Bet Shemesh Train Minyan

Orthodox Jews will do just about anything to pray on time and with a quorum of at least ten other Jews (minyan).

Here’s a great photo gallery and review (in Hebrew) of the now ‘famous’ train minyan that runs weekday mornings from Bet Shemesh to Tel Aviv. They even have their own Torah and Ark (Aron Kodesh). How many of the faces do you recognize? Great photos.

The purpose of this minyan is to enable Ramat Bet Shemesh and Bet Shemesh residents who work in Tel Aviv to have Shacharit with a minyan and get to work on time in Tel Aviv. The train ride is about 45 minutes, so they have to get started immediately on days that the Torah is read!

Unfortunately, my father passed away this month.  For the first time, I was a mourner.

Little did I know there’s a whole sub-culture to the mourning process.  Here’s some advice from a recent mourner on what to do and what not to do at a Shiva house.

1. Don’t ask how old the deceased was or how did he die.  Get that info from someone else if you must know.
2. Don’t say “well at least he lived a long life”.
3. Do offer to tell nice stories about the deceased.
4. Do offer to help serve, take out garbage, etc…

5. Don’t come to tell the mourners about your problems.
6. Don’t stay for a long time unless the mourner specifically asks you to.  Don’t jump in and leave in two minutes either.
7. Do come to as many minyanim as possible.  The mourners have enough things to worry about.
8. Do ask about the mourners (surviving) family and catch up on old times.
9. Don’t ask for many details about the deceased and how he passed.
10. Don’t network with other visitors on business or jobs unless out of sight and ear of the mourners.

I was most-sensitive to number two on this list.  My father lived to 86 years old.  On the outside, one can say “well, he lived a long life”.  But to a son, and especially during the mourning period, these words are painful and ambivalent at best.  When your parent lives to 86, you want them to live to 96.  At 96, you were hoping for 120.

The other more obvious observation – don’t come to a shiva house to share your depressing life with the mourners.  They have enough on their heads to also have to play armchair psychologist in ragged clothes.

As with anything, these points serve as a guideline.  Obviously, let the mourner guide your conversation. If they want to discuss the details of the death, then by all means do discuss it.

Some shiva houses see many hundreds of visitors during the week.  Try to time your visit when it’s not too crowded.  The mourner feels an obligation to speak with every visitor.  If there are ten visitors encircling the mourner at once, it can become quite unnerving.

Above all, take your cue from the mourner.

I hope these points, although obvious to some, will help future mourners and visitors to be spared from unnecessary mixed feelings.

(Translated and paraphrased from Hebrew)

Israel has two seas. The Kineret and the Dead Sea.

The Kineret is a sea that only gives. It gives water, and fish, and provides for its tributaries. It gives, but it does not take. It is a sea of life.

The Dead Sea only takes. It takes but it does not give. It’s name in every language (other than Hebrew) is the Dead Sea.

In life, when we give, there is purpose. When all we do is take, there is no purpose.

– end of Rabbi Azoules’ words.

The gemara (Jewish Talmud) says, “He who hates gifts will live.”

Rabbi Desler z”l, says in Michtav Meliyahu (מכתב מאליהו) that the one who gives emulates the Creator, and the one who only takes is on the path of evil.

We need to emulate the actions of givers, not takers. Give to your family. Give to your community. Give to your country, our State of Israel, give to humanity.

This weekend’s Haaretz reports (in Hebrew) that the Haredi population in Israel, the fastest growing segment, now has an average of 7.2 births per family. Obviously, since this is an ‘average’, there are B”H many families who are having as much as 13 or 14 children each.

Ken Yirbu!

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd at the Israel Security Fence

Three years later, at 65, Roger Waters is ambivalent about his having visited Israel (and taking in millions of dollars spent by adoring Israeli fans).  Mr Waters thinks that the wall is actually a colonialist action by Israel.  Never mind that this wall was put up to help prevent terror attacks and bus bombings of innocent civilians.  Never mind that the wall has essentially stopped terrorism from the areas in where it was erected.  Never mind that the US has a longer and bigger wall with it’s Mexican border in several high-trafficked areas (and Mexico is not at war with the USA!).

What would I say to him if I had the chance to sit him down and explain the whole thing.  Would I tell him how the wall has given Jewish families in Neve Yaakov and Gush Etziyon, to name a few, the chance to leave for work in the morning without wondering if their kids would be burying them that night?  How much Jewish blood can be spilled for Mr. Waters to acquiesce to Israel attempting to prevent further savage acts.  How many children living in the southern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo should be forsaken?

These questions may remain unsolved to many, but to me it’s pretty clear.  As Israel’s government spokesman, Mark Regev put it ever so bluntly, “We don’t need no education about suicide bombers coming into Israel and murdering innocent people, and how the security barrier has prevented that by more than 95 percent”.

Hungary has a total population of just over 9 million. So with Jews totalling 1/2 percent of the population, you wouldn’t figure for them to a major force in that country.  Therefore, I found it odd to see today’s headline in Haaretz:  “Proud Hungarians must prepare for war against the Jews.”

This is not a headline from some blogger world or an offbeat political commentator. This is a headline taken from Hungary’s leading Police union newspaper. Here’s another example:

After the recent resignation of prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, one of the candidates for the post was Gyorgy Suranyi, formerly the governor of the Hungarian Central Bank, a brilliant economist, and a Jew.

The center-right party Democratic Hungarian Forum published on the front page of its newsletter a picture of Suranyi’s face inside a yellow star of David (reminiscent of the yellow patch from the days of Fascism) with the following caption: “Suranyi is actually the candidate backed by the elderly [Israeli President] Shimon Peres.”

The frightening and chilling tones of pre-WWII Eastern Europe are rearing their ugly heads yet again.  This time, there are practically little Jews left there, and yet they still pipe the same headlines – “Given our current situation, anti-Semitism is not just our right, but it is the duty of every Hungarian homeland lover, and we must prepare for armed battle against the Jews.”

Jews of the diaspora today should pop open the history books and read what are the warning signs of anti-semitism so they can draw their own conclusions on appropriate action plans to keep their families safe from the ordeals our recent and past ancestors endured.  One book that I can specifically recommend is The War Against the Jews: 1933-1945 by Lucy S. Dawidowicz.

Israel has not accepted this probe and questions the validity of a UN-led team, with its known anti-Israel bias.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor said “This committee has been instructed to find Israel guilty no matter what and there is no point in cooperating with such a masquerade.”

Goldstone in Gaza to Probe Possible Israel Warcrimes - Source: Haaretz

The commission is headed by a Jew, Richard Goldstone, a South African judge. The irony is not lost on this author that even in this day and age a Jew and non-Israeli would be willing to lead a commission that investigates Israel in a world forum.

Israel said last week that it will not cooperate with the UN team.

Well, here’s another reason to like Adam.  Aside from his incredible talent, he’s also a member of the Tribe (MOT – the Tribe of Jews that is…).

Here’s Adam singing a heart-warming rendition of Shir Lashalom (Song for Peace) in Hebrew. שיר לשלום

Adam Lambert Singing Shir Lashalom

Here’s a beautiful duet with Nora Dori singing “The Prayer” – what a voice!

I am sure he will go on to tremendous success with his great talent.

This is Ramat Bet Shemesh in 2009.  The owner of this shop is a young man, late 20’s at most.  He answers all questions and even offers extra information honestly, even when it leads you not to buy his merchandise.

So as I’m paying for the bread machine, (which he tried to talk me out of buying until we’d baked a loaf or two with a neighbor’s machine to make sure we were really going to use it), I asked him if the economy has affected his sales.  He asked me what I was refering to.  I told him about the economy and stock market in the USA and the world downturn, etc…  He had no idea what I was talking about.  No TV, no radio, no newspapers.  He doesn’t listen to or read the news.

However, he’s very knowledgeable about all his products.  He knows the appliances industry.  You want to buy a stove or a refrigerator? He’ll tell you what importer is unloading stock they couldn’t sell in France, and what products have the best repair record.  He doesn’t go by the adage that you must sit and learn Torah and do nothing else.   Part of his service to the community is to sell quality products at a fair price, and then back them with solid service should something go wrong.

He learns Torah by day and night, and sells appliances by afternoon so that he can continue learning Torah.

For a second, I thought he was kidding about not knowing the news. But then it became apparent that not only was he serious, but truly the happier one.  Quite refreshing.

The Jewish religion has a tradition that the sun rotates on a 28 year cycle that corresponds with the creation of the world. At the end of each 28 years, on the precise day, the sun returns to the position it first appeared at the beginning of creation 5769 years ago.

This 28 year cycle comes to completion on י”ד בניסן ה’תשס”ט which corresponds to April 8, 2009.

Here’s the Wikipedia article on this subject  Hebrew English

What does all this have to do with the world economy and stock market?

In the 20th Century, the Blessing on the Sun was made in 1925, 1953, and 1981. On January 2, 1929 the Dow Jones Index reached its peak of 307 before the crash.  It took all the way until 1953 to regain the peak after the depression of the 1930’s. The market returned to its pre-crash high in 1953 after the 28 year sun-cycle completed.   Is this the ultimate market cycle?

Is this a coincidence? What do you think?