for Judea and Samaria were scattered throughout the various ministries and were not clearly marked in one category in the state budget, which is posted on its Web site.

Queries to other ministries, including Housing, Interior, Infrastructure and Transportation received no responses by press time.

But in talking about the settlements, officials including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have clearly stated the government supports the rights of the settlers to live normal lives.

Although the US has asked Israel to freeze settlement activity, one of the larger budget items is NIS 280m. for a section of Route 1, by the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement, as it heads down to the Dead Sea.

[Ma'aleh Adumim is one of the 'large settlement blocks' which pretty much everyone agrees will remain part of Israel in any 'final status' deal. Even according to Leftist logic, why not continue to give them roads?]

As previously reported in the Post, some NIS 150m. is included in the draft budget for infrastructure work around already completed apartments in the "07" neighborhood of Ma'aleh Adumim.

Another NIS 80m. would be spent on a road to connect the Jewish northeast Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev to the Begin Highway.

The US has harshly criticized Israel for construction work in east Jerusalem, but Israel has maintained that since Israeli law applies there, and it is considered part of Israel, there were no plans to restrict building in the capital.

[We offered the Palestinians E. Jerusalem in 2000. They rejected it. Screw 'em. Whatever they get in the end (if anything) has to be less than what we offered them in 2000, before another 10 years of terror, missiles, intransigence and hate. We cannot and have no reason to reward such behavior.]

In addition, some NIS 200m. has been included for marketing of 1,210 apartments in the southeast Jerusalem Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa, of which 970 have yet to gain approval.

Also, some NIS 54m. have been budgeted in the Construction and Housing Ministry for protection of Jewish residents in a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem, according to Peace Now.

[Terrible how Jews are allowed to live in Arab neighborhoods huh? And how the government actually defends them from those who would harm them? One would almost think this was a free country where people can live wherever they want!]

Under the Defense Ministry budget, Ofran said, there is some 160m. set aside for bulletproof buses. Although she acknowledged that security was important, she said that if the settlements did not exist, the state could spend that money elsewhere.

[Yeah, like on rocket shelters in Tel Aviv.]

Still, Peace Now did not list as part of its initial NIS 1b. the close to NIS 200m. to be spent for police and the half million spent on disengagement-related issues such as resettling the evacuees who were pulled out of Gaza in 2005.

[And that sum was not NEARLY enough for the ~7,000 Jewish residents of Gaza taken out of their homes. Many of them still are living in temporary situations. Although the expulsion itself was handled quite well, the aftermath was a disaster which the state has proven itself incapable of solving. Imagine trying to do the same thing with the 50,000-100,000 Jews living on the 'wrong side' of the security barrier today (including myself?), who are not only a large population, but much more radical than the pragmatists in Gaza.]

Abba-hood

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:52:24 GMT

OTHER: So, what's it like to be a parent?
ME: Well, before there was no baby, and now there is one.

That pretty much sums it up. But for those of you who appreciate my long-winded prose despite my best Dickensian attempts to make them boring, I'll go on. My parents are here for a few weeks, my mother for a whole month, which is just the most wonderful thing imaginable. It's truly a win/win. My parents get to shep endless nachas from their grandson, and at the same time help ease the transition to parenthood for me and Daniella. I am so grateful for my wonderful family, more and more as time goes on.

Watching Hallel (the baby) change day by day is astonishing. In his two-plus weeks of life he's substantially filled out into his newborn sized clothes, which used to hang around him with his tiny body floating somewhere in the midst of all that cloth. Every day brings a new ability, a new set of neurons firing, organizing, making sense of the world. A few days ago he started focusing on and following objects with his eyes, a day or two later he had his first interaction with a toy, grabbing it and bringing it to his mouth. His eyes have clarified into a deep blue, and the dark, substantial hair he was born with shows no sign of falling out and giving way to fine, peach-fuzz--as the baby books say it should.

What should happen with a baby is another interesting topic. Everyone who has ever reproduced seems to be an expert on baby-care. But I suggest that more information sharing is needed in the field, as everyone has different advice! My parents and Daniella took Hallel with them to the Shuk (market) in Jerusalem yesterday, and were assailed by conflicting 'advice:' He's too hot. He's too cold. Cover him up. Uncover him. He's too young to be in the sun. etc. I don't know if this happens to the same extent in the US, but it seems that here, the whole country feels like the kids annoying relative who needs to tell the new parents how to do things right. I'm sure they all have the purist of intentions. So I'll try to take everyone's 'advice' as what it is, that is, a somewhat misguided sign of caring for the extended Jewish family.

If there's one thing I've learned through watching this pregnancy, birth, and the growth of Hallel, it's that the received wisdom on all these topics is highly suspect. Here are a few pearls of what I've learned so far. I make no pretense of originality or infallibility:
1. All sorts of random stuff goes on in a pregnant woman's body which doctors have no explanation for, and can't do anything about. (That's not to say you shouldn't make use of the knowledge and expertise they DO have.)
2. Hospitals are for sick people. Avoid them if you can, even--perhaps especially--during pregnancy/birth. We haven't been to one yet and are only better off for it.
3. Due dates are a guestimation (guess+estimation) based on an imaginary number. Best to ignore them.
4. Birth is not necessarily a traumatic experience, for anyone involved.
5. Real world experience always trumps textbook wisdom. Internet forums on actual experiences are often better sources of information than medical or child-rearing books and sites.
6. No matter how much knowledge you gather, you will learn to raise a child by doing, as with any art. The best way to learn is from a master artist, not a text.
7. When it comes to taking care of a baby, there are a gazillion options which are just fine, and a couple which are not. Which is which is mostly common sense.

Birth Story!

Sun, 31 May 2009 07:46:14 GMT

My wonderful wife's description of the birth. :)

Baby!

Thu, 28 May 2009 12:07:11 GMT

BS"D

Baruch Hasem!!! I'm an abba (father)! Daniella gave birth this morning in a lightning fast labor to a beautiful baby boy! He's a bit small, as he came a couple of weeks early, but he's nice and healthy, and we're home at my in laws' for Shavuot and Shabbat.
---
Chag Sameach!
-Eitan

Growing Plants and Planting Babies

Thu, 21 May 2009 13:43:32 GMT

My life has been largely concerned with growing things lately. Daniella (my wife) is quickly approaching the due date. In the last week the baby turned it's head down and dropped down into the pelvis, Daniella started experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions ('false' labor), and she suddenly awakened with a burst of energy saying, "Hello world. You need to be cleaned thoroughly!" Though, since she can hardly walk, let alone scrub the floor, it's fallen to me to apply the elbow grease. Not that I'm complaining, of course. In short, fatherhood is suddenly feeling much more imminent.

For the last couple of months I've been doing some gardening for the first time in my life, unless you count helping my mother pick weeds when I was a little boy. I've been planting seeds, watering them meticulously, watching and tracking their growth. Every time I plant a seed, I despair that it will never come up and that I must have done something wrong. Each day that I fail to see a sprout is proof of my failure. So far, as of this morning, every seed I've planted here has sprouted (as opposed to an abortive attempt to plant Kale at our old caravan in Bat Ayin a few months prior, where I plucked most of the sprouting Kale thinking it to be a weed). It's an amazing process to watch a plant, nourished by your hand, develop. This morning a hot pepper plant was just peeking a tiny bit of green above the dirt. I watered it and went back inside. About two hours later I found it had risen about an inch and spread two little leaves!

They say farmers need the most emunah (faith). You plant a seed, you wait, you water, you pray. How anyone could ever plant a seed and watch it grow, then not believe in G-d is beyond me. I guess the same can be said for parenthood. You are entering into the unknown, committing your life to a person who does not even exist yet. You water, you wait, you pray, and you hope everything comes out for the best.

It occurs to me that Western society is largely removed from the process of creating life. Most people don't have a lot of children around. Many in my generation have one or two children, and those relatively late in life, or none at all. At the same time, most live in large urban centers, where their gardening experience never surpasses the occasional potted plant on the window sill. It makes me wonder about some of the societal maladies we see around us, the ideological grandness coupled with ego-centrism and narcissism which I consider characteristic of many in my generation.

The other major content of my life these days is the tour-guiding course I'm taking. The course encompasses an impressive amount and breadth of material. I feel like yediat haaretz (knowledge of the land) is being poured down my open gullet. Every week I get to see another part of the country, learn it's secrets from the ground up (literally), walk it's paths, smell it's flowers, and envision my biblical ancestors roaming the same places. Anyone who would like an unofficial tour please let me know. Of course I can't 'charge' you yet, since I'm not a licensed tour-guide, but I wouldn't refuse payment either.

On another note, tonight starts Jerusalem Day, celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli control in 1967. As a Religious-Zionist this is not only a national holiday, but also an important religious holiday. It also happens to be one of my favorites. To think that after 2000 years of Jerusalem being in the hands of gentiles, the Jewish nation rose from the ashes of the Holocaust, won a war against all odds (several, actually), and reunified Jerusalem as the capital of a Jewish state!

Outreach... ?

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:54:53 GMT

In case anyone was wondering, yes, we did get a Mishloach Manot (food basket) from our neighbor Avigdor Lieberman for Purim. Unfortunately it was not personally delivered. Lame.

On to something completely different: I read two articles this morning about different groups trying to get young Jews involved in... er... each other? One was a Purim party at Berkeley run by the local Hillel, which was basically a big, secular costume/dance party. The invitation had a picture of a young married religious couple and implied that this outcome was frightening, so come have fun instead. Yeah... The other was an article about a European company which runs snazzy getaway weekends and parties and whatnot for European Jews (Absolut-Events). Essentially they're all doing the same thing. They are trying to get young, secular Jews involved, not so much in Judaism as in other Jews, providing a context for them to meet, grind up against, and otherwise interact with other young, secular Jews.

My question is, is this a good route to go? Is it consistent with our (read: 'my') views as religious Jews to embrace secular culture in order to snare young Jews into sexual/romantic/social relationships with other Jewish people? Obviously these events are self-selecting and the participants know what they're getting into, so there's no issue of deception involved. The issue is whether it is moral for us to promote a lifestyle we disapprove of (to put it mildly) in order to achieve a secondary goal which we desire. I think the question really depends on what one's goals are. Is the mere SURVIVAL of Jewish people, marrying within the fold, making Jewish babies, etc., a goal in-and-of itself? Is it even a value? If we encourage people to engage their 'Judaism' in this way, will it bring them closer to actual Judaism, or will it give them a secular replacement for real Judaism, allowing them to be comfortable 'just the way they are?' I have the same difficulty with Reform Judaism. Does it have value as something which maintains some Jewish connection for people who would otherwise have none, or does it have negative value as an institution which teaches people that it's OK to be Jewish and not follow Halachah and confuses Jewish identity by recognizing patrilineal descent?

I don't really have a conclusion. The method certainly makes me uncomfortable. It reminds me of the Birthright trip I was on 5 years ago. It was obvious that one main goal of the trip was for the participants to 'socialize' and... ahem... whatever... with each other, as they continually placed us in social situations which lent themselves to such behavior. Even at the time, though I was not yet so opposed to such behavior, I was uncomfortable with the reductionist approach to keeping people Jewish, to 'strengthening Jewish identity,' by throwing a bunch of young, horny Jews together and hoping they couple. But then again, I guess I'm one of those black sheep who didn't become frum for chullent or nostalgia or 'because the people are so nice,' (which isn't really all that true anyways, at least not as a rule), or because of 'The Rebbe,' but as part of a search for Truth. Perhaps it's just intellectual elitism to look down my nose at others who are attracted to Judaism by less, umm, intellectual means?

G-d: Don't get too comfortable...

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:54:09 GMT

I think Hashem doesn't want me to get too comfortable, too secure in my abilities to take care of myself. No sooner had we successfully moved into our new, beautiful home than the problems started. At first we still didn't have a stove-top, but that was supposed to come in a day or two, but then there was a problem, and another problem, and now we have the stove-top but still no gas with which to use it. Then the phone line+internet was supposed to be an easy, instantaneous switch from the old place to here, but that didn't work. Now we're still without a land-line and anything resembling regular internet service (I am typing this offline, hoping to post it during one of the random times we are able to pick up and piggy-back on a neighbor's wifi signal). A few nights ago our car was stolen (see my previous entry). And last night we arrived home after voting during a big rainstorm to find many leaks of water into the house, ending with water getting into the electric box and us having to turn off power to the entire house. This morning we managed to get the power back on, after some difficulty, and the contractor and electrician are both scheduled to come at some point during the day. It seems that everything in the fridge/freezer survived the night. B"H, we have nice, responsible landlords, who are taking care of the problems with the building. This was the first big rain around here since the place was finished, so we can cut THEM some slack, but not the contractor. I think water-proofing a house is sort-of an important thing for a contractor to take care of. So, this morning, being without electricity and without gas, I walked downstairs to our landlords' house with a cup with turkish coffee and sugar in it, asked for hot-water, then told them what was going on since last night.

Lesson: So, what am I supposed to be learning from this? Nothing happens to us randomly, and every challenge is meant to teach us something. It seems to me that perhaps the lesson of these challenges is not to be too comfortable in our man-made comfort, not to think that we can insulate ourselves from the power of chance which only G-d can control. Perhaps the lightning and thunder storm last night was meant to highlight this, the blessing for hearing thunder being "Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, whose power and strength fill the world." Perhaps the lesson is one of humility, so that we not say, 'By my hand was all this done.' I try to think of how, in the grand scheme, these challenges are so small, so trivial. We still have a nice home, money for the things we need, our health, a baby on the way, etc. These are really all, in different measure, things we can live without (in the case of electricity, at least for a few hours at a time), and all temporary--in different measure--inconveniences which will pass. I hope that when we solve these problems, I can continue to carry with me the lesson of our precarious dependence on Divine Will, and remain conscious of all these things as gifts which I have no entitlement to, except by the kindness of the Creator.

Election Day!

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:52:48 GMT

I haven't been writing much about the election, but here are my last minute thoughts. I started out with essentially four parties to choose from.

Ichud Haleumi (National Union): REJECTED on ideological grounds. I agree with them about keeping the Land of Israel, but it's their only issue. They are one-issue demagogues, with no practical plan for the future. They don't even have positions, let alone coherent ones, on many other issues I care about.

Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home): ACCEPTABLE. I pretty much agree with their entire platform, except that they don't support electoral reform, which would harm them as a small party. The problem is that they have failed in the past to stand up for their ideals at crucial moments. Can I trust them, even thought they're the only real, ideological, dati-leumi (religious-zionist) party?

Likud: ???. I hate the Likud. I hate Bibi (Netanyahu, the party leader). I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. The main person in the party whom I liked, Feiglin, they managed to engineer moving unrealistically far down the list. On the other hand, they are, nominally, right wing. Is it better to have a right wing party in power whom you dislike than a middle-left party (Kadima) which you despise more? Or is it better to vote your conscience and hope that the party you vote for will be in a coalition with the winner and be able to influence them towards the good?

Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel, Our Home): REJECTED on ideological/tactical grounds. I like Lieberman, and believe in a basic standard for citizenship of any country (not being committed to it's destruction seems like a good start!). I'm OK with his plan for dividing the country (even though I don't want to give away one inch of Yehudah/Shomron) because it's not practicable, but it moves in the right direction. However, it's a secular party, which supports things I cannot support, such as civil marriage. Since they are not going to win in any case, I am not going to vote for a 'small' party that I don't entirely agree with.

In the end it comes down to Likud or Habayit Hayehudi, and I'm pretty much decided to vote my conscience (Habayit Hayehudi). Likud sucks. Kadima sucks. Labor doesn't stand a chance (thank G-d!). I'm not a political scientist. I don't know what needs to be done to fix the OBVIOUSLY broken electoral system here. I don't know which, if any vote I make may make a difference in that area, as none of the parties are really addressing that issue. So in the end I'm voting for the party that supports what I want: Jews able to live freely in the entire Land of Israel, educational reform & additional funds for religious education, social conscience (expanded health basket, unemployment, aliyah-benefits, affordable housing, etc.), no civil marriage, religious people serving in the army.

The state of Israel is deeply flawed. No question. We are not yet in the Messianic age, and have to deal with all sorts of garbage. But, I still believe in R' Kook's vision that the state is an indispensable step toward the final redemption. Whatever state it may be in, such is the state of Am Yisrael (the Jewish people), and we can only fix it by participating in it. Opting out is not an option. If R' Kook could be optimistic at a time when some Jewish leaders were essentially supporting the British occupation of the Land of Israel, turning away Jewish refugees, sinking ships of rival Jewish factions, etc., when the situation for Jews all over the world was increasingly dangerous, then I can certainly be hopeful today. In fact, with just a pinch of historical perspective, it becomes clear that Am Yisrael, and in fact the state of Israel, is in a much better position than it has been for since the destruction of the Temple. If we allow ourselves to be myopic and selfish, to focus only on our own, personal suffering, to divide the Am (people) into so many sections of "us" and "them" then WE are dooming the mission of divine redemption for the entire world to failure. WE are the ones giving up on the ultimate redemption. We cannot control anything except our 4 amot (the four feet around us). We control our hands, our feet, etc. I refuse to slip into the galut (exilic) mentality of victimization. We control our own destiny, and we must take responsibility for it.

So, for those of you with the right to do so, GO VOTE!!! If you don't, you will have no-one to blame but yourself when the next government turns out to be or do something you don't like.

Gam zeh l'tovah. / This too is for the good.

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:11:21 GMT

BS"D

So, our car was stolen last night from a trendy Jerusalem neighborhood while we were out for dinner. This is relatively common in Israel, where large numbers of cars are stolen by West Bank Arabs, driven to Bethlehem or Ramallah, and dismembered in massive chop-shops and sold for parts. Given the poor state of our old car we only had '3rd party' insurance, meaning that the theft is not covered. In other words, it's gone. I mean, who would steal an old beater like our 1995 Mazda, with dents all down the side and the grate missing from the front? I hope the jerks started kicking themselves when they found parts of the engine held together by duct-tape.

To be honest, I don't really find the whole thing that upsetting. What's done is done, and now we'll figure out how to make it here--our new home in Noqdim--without a car. I was more upset by Daniella being upset than by the missing car. It was annoying having to go to the police station and then tremp (that is, hitch-hike) home, but it's not bad. We got home within an hour, and that late at night with relatively few cars going by. G-d sent us a kind man who drove 5 minutes out of his way to drop us inside the protected (from arabs) gate of our town. Many of our friends who live in the area do just fine without cars, and so will we unless/until we manage to get another one. It's just a thing, and one we can live without. In fact, for now it knocks our second biggest expense (after rent) off our list, which is not at all a bad thing.

The question is just figuring out how to get the things done that we need to. The only thing I can't figure out is how I'm going to get to the far-side of Jerusalem, for a day of touring with my tour-guiding course, by 6:30 on Sunday morning. There aren't many rides going by at that time (I would have to start around 5:15AM at the latest), and the first bus is several hours too late. I guess we'll need to spend the night somewhere in Jerusalem. The question is where?
---
Gam zeh l'tovah,
G-d bless.

Don't Vote 'Strategically!'

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:34:30 GMT

A fashion has developed here for people to vote 'strategically' rather than based on their actual preference. This skews the entire democratic process, and ends up making an even more cynical, dysfunctional system. This article explains the issue better than I could. Please read!

Internet Speed

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 05:33:40 GMT

http://www.speedtest.net][IMG]http://www.speedtest.net/result/401897854.png

Meme

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:47:13 GMT

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? In Hebrew I am named after three of my four great grandfathers (the three that were dead when I was born. In English, I am loosely named after my great grandfather Egon.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Recently.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sure. It works, and it's like a secret code because only I can read it!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Peppered pastrami.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? G-d willin in June!!!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Well, that would depend very much on who I was.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? I try not to, and usually succeed.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Does oatmeal count?

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Always.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Either Rocky Road or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Uhh, hair? Face?

15. RED OR PINK? Red.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My thick skull.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?? No

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Brown.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Nothing.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Sky blue.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Clean.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Ohad.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO POSTED THIS NOTE? I remember him fondly.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Used to be football. Now, none.

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown.

28. EYE COLOR? Hazel (brown in the middle, green as they go out from the center).

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. Reading glasses.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Steak.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I do not watch scary movies.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Wall-E.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Brown-beige plaid.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate souffle... mmm....

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? My wife. :)

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? 'The Omnivore's Dilemma'
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Laser mouse needs no mouse-pad!

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? I don't have a TV, and that's the way I like it.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)? My wife's voice, or music. (My wife's voice making music!)

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hahah. India? Russia? Israel? Take your pick.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Several. :D

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? A birthing-home in Topeka, KS, USA.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Not expecting any.

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFIGANT OTHER? Livejournal, B"H.

Upcoming Elections! My vote.

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:14:50 GMT

Here is a wonderful summary of the positions of the party I'm probably going to vote for.

There were only two things listed here which I had trouble with, and reading the 'text' under them assuaged my discomfort. One issue had to do with 'raising taxes on the wealthy,' which the site says the party agrees with. However, the text they quoted only spoke of tax relief for the poor, not particularly of any sort of 'wealth redistribution' type tax system. Poor people here need all their money. The low-paying jobs here are barely enough to survive on, and every percentage point taken in taxes is taking food from the mouths of babes.

The other issue had to do with freedom of speech. The site says that Habayit Hayehudi (the party, name=The Jewish Home) says that freedom of speech should not be protected when it goes against the state. Reading the details, that is not an accurate reflection of the party's position. They want to exclude parliamentarians who actively collude with the enemy in a time of war. They do not propose making it illegal to criticize the state, even in the most vociferous and unreasonable ways.

It may be hard for some Americans who read the party platform to understand it, as according to American politics it would be a bit bipolar. But here, there is no contradiction between supporting green-policies and social welfar, and simultaneously being hawkish on defense issues. From a religious-Zionist perspective, both are expressions of caring for the citizens of your country, and jealously guarding their rights and safety, as well as expressions of Jewish values. We have many commandments, from, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' to 'If someone comes to kill you, kill him first.' We do not believe that the two are contradictory, but that they apply in different situations.

Ultrasound #2

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:21:09 GMT

Hamas

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:53:19 GMT

A Western Muslim's Perspective on Palestinian Society

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:48:29 GMT

Two articles from Irshad Manji, the writer of "The trouble with Islam Today." Worthwhile reads for anybody, no matter what your political persuasion.

First Article

Second Article

Hat tip to my friend Ariella Wills, for bringing these to my attention.

Bereaved Friendly-Fire Families Embrace Soldiers Who Mis-Fired

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:31:34 GMT

I have rarely read anything that made me so proud to be a part of Am Yisrael. This is why we are the eternal people (עם הנצח). This is why we will survive, and why we will win, and how we will bring the sanctification of G!d's name to the world, bringing the divine presence to dwell, once again, in Jerusalem. It will not be through our-necessary-hatred for our enemies, but through our love for each other and all creation. I'm not to0 macho to admit, this article made cry like a baby.

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) Four IDF soldiers were killed by friendly fire in two incidents in Gaza last Monday – and the parents of some of them want to embrace their comrades who accidentally killed them.

Over the weekend, with the seven-day mourning period drawing to a close, the parents of St.-Sgt. Nitai Stern and Capt. Yoni Netanel sent messages to the soldiers whose fire accidentally killed their sons.

On Friday, Rabbi Amos Netanael and his wife Malki phoned two of the tank crew members who fired on a building in which the soldiers were taking refuge. In addition, they wrote them a letter full of love and encouragement:

“Dear tank crew #... of Company …. of Regiment …, who are fighting night and day with valor and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation and land.

"We know that our son Yoni fell as part of the great military campaign at the hands of our own forces. We feel a deep inner need to tell you, with all of our life-strengths, that we love you and embrace you tightly.

“Fatal friendly fire incidents are an unavoidable part of every war and of our ability to defeat the enemy on the battlefield. Yoni went out to war knowing this, and we, his parents, sent him off to war knowing this as well.

“It was not you who hit Yoni!

“Yoni died for the Sanctification of G-d’s Name at the time that G-d decided his time on earth had reached its end. You were the pure angels who had to carry this out.

“We find comfort in the fact that your pure hands struck at him, and not the defiled hands of our wicked enemy – for Yoni could not have been felled by any impure hand.

“It is important for us to tell you that we love you with all the warmth of our hearts, you are like our own children… Please, we ask you, keep up the same great spirit that beat in Yoni’s heart – the spirit of faith, of strength, daring and love, and we will then know that Yoni continues to live forever within you.”

The letter concludes with a request that they come to visit “so that we can embrace you,” and was signed by Yoni’s parents, his wife Tziona, and their 3-month-old daughter Maayan.

The parents of Nitai Stern are similarly concerned for the soldiers who caused their son’s death. “We have an obligation and the privilege to embrace them,” said his mother Sarah. “There is no war without mishaps like this. We want them to come to us and be part of us. We lost a son, and I won’t let any additional mothers lose their own sons to depression or sadness.”

Original Source

Stop the British Atrocities

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:03:11 GMT

Dateline: January 3rd 1944

Fury continues to mount worldwide about the senseless loss of civilian life in Germany caused by England's callous bombing of German cities including Berlin, Hamburg and Dresden.

As of today many innocent German women and children have died in these utterly brutal bombing missions. And now there are ground offensives starting on mainland Europe.

The English have claimed that they are merely retaliating against the V-1 flying bombs being launched indiscriminately by Nazis at their civilian population in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry and other cities. The English point out that their enemy is sworn to its utter destruction and has used the missiles and flying bombs against its civilians without any regard to English loss of life. Moreover it makes the case that their own bombing missions are specifically directed to military targets that the German army has intentionally planted in the heart of civilian populations to try and deter English counter-attacks.

These points may of course be true - but they are utterly besides the point.

Of course England has a right to exist. Of course England has a right to defend itself. But it should ensure that its responses are PROPORTIONATE.

Since many more Germans are dying than English - the English should either tone down the success and accuracy of their bombing - or allow the Germans to catch up on the death count.

To be honest - if more English women and children were dying - we wouldn't feel quite so bad about the number of Germans dying. But it's just so UNFAIR that more Germans are dying...

Perhaps some English people could arrange to kill themselves to match the number of Germans dying as a result of the English retaliation bombing? It would be so considerate - and it might help England's critics feel less miserable about the number of Nazis dying. Something that is causing them so much concern.

It would also put paid to that wretched proportionality argument.

Alternatively, perhaps the English could arrange to be less effective in their bombing? Or only bomb military targets that are nowhere near civilians - even though the vast majority of the V-1 rockets are intentionally being launched from the heart of civilian population centers.

Now the English will argue that the Germans have INTENTIONALLY positioned all their launch pads for the V-1 rockets in the middle of civilian populations to inhibit the English from bombing those launch sites. Well - tough noogies to the Brits! Sorry - but if the Germans are smarter or more skillful at cynically using their civilians as human shields than you - tough luck!

You can't have it both ways. If you truly wish to save your nation from being annihilated by Nazi missiles you'd better stop looking to win a popularity contest. The Nazis are waging this war to win and to utterly destroy England. If all you Brits care about is popularity - then you may as well resign yourself to speaking German...

It's about time that little nations who wish to defend themselves wised up to their responsibilities.

Otherwise the same stupid complaints will be made at some point in the 21st Century when some little nation finds itself under constant attack from rockets fired at its civilian population by a terrorizing enemy that has sworn to destroy it....

Cliffs Notes To Assist the Hard-Of-Thinking

"Nature is cruel; therefore we are also entitled to be cruel. When I send the flower of German youth into the steel hail of the next war without feeling the slightest regret over the precious German blood that is being spilled, should I not also have the right to eliminate millions of an inferior race that multiplies like vermin?" - Adolf Hitler - circa 1938

"We have suffered so much that it only steels us to fanatical resolve to hate our enemies a thousand times more and to regard them for what they are destroyers of an eternal culture and annihilators of humanity. Out of this bate a holy will is born to oppose these destroyers of our existence with all the strength that God has given us and to crush them in the end." - Adolf Hitler - 24 February 1945

"I will carry on the fight until the last traces of the Jewish-Communist European hegemony have been obliterated." Adolf Hitler - 28th November 1941 to Mohammad Amin al-Husayni (The Grand Mufti) - seen in the photo at the top of this page saluting his SS buddies in 1941. Oh the ties that bind...

"We will not rest until we destroy the Zionist entity" - Hamas leader Fathi Hammad in Gaza - January 2nd 2009

"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." - Article 7 of the Hamas Covenant

See the original article here on the Huffington Post

Religion-Hating Israeli Politician Gal-On

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:12:55 GMT

So there's an article on the Jpost about Shas (a right wing, religious, Sephardi political party) handing out prayers for IDF soldiers. Meretz (left wing, ANTI-religious party) is accusing them of doing something illegal, handing out 'favors' for votes in a political campaign. It may or may not be true that they are doing anything illegal. I don't care about that. What drives me nuts about this article is what Gal-on (Meretz) says about it. She doesn't complain about the legality of the act, which would be a legitimate complaint. Instead she says, "What will save our soldiers is not dead rabbis, it's the government deciding to leave Gaza." What the heck is she talking about? First of all, it's not the pictures of the rabbis that are supposed to help. That just shows that great rabbis are supporting this prayer. It's the PRAYER that is supposed to help. She's not pissed because of legality. She's pissed because she doesn't believe in G!d or in prayer, and how dare anyone try to win voters by telling them that prayer works. They must be charlatans! It's PRAYER that infuriates Gal-On, not questionable campaign practices.

And also, what does she mean saying that the government needs to decide 'to leave Gaza?' WE DID THAT IN 2005! And yeah, it seems to have worked REALLY, REALLY WELL. What a moron.

Gaza

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:01:24 GMT

BS"D

I'm going to take it for granted here that it is obvious Israel had to do something against Hamas in Gaza. I will assume everyone reading this understands that when someone launches rockets at you continually for several years, even during a supposed 'cease fire,' you have no choice but to react. I will not bother arguing what should be obvious to any sane human being, but will let the above statements of fact stand on their own.

What I would like to point out is that we have not gone nearly far enough. If the world criticizes us for engaging in pointless violence, they actually may have a point. If our operations in gaza end with air-raids, if they leave the enemy standing and able to re-arm and continue to attack us--which Hamas will undoubtedly do if able, no matter what they say or sign, because that is their entire raison-d'etre--then this entire operation will prove to have been, retroactively, a big sound and light show, plus casualties. It will prove to have been a political gambit to garner favor for the parties in power before the upcoming elections, without in any way changing the security situation. In which case, not only the Israelis who have died in the escalated violence (4 so far), but also the innocent Palestinians who have been killed as collateral damage will have died in vain.

We can only claim moral superiority if our accidental and unfortunate but impossible to avoid killing of civilians serves a righteous purpose. If it is merely part of our internal political machinations then we are no better than them. So here's hoping that the government is actually planning to win this war, to take Hamas out, and to change the situation in Gaza for the better permanently. That may take a much greater investment both in lives and treasure (on both sides), but it is the only moral path, the only path that can justify what we have already done...

Happies of the Day

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:55:46 GMT

So, my wife has been doing a meme for the last few days, wherein she posts a list of 'happies,' on LJ every day for eight days. I refuse to do it as a meme, but I think it's a great idea, so I'm going to try it for a while, maybe not every day, but often.

Today's Happies:
-Our car continues to run perfectly despite missing a front grate and having a major pipe held together by duct-tape.
-Shabbat starts really soon, but we're all ready and can go into the Sabbath nice and relaxed.
-Daniella (my wife) looks so cute and even elegant with her little pregnant belly.
-I got to spend all day with Daniella, and will do the same for the next two days!
-My wife is happy. Which makes me happy.
-The joyous occasion for me yesterday (Dec. 25) was a friend's wedding, and I wouldn't have even known it was X-mas if I wasn't on the internet.
-Tonight=teriyaki chicken+chicken soup+yummy salad with avocado!
-I have a warm, dry place to live, in a beautiful location.
-Life is dynamic, and I'm learning to groove with that.
-Other than a little allergies, I'm totally healthy.