Hashem remember Zion & Babylon

David Here,

Whilst I am winding down for my holiday next week, I wanted to make a brief post about this one. 

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion".
Psalm Chapter 137

I have posted a little about Iraq and ISIS on this blog  & what they are doing to the  people there, specifically the minorities of Iraq; as regulars will know my mother was born an Iraqi Jew, just before we were sent packing out of that country . 

As I've noted before, there are no longer any Jews for ISIS to kill in Iraq, so they are instead focusing on Christians & now a religion called Yazidis. Christians are having their homes marked to signify  that they are Christians, others are being forced to convert or die : the Yazidis are being driven to mountains and left to starve to death. This is genocide. Yet the 'world' is silent, the UN is deafeningly so, the media hardly makes a whimper. They are too consumed with attacking Israel for 'war crimes', whilst the real war criminals, who have an identical agenda to Hamas- that is a global fundamentalist Caliphate- leave human beings to die like wild animals. This is appalling. I think we have reached one of the low ebbs of hypocrisy here .

But the west won't intervene or the UN won't go on about war crimes. There is simply isn't the will to spend time, money, effort and soldier's lives on the people of Iraq. People are sick to death of wars in foreign lands (there is a famous quote from Neville Chamberlain about that when he agreed to Munich, if someone could find it for me?).  Furthermore there is no identification with Christians or any other religion in the secular west, people simply don't identify with anyone who claims a religious label, let alone Christianity, but then the people of the west don't even seem to identify with Israel anymore, which is in effect a secular republic (the reason is of course because Israel specifically calls itself the Jewish state, which to secular ears is 'racist' and not multicultural enough). There is also, I believe,  a fear among elites of provoking another Islamic 'street' backlash against intervention in a Muslim land,whatever the nobility of the cause of intervention in Iraq. 

Final thought is that military planners will advise anyone who wishes to send a gun boat to Iraq, they could be faced with a UN or ICC war crimes trial. Why?Because what Hamas have done in Gaza, ISIS will do in Iraq. The 10,000 or so of them are basically plain clothes thugs with guns. They will simply encamp to the nearest city, fire at anything than comes into their way. In this scenario it would be difficult to target ISIS and not kill civilians. The media, the UN and anyone else you care to mention would shift the war from a humanitarian one, to 'western imperialism', 'war crimes against civilians', 'a grab for the oil', etc etc. That is why the US/UK/Europe will do SFA. It is terrible. I do not like it. 

I ask myself  What will it take for the west to take notice of  the spread of militant Islamic organisations like ISIS and tackle them ? When we have a couple of thousand armed gangs in our own streets, bullying their own community into their particular fanatical version of their religion and persecuting/killing everyone else? When  it is in Paris? London? New York? (and at least the US citizens can protect themselves, because they have the right to bear arms).  What will the west do then? 

I do not want to conclude on this note, though, for there are many practical things that people can do, such as supporting various charities involved here (I don't have a list, but if some one can up this up on the comments thread , I'd grateful). Above all, we can Daven (pray) and say Psalms in this situation, as we have done and continue to do for our own Jewish community, the IDF and Israel and see the time when : 

'Out of Zion shall go forth Torah,

and the word of the L-rd from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,

and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more.'

(Isaiah Chapter 2) 

Bring back our boys : A song

Hi All, 

Another song for us to sing at present, as shared with us by a fellow commentator in the thread below. 

A father hopes, a mother trusts, a nation unites

Our day has turned to night

A cell phone rings, panic strikes, tell me what are we to do

Hashem, our only hope is you.

Esa Einai, El He'arim, El He'arim (I lift my eyes up to the heights) 

Mei'ayin Yavo Ezri, Ezri Me'im Hashem (From where comes my help? My Help is from G-d) 

We call to you, we pray out loud in a strong voice.

Please Hashem- Bring Back our Boys.

We all hear, we all read, we can't believe

Our day has turned to night.

How insane! We feel the pain, tell us what to do?

Hashem our only hope is you.

Esa Einai, El He'arim, El He'arim

Mei'ayin Yavo Ezri, Ezri Me'im Hashem 

We call to you, we pray out loud in a strong voice.

Please Hashem- Bring Back our Boys. X3

Prayer & reflection thread

This week has of course been one of great anguish for the Jewish community across the word, with the kidnap of 3 boys from a Yeshiva in Israel (I refuse to use the term 'occupied territory' as no part of Eretz Yisrael is occupied by anything other than the legitimate rulers). When I learned about this, I could help but not hug my husband, my boys & my girl, how could any human being use another human being in this way ? I shuddered to think of them being held captive in some hell hole whilst Arabs gleefully celebrated this criminal act. Furthermore there has been more bloodshed in our ancestor's homeland of Iraq. A terrible situation, where it seems dogmatism, tribal strife and bloodletting is going to occur on a greater scale than anything yet seen as a result of Islamic Jihadist terrorism (and if I may have a dig, which is why Israel cannot afford to lay down her arms). This is the world.

There is also matters closer to home. We know that there are people who are poor, who will be struggling to feed themselves. This is true of some in the Jewish community, especially the Haredi, and outside the community, with the ever rising increase in food banks and social dislocation. Then there is your own personal circumstances ; has it been a good week? A bad one? Is there any issues that you need to deal with before the weekend? Relationships to mend, people to praise, that last bit of work to be done? Are you struggling? These are all difficult challenges, we all live in the real world. So as we enter Shabbos this week, let us do so with joy, but also remember. Our Rabbis asked that we recite (in Judaism we 'chant' the Bible) Psalms 121 and 130, when the news broke about those lads being kidnapped. Perhaps they are a good place to start as we begin our Shabbat reflections

Psalm 130

Shir hamaalot mima amakim keraticha Adonai

Adonai shima bekoli tihyena oznecha kashubot le'kol tanhanuai

Im avonot tishmor Yah Adonai mi ya'amod

Ki imcha haslicha lemaan tivare

kiviti adonai kivta nafshi velidvaro hochalti

Nafshi ladonai mishomrim laboker shomrim laboker

Yachel yisrael el adonai ki im adonai hachesed veharbeh imo fedut

Vehu yifdeh et yisrael mikol avonotav.

From the depths I have cried out to you, O L-rd;

L-rd, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my supplication.

If you, L-rd, were to mark iniquities, who, O L-rd, shall stand?

But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. I trust in the L-rd;

My soul trusts in his word.

My soul waits for the L-rd,

more than watchmen wait for the dawn.

More than watchmen wait for the dawn, let Israel hope in the L-rd.

For with the L-rd there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

A place of prayer for all nations

Further to my post below....

For the future, we should not, of course, allow these terrorist actions to go unpunished. In the same sense that the police wouldn't rest if criminals who did a bank job and held people hostage & escaped justice; then when they are caught then the law deals with them as it allows. Furthermore the police would also want to find the criminal mastermind behind this bank job and put them behind bars. Or to think of another analogy, in the same sense that the allies didn't just shoot the Fascist leadership at the end of WWII, but instead put them on trial. This is what I mean by not letting this go unpunished.

I'm not here to defend every single policy of Israel for the past 70 years, although it is worth noting that at present the Hamas (the criminal masterminds) leadership has been arrested. I can't see a problem with this myself. I'd also note that it has been Hamas and Hezbollah who have been targeted in recent campaigns. In terms of broader and long term policy, I think it is quite clear that Israel needs to take further steps to defend her own citizenary, perhaps by allowing those who've served in the IDF access to light arms and deputising these people to work alongside the regular IDF and security forces, that's just off the top of my head, but other suggestions are welcome.

I'd also opine that it is practically impossible for Israel to continue negociations whilst Hamas is part of this 'unity government'. This is a terror group whose stated aim, let us not forget, is to drive every last Jew to the Med sea and watch them drown and who would like nothing more than to establish a strict Islamic state in the whole of 'Palestine'.

Furthermore, this needs to be taken in the wider regional context. Look at the events of the past week in Iraq, with another terrorist group, who already control parts of Syria and Lebanon, who want to see the establishment of global caliphate, which claims it will do terrible things to the relatively moderate King of Jordan and his ( beautiful wife), which is even beyond the pale of Al Queada & the Mullahs of Iran, who when they are not waging war on fellow muslims are busy crucifying, stoning to death and slaughtering other minorities such as Christians and heaven help you in you are gay [NB- whilst I'm off on one, another thing I never get about the left is why they are apparently so supportive of such an illiberal ideology & do nothing but see Israel - a fellow liberal democratic state- as the wicked villain of the middle east- a sea of authoritarian, right wing, nationalist or Islamisict fundamentalist states & the whole 'support Palestine' meme].

In these circumstances Israel would be signing a death warrant or a suicide note, if it were to do what was being demanded of her in popular opinion. Funnily enough Israel has always, in principal, been prepared to sign up to a land for peace deal (obviously Jerusalem should remain in Israeli hands). The other side has not and has rebuked peace at every opportunity. There was a golden moment in the dying days of the Clinton Presidency. Who blew it?Not the Israelis.

I also wanted to put this post up in response to the (admittedly few) e-mails we've received and the many thoughts and prayers which our non-Jewish friends have communicated to us over the past 48 hours following the terrible kidnapping of three innocent children from the Jewish community in Israel. In the diaspora Jewish community and in the land of Israel, we have been praying that the 3 children who have been kidnapped by terrorists will be released unharmed, but I am grateful to those who stand by us, whenever events such as this occur and unfortunately they occur too many times in the Holy Land.

Prayer at the Kotel

Greeting from Israel,

As many of you have gathered I'm on a business trip here until Friday .(I hope to be back before Shabbos)  .  
A few thoughts whilst I am here -

1. Israel is as majestic as ever, both her people and her land. It has been great to catch up  with the family that live over here. The Israeli technology and business ethic is one of the best in the world- yet another reason to oppose these ludicrous, vicious and anti-Semitic 'boycotts' of the homeland of the Jewish people. Israel is strong, confident and secure, especially the younger people in society. Thanks to the IDF and the fact that whilst people in the west have very short memories, us Jews won't forget that previous boycotts led to persecution, pogroms & ultimately the gas chambers of the third reich. We won't let that happen again. The boycotts need to be fought wherever and whenever they spring up.

2  This morning (it is 12.30 pm here),  I visited  Jerusalem and prayed at the Kotel (the western 'wailing' wall as it is popularly known as). The Kotel is what remains of  the 2nd Holy Temple of G-d, since the Romans trashed the place circa 70 CE. The Temple is G-d's house here on earth, where her holy presence -the Schechinah- dwells [yes I said 'her' because the Hebrew is feminine and not masculine] and whilst praying  the Shema -Shema Yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai ehad  or 'Hear O Israel the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd alone', I certainly felt this divine majesty . I placed the prayer that I am my family had written before the trip into one of the cracks in the majestic stone blocs of the Kotel.  The prayer was for peace for our people and Israel, for my family and friends whom I love so much; for my wife, my children, my sisters and brothers and all my other relations, both living and departed. I prayed especially for my sister Hannah & her partner, that they will both be happy and that my sister may continue to be happy and feel the  Schechinah and  Adonai Shalom, after previously being so uncertain and unhappy in life.  I concluded my brief time at the Kotel with Psalm  23 - 

Mizmor le'David,  Hashem roei lo echsar.  Binot desheh yarbitzaini, al mei menuchot yenahaleini.  Nafshi yeshovev yancheini bemagalei tzedek lema'an shemo.  Gam ki elech be'gei tzalmavet, lo ira ra ki ata imadi, shivtecha u'mishantecha hema yenachamuni.  Ta'aroch lefanai shulchan neged tzorerai, dishanta vashemen roshi, cosi revayah.  Ach tov va'chesed yirdifuni kol yemei hayai ve'shavti be'veit Hashem lorech yamim. A Psalm of David. The L-rd is my shepherd;​ I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures:​  He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul:  He leads me in the paths of righteous​ness for his name's sake.  Thoug​h I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death,  I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:  you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows​.  Surel​y goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:  and I will dwell in the house of the L-rd for ever.  Amen, so be it truly  DK

Prayer as we enter Shabbat

[David  here, 

I decided to re-post this , because I think Esther did a bloody good job with this prayer.

Shabbat Shalom!]

As we begin our Shabbat, light our candles, entreat our beloveds to the Bride of Shabbat, pour wine and eat bread, eat our food ,may we all pray :

"May G-d protect those who are ill ,suffering, unsure, afraid today. May he bless those who are happy to bless others with that happiness; for those who are without bread today, may we remember and uplift those in need. May we be more Shalom in the name of the G-d of peace, show compassion in the name of the G-d of love and celebrate in the name of the G-d of life. May our actions & deeds be greater than our words, may we bring honour to faith and show by example the name of G-d, the creator of the universe. May The L-rd bless you and keep you, the L-rd make his face shine on you and be gracious to you, the L-rd  turn his face toward you and give you peace. May we say this in the name of  The L-rd our G-d. The L-rd alone."

Le us all say Amen, blessed be Adonai, now and forevermore.