It's A Bris! Everybody...Whence

Bris Milah is the covenant G-d established with the Jewish people. The words, bris milah, mean "Covenant of Circumcision". It is the sign attesting to the everlasting covenant that G-d established with Abraham (who was 99 years old when he circumcised himself!), and his descendants (Genesis 17). It was then reiterated through Moses 500 years later: "And on the 8th day he shall have his foreskin circumcised" (Leviticus 12:3).

The bris also is when the name of the baby boy is announced for the first time after the circumcision, and many brachas (blessings). The father gives his son a name that usually is from the Torah or Parsha for the week. This little angel is Neftali. Such a life renewing moment!

Though we all feel for the baby boy as he cries everyone in the room has a heart that is full. Full of the blessings for the child's life, his family and all Jews.

Watching the mother is particularly hard. Just 8 days past giving birth, she can only watch from the mechitza as her son cries. We all know she is not only feeling a strong pull to hold and comfort her infant, but such joy and closeness to Hashem that could only be understood by other mothers.

The whole process takes about 20 minutes. Most of which is spent by the congregants reading tehillim, and blessings for the baby and family, and the Mohel describing the process.

Then of course we eat. Jews and food just seem to go together! Seriously, it is a mitzvah to take part in a bris, and the seudah that follows.

Welcome Neftali Scwhartz!

Too Long

Been far too long since I've been able to create something. Between fundraising, teaching, contracts, and having pneumonia there has just been no time.

Well, last night while in the basement doing laundry I peeked around the corner to my area where I mosaic. Suddenly I had to sit down and work on a project that has been sitting in the same spot for 3 months. Dang, it felt good!!!

This is not a very artistic creation, but one that I've had in mind to do. So about 32 months ago I gathered all the things to make it, and there it sat. Till now.

Here are a few images of the work/progress so far.




My goal is to finish this project by the end of next week. Not sure if I can do that with everything going on, but anytime I can steal is going into this.

Feels good to make something again.

History is Repeating

When I first started this blog it was not my intent to post anything political. It was a place for me to share my artistic pursuits. However, I've come to the conclusion that if it is on my mind and in my heart, it is worth posting about. If for no other reason but to get it off my chest.

Does anyone remember Neville Chamberlain from your history lessons?

Neville Chamberlain was British Prime Minister from 1937 - 1940. He was best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and of course the Munich Agreement he sign with German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, in 1938.

In this "agreement" that Chamberlain was so pleased for having gotten Herr Hitler's signature on, was supposed to make peace with a dictator who already had begun to put his plan into action. This whole process just bought Hitler time, and made him look legitimate. We all know how that turned out.

This morning I find that President Obama is, and has been since November, penning a letter to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. News of this literally made me cry. With Israel in the precarious position it is in, this is the last thing we need.

History is repeating itself, and no one seems to be in power who wants to stop it. Why? Can anyone please tell me why no one wants to stop this train wreck from happening?

Former Presidents Carter and Clinton tried to do the same thing with Iran. Each attempt was a failure. The developing foreign policies of the new President are not looking to supportive of Israel or Jews in general.

This also concerns me on another front. The U.S. military. My son needs a President who will give him the support he needs while he is defending our country. Currently in Afghanistan for the rest of his 15 month deployment, he should be assured his country is there for him. Not the man who is supporting terrorist worldwide, and building nuclear weapons. Even after being told by the U.N to stop!

Everything going on in the world now is headed in one direction, and personally I'm afraid for all of us.

Israel Tehillim List

This is the most up to date list I can find for those soldiers who are wounded and missing. This list also includes civilians who have been wounded. If you have other names please post in comments to add to list.

Good Shabbos, and please say tehillim 83, 130 and 142.


Gilad ben Aviva Shalit - kidnapped Israeli soldier that Hamas claims was injured in air raids on Gaza;
Li'el Hoshea ben Miriam – critical (enoshot) head injuries;
Wahal Mijan – critical (enosh), has metal shards in his brain, has had 3 operations & doctors are battling to save his life;
Ben ben Netiva – critical (enosh) with head injuries & has had 1 hand amputated & doctors are battling to save his other hand;
Neriya ben Rivka – very serious head injury;
Noam ben Aliza - one leg amputated; doctors fighting to save the other;
Yosef Chaim ben Ziva – very seriously injured on the entire left side of his body- regained consciousness yesterday BH;
Dvir ben Laya - seriously injured in his legs;
Raphael ben Dina – very seriously injured;
Elishama Shalom ben Rivka Leah
Oren ben Chaya – seriously injured shoulder & hand – has had 1 finger amputated;
Ronen Chai ben Leah – seriously injured
Ron ben Havatzelet – seriously injured with shrapnel over all of his body;
Eitan ben Sarah – very serious leg injury;
Gal ben Hedva – seriously injured with shrapnel to his jaw & mouth;
Ran ben Merril – moderate shoulder injury;
Idan ben Nadi – moderate shrapnel injuries;
Yitzchak ben Navah - moderate shoulder injury;
Netanel ben Navah - moderate shrapnel wounds to a lower extremity;
Ohad ben Bracha – moderate facial injuries;
Maxim ben Olga - light lower leg injury, operation to remove shrapnel;
Yisrael ben Ilana - light shrapnel injury to an ear;
Yo'ad Ido ben Frieda Elka- light shrapnel injuries;
Idan ben Liora - light shrapnel injuries;
Nadav ben Miriam (Maria) - light shrapnel injuries;
Sagi ben Osnat – light shrapnel injuries to his leg;
Omer ben Dorit – light shrapnel injuries to legs;
Evgeny ben Elizabeth – leg injury
Lior ben Mazal
Oleg Dizengoff
Avi Cohen
Roni Rapaport
Yaakov Wolf - hit by shrapnel in his neck that miraculously missed his jugular vein BH
Moshe ben Eidi – head injury

Wounded civilians:
Gavriel ben Sarah from Sderot – child in severe shock from kassam attack;
Yakov ben Rivka - very seriously injured from kassam rocket;
Bat El Hila bat Phoebe – moderately injured from kassam rocket that
fell in Netivot
Gila bat Odelia – moderately injured by kassam attack in Netivot

Kidnapped & Missing Soldiers:

Ron ben Batya (Arad)
Guy ben Rina (Hever)
Tzvi ben Pninah (Feldman),
Yekutiel Yehuda Nachman ben Sarah (Katz),
Zecharia Shlomo ben Miriam (Baumel)

This week's Parsha is Vayechi.
Gaza: Faces of War

Eretz Yisrael Needs You

The picture at the left shows an IDF soldier davening Shacharis in his tefillin. This breaks my heart.

Though he is fighting a battle almost no thinks can be won, or the rest thinks Israel has no right to fight at all, he still makes sure he puts on his tefillin to daven. G-d bless him, and all the IDF troops.

For those people who want to do something to help Eretz Yisrael, and the IDF troops I want to share this information my Rav, Rabbi Chaim Silver, passed on to us last night at our communities Kinus tefillah prayer service.

“Operation Tefillah, Torah & Troops,” has been launched. Endorsed and guided by Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, the Chief Rabbi of Rehovot, Israel, and the Bostoner Rebbe (Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz) of Har Nof, Israel, people from around the world are partnered with soldiers in the IDF. Each person who takes part in “Operation Tefillah, Torah & Troops” is paired with an Israeli soldier, and is responsible to say tefillot (prayers), learn Torah, and do special acts of chesed (kindness) on behalf of that soldier.

Rabbi Kook and the Bostoner Rebbe note that this concept is one that has been a part of the Jewish people for thousands of years. When Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses) led the Jewish people to war with the nation of Midyon, for every person who went to battle, there was a designated person who was responsible for praying and learning for him. Throughout his reign, David HaMelech (King David) utilized this practice as well.

To participate in “Operation Tefillah, Torah & Troops” and receive the name of an Israeli soldier who needs your prayers, send an e-mail to the office of Rabbi Kook at maortlmo@gmail.com.

For those who cannot for whatever reason commit to this much, you can still daven tehillim. In particular: Psalm 83, 130 and 142.

Every tefillah makes a difference! It’s the least we can do.

Pass Along

Read this letter to the editor on YWN, and had to re-post it here. It is short, to the point and so true.

Dear U.N., E.U. and all other Anti-Semitic organizations out there.

Speaking for Israel and Jews all over, I would like to express my sincerest apologies. It appears to me that we have upset you, for we had the audacity to defend ourselves against the Arab murderers who are only trying to do what you want them to do, namely kill us all.

Now I know this must be hard to accept, I mean for years now your organizations have been working tirelessly around the clock to attain world peace. By world peace I of course mean a world without an Israel in it. I’m sure it kills you every year when you receive a new globe for your desk with all the new countries, and you still see a tiny Israel there. How dare we continue to exist? When the world clearly does not want us around!

I can bring you proof of that fact by listing thousands of incidents throughout history in which the Jews were killed mercilessly for no reason other then being Jewish. But I won’t since that is too much to type - instead I’ll bring you the past few months.

For the past few months, day after day, rockets continuously land in Jewish towns; on schools, nurseries, prayer halls and many other such military locations. Yet for some reason the U.N., E.U. or any other international committee haven’t even had a thought about mentioning the rockets, forget about condemning them.

But lo and behold when after the Jewish Sabbath I look online for the news and what do I see? Israel had the Chutzpa to defend itself. How dare we? Who are we, as a country to even think about it? To try and stop a peaceful people living in Gaza, (which by the way in an election, practically unanimously voted in a terrorist organization in as government) from their lifelong dream of driving my people into the sea? How dare we?

Thankfully, you in the U.N., E.U., BBC. CNN, and all other Anti-Semitic organizations out there, didn’t let us down. Why in a matter of minutes you were out and condemning Israels aggression and unprovoked attack against innocent Palestinians. Your responses were amazing and expected, considering your well-known rabid hatred for Jews. Immediately condemning us, and demanding that we stop immediately, and yet you somehow forgot that just last week in one day over a hundred rockets landed in Israel.

The fact that your average Jew living in Israel has friends who have no parents, buried siblings, are missing limbs, or traumatized for life due to the peaceful Arabs, you couldn’t care less about that. But the second we fight back, a nation which is well known for letting others kill us while we give them the money and weapons which with to do so, you world out there go crazy and condemn us to the hottest fires hell has to offer.

Well in that case, what I have to say to all you Jew hatters out there is “TOUGH LUCK”. Because for the first time in many years I am actually proud of Israel and what they are doing, and to them I say, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK BECAUSE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

Submitted to YWN via email by Levi K.

YWN Original Post

Wow, just wow

Read this story online, and had to share because it is just so bizarre. It really points out there are deeper problems in the world than just the economy.

Holland Township, NJ - Shop Rite Refuses Customer Request To Make A Birthday Cake With The Name "Adolf Hitler" On It

So at this point you are probably thinking this is just a joke...nope it is the real deal.

Holland Township family angry that supermarket won't personalize cake for their son.

Think that is bad? Now read the whole story, and really be disgusted.

Would love to hear some comments on this from you.