Libi BaMizrach

To the Editor of Mishpacha Magazine: Dear Sir or Madam I read the article by Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz entitled “ There IS no Shidduch Crisis ” in your August 6 edition with great interest. I want to thank him, and you, for devoting so much attention to this very serious issue. Upon reflection, I would like to make the following observations, some of which differ with Mr. Rechnitz. I base myself on my experience of having been, ב " ה , “ in the Parsha ” and married three children in the past two years, and from what I hear as a Rav and a member of the community. To begin with, let me summarize what I feel are the main points of Rechnitz ’ presentation : Too few of the young women are married by age 21. It is not a crisis, but a “ catastrophe ” that, for example in Los Angeles, only 13 of 72 girls of a high school graduating class were engaged or married by age 21-22. Furthermore, “ Any change should not have to come from the girls ” , as the risk to t...

There are thousands of stories and videos out there that help one understand the Gaza conflict, and how it is being portrayed in the media.   I found these to be most informative. Enjoy, in no particular order! Thank you to my sister Naomi Knobel for bringing many of them to my attention   Yair Lapid: What Israel has learned from the Holocaust, applied to Gaza conflict Dennis Prager explains the Israel/Palestine conflict simply Watch this one, if you only have time for one, for understanding the whole conflict An Egyptian Arab who speaks the truth about what Hamas is doing for the Arabs Another Egyptian, enemy of Israel, speaks of the Hamas insanity Wow-  Where are the "moderate Muslims"? An Israeli Leftist liberal says Israel has a right to demand that the Arabs recognize Israel's right to exist, to catcalls from the audience Naftali Bennet answering British reporter from Al Jazeera who tries to twist the facts "Are you kidd...

As I mentioned in my earlier essay , I had fully intended to write a full travelogue of my very recent and wonderful experience, the OU Solidarity Mission to Israel. I found, however, that (a) it was difficult for me to write during the trip, and (b) several other participants have done a wonderful job summarizing our adventures, including Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb , Rabbi Barry Kornblau and Rabbi Binyomin Ginsburg (reproduced below), not including others that I am unaware of. There is a Facebook page that provides many pictures and perspectives. For me to provide another version of that experience would be redundant, at best. I did, however, want to add a few thoughts to those already expressed, in the hope that they have some merit. After saying goodbye to all the new and old friends that joined me on the journey, I stayed in Israel for another few days (still here!) in Yerushalayim, mainly to spend time with my mother and children and extended family who live here,...

Wednesday Evening, July 23 Well here I am on an airplane, flying over the Atlantic on the way to London. I hope that I'll be able to continue on to Israel, but that remains to be seen. As of now, other than El Al , the only airline not cowed by Hamas from flying to Israel is British Airways. Maybe they're brave, maybe foolish, but I am hoping that they maintain whatever it is at least until my flight goes But the idea that they continue to fly, despite the fact that virtually all others have stopped, appeals to me. After all, am I foolish to be going now? Is it not foolhardy to go to spend Shabbat in Sderot, 2 miles or so from the Gaza border? One of my daughters is frightened. I joke with her that she'll be better off if I die; we'll finally have some money from the life insurance (actually, I'm not sure that they would pay if I took the risk of going to a hazardous area) and what do I think I will accomplish, anyway? What do these brave people...

בס"ד My congregants know that I have a “delusion”; I feel that the Parshat HaShavua – the weekly Torah Portion – always has surprising relevance to current events.  In the many years that I have been looking for something to say Shabbos morning, I have virtually never been disappointed in finding that the Sidrah can be used to find inspiration or guidance for what we are going through at any particular time.  This, of course, makes my job as a Rabbi much easier, for which I am eternally grateful.   But sometimes, I am just astounded and sit back in awe.  This past Shabbos was one of those times. This past Shabbos, as we all sat in trepidation over what was going on in the part of Eretz Yisrael known as Gaza, I spoke among other things about Moshe's exclamation to the tribes of Reuven and Gad.   They had proposed to Moshe that they would like to stay in the trans- Jordan , and forgo their share in the land of Israel , a proposal that infuriated...

I have found the last few weeks particularly unsettling. These weeks are supposed to be weeks of inspiration; as we count the Omer we march with the freedom gained on Pesach towards reenacting the great unified national experience at Sinai, when we collectively experienced the receiving of the Torah “Ke-ish Echad Beleiv Echad”, as one person with one heart. In total unity of spirit and purpose, we stood before Hashem, privileged to be called upon to serve him as a Chosen People. It ought to be a time for putting aside differences and arguments, and of focusing on that which unites us. Perhaps this was among the reasons that the 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva met their untimely death – due to having insufficient regard for each other – specifically during this time period. Perhaps this was the reason that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was originally sentenced to spending 12+1 years in a cave – for not having yet learned to see the good in lesser people (see Talmud Shabbos 33b). I don’t kno...