Sukot traditions - מנהגי סוכות

Question: Is it a mitzvah to build a sukah?

The mitzvah is "לישב בסוכה" (to sit in the sukah).

In theory, if a person builds a sukah but fails to sit in the sukah, the person missed the mitzvah.

Unless . . .

Unless the builder lets someone else sit in the sukah.

By providing an opportunity for another to perform a mitzvah, the "provider" also gets a share of the mitzvah.

This "sharing a mitzvah" is why, the rabbis tell us, when a person buys a kavod (honor) for another - e.g., a wife for her husband, a father for a son, a friend for a friend - both the buyer and the "do'er" get credit for the mitzvah. (Thanks to my wife, Sara, I was a cohen (first aliyah) on the first day of Rosh HaShana (ו'' פקד את שרה); our resident cohen was AWOL. She may have regretted her choice; the second aliyah included ...כל אשר תאמר אליך שרה שמע בקלה).

The following are North African - ממרוקו עד לוב - traditions מנהגים. Check with your rabbi for the traditions of your community.

 

Sit or stand?

According to Hakham Shalom Messas in ילקות שמ''ש the blessing לישב בסוכה (to sit in the sukah) normally is said sitting. The exceptions are erev Yom Tov and erev Shabat when the blessing is part of the kidush (קידוש), then לישב בסוכה is said standing. (Many Sefardim sit for the kidush following musaf.) R. Messas notes that אין צריך להקפיד לאומרה בעמידה in both cases. He adds that it is not required to sit in the sukah before the kidush.

On the first night, the kidush (קידוש) and שהחיינו are said standing, after which we sit. Hakham Yosef Messas in הוד יוסף חי, opines if שהחיינו was said by the men before the kidush - e.g., when the sukah is completed - שהחיינו after the kidush is omitted. (A woman says שהחיינו when she lights the Yom Tov candle{s}.)

On hol hamoed, when there is no kidush, לישב בסוכה is said immediately after המוציא (blessing on the bread/hallah).

From R. Yosef Messas in הוד יוסף חי: לישב בסוכה is said only if the meal includes המוציא (bread/hallah) and ends with ברכת המזון; if a meal includes only rice or couscous and not bread, לישב בסוכה is omitted.

 

Waving the lulav

According to Hakham Shalom Messas in ילקות שמ''ש, the lulav is waved as set forth by HaAri z"l:

Turn the body to the south, extend the lulav three times, bringing it back to the body each time.

Turn the body to the north and repeat the waving/shaking as before.

Turn the body to the east and repeat the waving/shaking as before.

Still facing east, extend the lulav upward three times, bringing it back to the body each time.

Still facing east, extend the lulav downward three times, bringing it back to the body each time.

Turn the body to the west, extend the lulav three times, bringing it back to the body each time.

According to the Shulhan Aruk (Yosef Messas in הוד יוסף חי the order is:

East

North

West

South

Also from הוד יוסף חי. the green stem of the lulav should be facing the person holding the lulav. As for the etrog, it should be free of defects, but the person buying the etrog need not examine the etrog "with a magnifying glass" else there would be no end to the inspection. The etrog shape should NOT be "round as a ball."

From דברי שלום ואמת: The lulav may be decorated by wrapping a colorful string or ribbon a la a barber pole or candy cane; many put a ribbon or string crown (bow) at the top.

(Assembling the lulav for both Sefardim and Ashkenazim is given on the Midrash Ben Ish Hai Web site at http://www.midrash.org/halakha/tielulab.html. Unfortunately if fails to show a Sefardi-decorated lulav.)

 

Going around the bema (haskafot)

According to Hakham Shalom Messas in ילקות שמ''ש, every day of Sukot except Shabat, after musaf, a Torah is taken from the ark to the bemah and the worshippers go around the bemah one time. On Hoshana Rabah the worshippers make seven trips around the bemah. (On Shabat the haskafot are recited, but there are neither lulav and etrog nor processional.)

There is a tradition among some that on Hoshana Rabah even worshippers lacking lulav and etrog also join the procession around the bemah.

 

Hoshana Rabah

According to Shalom Messas in ילקות שמ''ש on Hoshana Rabah the worshippers make seven trips around the bemah.

There is a tradition among some that on Hoshana Rabah even worshippers lacking lulav and etrog also join the procession around the bemah.

During the morning service:

מלך " and " הוא האלוים are recited two times each, just as is done from Rosh HaShana to Yom Kippor

נשמת כל חי follows שירת הים

שיר המעלות ממעמקים follows ישתבח as is done between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippor.

There are some traditions (e.g. Bet El) that recite נשמת כל חי after עלינו.

 

 

A Yom Tov aside. In Morocco, according to ילקות שמ''ש, lighting a match was permitted on Yom Tov. When the Moroccans moved to Israel - which most, but not all, did - the younger olim began to follow the majority and gave up lighting matches; only the senior olim (such as my חותן) kept the old tradition.

 

הג סוכות שמח!

Amusing but not funny

Pollard or "Blind Sheikh": Who goes free first?

While President Barak Obama keeps Jonathon Pollard in a cell he apparently is willing to release the mastermind of the 1993 Twin Towers bombing and primary plotter to destroy tunnels and bridges into New York City. Even allowing Pollard to attend his father's burial - escorted under armed guards - was too much for Obama. See http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145073

An article in the Jewish Press of 20 September 2012 titled Holder and Clinton Considering Release of ‘Blind Sheikh’, reports that eight members of congress sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging them to keep the "blind sheikh," Omar Abdel-Rahman , in prison.

Obama wants Abdel-Rahman sent to Egypt on "humanitarian" grounds.

Pollard stole secrets for an ally (Israel); all Abdel-Rahman did was

attempt to bring down the Twin Towers,

destroy access to New York City, and

authorize Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden's jihad against America.

Of course Obama bowed to Saudi princes, traveled to Egypt, and supports the "Arab Spring" that toppled friendly governments that generally protected American interests.

The letter to Clinton and Holder was signed by the following U.S. Representatives:

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA)

House Appropriations Subcommittee on State of Foreign Operations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX)

House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY)

House Committee on Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA)

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX)

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI)

House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Pete King (R-NY)

The letter, for which the Representatives are still awaiting a response, follows:

September 19, 2012

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20530

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Attorney General Holder and Secretary Clinton,

We are concerned about recent reports that the Obama administration is considering the release of Omar Abdel-Rahman, better known as the “blind sheikh,” to the custody of Egypt for humanitarian and health reasons. If these reports are true, such considerations would be extremely disconcerting as release of this convicted terrorist should not happen for any reason.

The blind sheikh inspired the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, ordered the 1997 massacre of Western tourists at Luxor, Egypt, and issued the Islamic religious ruling that Osama bin Laden relied upon to justify the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. He is serving a life sentence at a federal penitentiary, for seditious conspiracy to wage war upon the United States, based on his role in a 1993 plot to conduct assassinations and destroy bridges, tunnels and other landmarks in New York City. The blind sheikh was the first person convicted under this statute since the Civil War. Nonetheless, the newly-elected government in Egypt has indicated that his release is amongst its top foreign policy priorities.

While considerations regarding the blind sheikh’s release would be disturbing in any context, they are particularly alarming given recent events. The 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks was marked by the assassination of America’s ambassador to Libya and an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Egypt. The violence in Egypt has been attributed, in part, to that government’s demands for the blind sheikh’s release.

Succumbing to the demands of a country whose citizens threaten our embassy and the Americans serving in it would send a clear message that acts of violence will be responded to with appeasement rather than strength. The blind sheikh should remain in federal prison.

The release of Abdel-Rahman or any terrorist who plots to kill innocent Americans would be seen for what it is — a sign of weakness and lack of resolve by the United States and its President.

We request a briefing this week by representatives from each of your Departments on the accuracy of recent reports and the status of any negotiations with Egypt. We look forward to your immediate response.

Political lies

Lies and half-truths are making up many - of not most - political advertisements in this campaign season.

If you have eyes to see and ears to hear, there is no escaping from the advertisements.

One example that effects all legal Americans is Medicare.

Pretty much everyone - from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to the man and woman in the street - knows that Medicare as we know it is doomed. It will run out of funds. How soon is anyone's guess - some say within a few years, others within a decade.

There's no argument that Medicare's future is limited; it's demise is imminent.

President Barak Obama's campaign tells us Mitt Romney is going to end Medicare.

Period.

Seniors will be left on the medical garbage heap.

Trouble is, that's both a half-truth and lie.

Romney and his figure-crunching VP candidate, Paul Ryan , DO intend to try to change Medicare - this cannot be done by White House fiat - BUT, anyone 55 years old or older is "grandfathered". When a 55-year-old "youngster" hits Medicare age, that person will be covered by Medicare as we know it today.

People currently less than 55-years-old - like my sons and daughter, will have a different program, BUT they will have a program.

Let me put this into very simple English.

Medicare as we know it will be around for all those currently 55-years-old and older.

Medicare as we know it will be going away for those currently less than 55 years old. There will be a "safety net," but it will be structured differently.

What about Social Security?

It, too, is in jeopardy. Not from the Republicans but from the simple facts that

(a) politicians - Mr. Obama among them - have been stealing from Social Security to pay for other government programs; never mind that Social Security was supposed to be sacred, untouchable, and

(b) population - the working world is getting smaller, partly due to the economic disaster with which we still are struggling, and partly because of demographics.

Someone looked at the federal budget and determined that entitlement programs - Social Security, Medicare, etc. - take up the entire Federal budget income. Everything else - the military, the sundry Federal departments - are paid for by selling America to, at the moment, primarily the Chinese (who, in addition to sending shoddy and dangerous goods to these shores and stealing our technology, buy our IOUs at a favorable - to whom? - interest rate).

The person who claimed entitlement programs ate up all of the Federal government's income (taxes and fees) noted that in order to pay our bills - that is, stop borrowing - taxes would need to be much higher.

If anyone looks at countries with cradle-to-grave entitlement programs, they will see tax rates well above 50% of a person's or organization's income.

During World War 2, the Feds put a 10 percent excise tax on certain products - primarily jewelry. That "war time tax" lasted will into my lifetime. Perhaps it's time for another "temporary" tax.

There is advertising talk about a "flat tax" which, Obama's supporters allege, would increase the tax on the "average middle class person" by several thousands of dollars.

That simply does not compute.

A flat tax would set the same tax rate for earned income (compensation for work performed) and for dividends. Currently the super rich and the less rich, including Romney, make their pocket change from dividends and pay a lower tax rate - according to Obama's ad folks, Romney paid taxes at a 14 percent rate -than the working stiffs who pay 28 percent (twice Romney's rate) or more.

If Romney, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and others on the Fortune 400 list of richest Americans (see http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/list/) paid their "fair share" of taxes, in theory, the overall tax rate should go down or, the increased Federal income might be used to pay down our debt (that is, buy back America from the Chinese).

At the same time, does America REALLY need to be the world's policeman? Do we REALLY need to have troops stationed in, for example, England; is the air base in Thule Greenland REALLY necessary in this age of in-air refueling and intercontinental ballistic missiles? (It was necessary in the 1940s and maybe into the 1950s, but today ??)

Does the U.S. REALLY need to send troops into harm's way during a foreign civil disturbance.

(I have no problem with humanitarian aid if we are not expected to carry the full load.)

Do we REALLY need to give billions of foreign aid to countries that prove, again and again, that we cannot "buy" friends - or even reliable allies.

At the risk of offending someone, political advertising is following the Josef Goebbels' philosophy: "the principle and which is quite true in itself and that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily" (see http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Goebbels).

All Muslims jihadists?

The advertisement:

"In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel/Defeat Jihad,"
(See http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=5835 )

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Metropolitan Transportation Authority banned the advertisement by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, claiming the ad violated the Authority's policy against "demeaning language."

In July, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled that the ad was protected speech. While agreeing with the MTA that the ad was "demeaning a group of people based on religion," Engelmayer ruled that the ad promoter was entitled to the "highest level of protection under the First Amendment."

According to Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, "It's like the anti-Islam film that is creating controversy. It is designed to offend, designed to provoke."

QUESTION: How is equating savagery with jihad anti-Muslim?

Are all Muslims jihadists?

That has to be a reasonable person's assumption based on the CAIR spokesperson's statement.

What is "demeaning" about the advertisement to Muslims?

Again, if the ad is "demeaning" to Muslims, the obvious suggestion is that all Muslims are savage jihadists.

By their acts we have proof that the jihadists are savages: the recent attacks on embassies and (in Israel) consulates - since the U.S. presidents have so far ignored Congress' instruction to relocate the embassy from Tel Av iv to Jerusalem - and the resent attack on a kosher market in France (why a kosher market - an Egyptian Coptic made the film the Muslims don't like and the magazine the Muslims dislike is not a Jewish publication). Never mind the rocket attacks on Israel, the suicide murders in Israel and elsewhere, and the bombings and attempted bombings of aircraft. Ignore, too, September 11, 2001.

Granted, "savages" is a relative word.

By Western standards, the jihadists' acts are savagery. But by Muslim standards, ahh, here we have the issue.

Different mentalities.

Worse, Western politicians bow to the alter of "Political Correctness," never calling a spade a spade - or a jihadists a savage.

I have railed in the past about the silence of the "good" Muslims; the ones who after each atrocity remain silent, not condemning the act but, by their silence, condoning it.

Now, thanks to the CAIR spokesperson, I know that all Muslims must by definition be jihadists, else why would CAIR object to equating "jihadists" - not "Muslims," but only "jihadists" - as "savages.

Tarred and feathered by their own words.

If I was a Jew in Bloomberg's New York I think I would be extra cautious and demand a police escort when I went to services on Shabat and Yom Kippor (since in Bloomberg's New York only criminals - including jihadists - are allowed to have guns).

Thoughts for Shabbat Teshuvah and Yom Kippur

 

By Rabbi Marc D. Angel
Used with permission

Although we popularly refer to the upcoming fast day as Yom Kippur, the Torah calls it Yom haKippurim—the day of atonements (in the plural). The plural form reminds us that there are many roads to atonement. Each person is different and is on a unique spiritual level; each comes with different insights, experiences, memories. The roads to atonement are plural, because no two of us have identical needs.

This season of Teshuvah and Kapparah—repentance and atonement—provides us with a special challenge and opportunity. We are granted a yearly period of time for intense evaluation of our lives. This period should serve as a springboard to deeper understanding and personal growth.

The first step in the process of spiritual renewal is to become humbly aware of our frailties. No matter how successful we think we are, we are mortal! We have limited physical capacities and a limited time of life on this earth. Aside from our physical limitations, we have moral and religious shortcomings that must be confronted. The Spanish thinker, Ortega y Gasset, suggested that a person grows only after confronting deep existential crisis. “These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is rhetoric, posturing, farce. He who does not really feel himself lost, is without remission; that is to say, he never finds himself, never comes up against his own reality.” The first goal of this season is to feel “shipwrecked.”

But when we do “come up against our own reality” we often reach a point of perplexity. How are we to make ultimate sense of our lives? How are we to understand the vagaries of human existence—disease, wars, injustice? How are we to deal with all the social and professional pressures? How can we cope with problems in our families and communities? How can we advance beyond the quagmire of fear and self-doubt?

The famous Hassidic Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk once asked: Where is God? And he answered: Where ever a human being lets Him in! If we want to feel the presence of God, we need to open ourselves to that experience. The season of Teshuvah and Yom haKippurim is a time to restore our relationship with the Almighty, to express our perplexities. This genuine experience of relationship with God gives us the inner strength to cope with our problems and perplexities.

A further step in the process of Teshuvah and Kapparah is balancing the feelings of alienation and belonging. We say to the Almighty: “ki ger anokhi imakh; toshav kekhol avotai,” (כ גר אנוכי, תושב ככל אבותי)
I am a stranger with You, a sojourner as were all of my ancestors>. What does this mean?

I feel as though I am a stranger, alienated from God; there are barriers between me and You. But I want to be a sojourner, a permanent resident in Your presence, not a stranger or a passing visitor. I want to come home to the teachings and traditions of my ancestors who have maintained faith and courage for the past 3500 years.

A parable: A person tries to cut down a tree with a dull edged saw. He works very hard but makes little progress. A passerby sees this and asks: why don’t you sharpen the saw? The person responds: I don’t have time, I can’t stop working, I need to cut down this tree. The passerby says: But if you would stop working for a few minutes to sharpen the saw, you would actually save time and effort, and you would better be able to accomplish your goal! The person replies: No, I don’t have time to stop working, I must keep sawing.
Without the proper tools, we exert great energy but achieve inadequate results.

In spiritual life, too, we need proper tools. If we work with old habits, with stubborn attachment to stale and futile patterns, we will not grow. We need to think more clearly about our goals and how we can best attain them. Yom haKippurim provides a day when we take off from our usual routine. It is an entirely different kind of day from any other day of the year. It is a time to sharpen ourselves spiritually; to humbly face our limitations; to cope with our perplexities; to seek atonement and purification, to return to our spiritual core.

The season of Teshuvah and Kapparah provides us with a unique spiritual opportunity. Happy are they who can experience this season with an acute mind and alert spirit.

The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
8 West 70th Street
New York, NY 10023

Starch

 

I'm of an age during which most men did time in one of Uncle Sugar's armed forces.

I did my time with the Air Force; all of it on the ground.

Before the Air Force I was a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadet (Miami Composite Squadron 2, if you please).

As a cadet and later as an E-grade airman I was expected to have sharply creased shirts and trousers - "pants" in my time meant underwear, "skivvies." Back in the day when "gay" meant "happy." Times and language move on.

Anyway, "back in the day," my CAP khaki (summer) uniforms were batch starched.

My trousers were then hung out to dry on "pant" stretchers - that's what they are called today.

Skip ahead several decades.

Now, if you want starched clothing, you have two choices:

    Choice 1: Take the clothing to a laundry and insist on starch.

    Choice 2: Wash your own clothing and then spray on starch from a spray can.

Choice 1 is, for me at least, foolishly expensive.

Choice 2 is, for me at least, both expensive and environmentally contra-indicated; the aerosol in the can and the fact the can can't (isn't supposed to be) tossed into the trash (since any residual aerosol could cause the can to explode). Besides, I'm never satisfied with the stiffness of the garment.

I remember from my youth - Civil Air Patrol days - that we used to buy starch. Just add water and voila! - starch-stiffened clothes with sharp creases.

I even remembered a product name: Argo.

Since I do my own ironing - and sometimes my wife's, too - I decided to try an find out how to make my own starch. It turns out that it's pretty easy, and there are a number of "recipes" on line.

All said to use ordinary ol' corn starch. The best, I learned from the WWW, is "organic" corn starch.

While I do the ironing - I want things "just so" - the Spouse does the shopping, so I challenged her to find "starch."

While she was out shopping, I was ironing. Today's batch included two pairs of trousers. Aligning the seams, and keeping them aligned while the trouser legs are pressed, can sometimes be difficult. If only I had the stretchers.

Since I already was poking around the Internet, I decided I'd look for pant stretchers. That wasn't my first search string, but it was my last.

Back in the days when I was in Civil Air Patrol, I lived in a house a short bike ride from Miami's airport; it had clothes lines in the back yard. Under Florida's summer sun, 30 minutes on the line and everything is dry.

Today I live in a short bike ride from Hollywood's airport, but the local homeowners' association won't permit clothes lines - at least not ones that can be seen from the street. I have a portable, single-rod "thing" in the garage on which I can hang hangers. Being portable, it might temporarily be relocated out of sight in the back yard - "just for 30 minutes."

While neither Publix not Winn-Dixie advertised starch on their Web sites, the Spouse did find several corn starch options at Publix.

Since corn starch is used in sauces and other edibles, she bought one with a kosher label. Cost: $1.25 (no tax).

I intend to commander the garage sink to mix the starch and water; the sink's next to the water heater so I get almost instant scalding water. It's a nice, deep sink so I can easily immerse my shirts and trousers, and it's a short "across-the-garage" walk to hang them on the "thing's" rod.

One thing I learned using shirt laundries - starch builds up.

I told the intake clerk that I wanted heavy starch. When I collected by clean shirts they were wimpy. I complained, I was told that each time the shirts were washed and starched, the starch would get stiffer. Washing does not remove all the starch.

My #1 son, a policeman, uses spray starch on his dark blue uniforms. His only concern, and it is a justifiable concern, is that corn starch might leave a residue - white "specks" that will stand out on the blue uniform. According to one source, organic starch is less likely to leave behind evidence of its use. (I told him I would try it on my dark trousers first.)

Assuming - always a dangerous thing - that my kosher corn starch will do the job on my shirts and washable trousers, I will be a happy camper.

Meanwhile, the easiest recipe for laundry starch I found is:

Requirement

    *   Corn starch

    *   Measuring cup

    *   Bucket or deep sink

Process

  -   Into bucket or sink

    -  1/2 cup corn starch

    -  1 cup of cold water

    -  Boiling water to strength

      *  6 quarts for light starch

      *  4 quarts for medium starch

      *  2 quarts for heavy starch

  *  Immerse clothes so all surfaces are covered in the starch solution.

  *  Hang clothes to dry

      *  If you use "pant" stretchers, insert them into the trouser legs before hanging the garment to dry.

Iron with a steam iron or sprinkle the clothing before pressing.

Excess solution can be saved, but be sure to shake it vigorously and thoroughly before using.

We don't need

צה''ל  or Yeshiva students

when we have

MILLIONAIRE RABBIS

Rabbi Marc Angel, in his
Thoughts About Thinking: Thoughts on Parashat Nitzavim for September 15, 2012, writes that

"Some months ago, Forbes Magazine published a list of the 10 richest rabbis in Israel (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQM0zpTOP7Y&feature=player_detailpage). The rabbis’ net worths ranged from 9 million dollars to 335 million dollars! It appears that all (or nearly all) of these rabbis have reputations as wonder workers, Sephardic kabbalists, Hassidic Rebbes of huge dynasties. These rabbis have amassed huge fortunes because the public is willing to pay them for their blessings, amulets, holy water etc. It seems that a considerable segment of the public does not believe in its own ability to pray to God, but wants the intercession of holy men who supposedly have an inside track with God. Many people aren’t interested in a “spirit of inquiry”—they want “truth” as promised to them by wonder working rabbis.

"If these wonder working rabbis indeed have such magical powers and can control God, then why don’t they use these powers to disarm Israel’s enemies; to uproot anti-Semitism; to punish the wicked; to provide for all the sick, poor and hungry of the world?"

The rabbi's point is not to disband צה''ל, the Israeli armed forces, and not to close the yeshivot.

His point is that we - Jews - seem to increasingly depend on "wonderworking rabbis" and other holy men and women to intercede with HaShem for us. This, R. Angel contends, is not the Torah way.

The American rabbi is, in my opinion, correct in that Jews have, and should use, our "direct line" to HaShem, I have to wonder:

What if all the millionaire rabbis were to get together (that in itself might be a miracle) and together appeal to HaShem to convince our enemies - the Iranians, our Moslem neighbors near and far, the anti-Semite and anti-Israel people among the non-Jews and, perhaps more importantly, among ourselves, the anti-everything Jewish Jew.

Now is perhaps the most propitious time: יומי נוראים, the so called "High Holy Days," are nearly upon us. Days when, we are told, HaShem is particularly open to our prayers.

I don't think I'd depend solely (no pun intended) on the millionaire rabbis to seek HaShem's protection, but it would be interesting to see what influence these gadolim would have if they, together - putting aside their differences in approach to Judaism - appealed to HaShem to erase hatred from the world.

TO BE FAIR the rabbis' millions are not necessarily personal wealth; the millions include their charities and institutions.

Meanwhile, as it is written in my וזרח נשמש sedur for the daily amedah(עמידה):

" ומלכות הרשעה מהרה תעקר יתשבר יתכלם ותכניעם ותשמידם"

G-d, Jerusalem, and the DNC

 

According to Agence France Presse (AFP), "President Barack Obama was the one who on Wednesday ordered his Democratic party to reinsert references to G-d and Jerusalem in their party platform, AFP reported.

"The report hinted that the move was not too pleasing to party members.

"A campaign official told AFP that the president, who has been hammered by Republicans who see him as too tough on Israel, personally intervened to have language on Jerusalem, a feature of past party platforms, restored. "

The AFP article also noted that when the delegates were asked to vote to include G-d and Jerusalem, the "nays" (against inclusion) appeared to match the "ayes."

See the CNN video at http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/09/05/delegates-oppose-adding-god-jerusalem-platform/; there is a 30-second commercial to ignore before the vote video commences.

Now comes the interesting part.

Who is in chair of the DNC?

A person who claims, on her government Web site biography, to be the "The first Jewish Congresswoman ever elected from Florida," Representative Debbie Wassermann-Schultz.

Rep. Wasserman-Schultz' claim to Jewish fame is that she "introduced a resolution, which passed the House of Representatives and called on the President to declare an annual Jewish American Heritage Month."

Rep. Wasserman-Schultz seems - based on her response to constituents' appeals for assistance regarding Israel issues - to limit herself to introducing non-essential resolutions in Congress. When asked to help a local family cut bureaucratic red tape to allow the family's son-in-law to join his American bride, she ignored the appeal.

Congressman Allen West, the Republican in the adjacent congressional district, did manage to cut through the State Department's continuing anti-Jewish and anti-Israel delaying tactics.

Given her apparent unwillingness to touch anything "Israel" and the absence of both G-d and Jerusalem in the DNC platform, it's no surprise that Obama had to insist on inserting the changes.

But one has to suspect that Obama only is giving lip service to the Jerusalem plank since on July 26, 2012, White House press secretary Jay Carney repeatedly refused to answer journalists' demands to know if Obama felt Jerusalem should be recognized by the US as Israel's capital. (See http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/07/26/whs_carney_refuses_to_name_the_capital_of_israel.html.)

According to Democratic National Convention Chairman and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the measure to add G-d and Jerusalem as Israel's capital to the party platform requires a two-third affirmative vote.

Villaraigosa called for a voice vote not once, not twice, but three times and each time it seemed that the delegates were equally split. Villaraigosa, declared the motion passed anyway. (See the CNN video, link in fifth paragraph, above.)

From a Jewish perspective, from an Israeli perspective, the initial lack of inclusion of G-d and Jerusalem-as-Israel's-capital, coupled with the Obama spokesman's refusal to answer journalists' questions regarding Jerusalem as Israel's capital would indicate that, if Obama is re-elected, he will continue to distance himself from Israel while continuing to cozy up to Israel's sworn enemies. Another four years of Obama does not bode well for Israel or for Jews, at least observant Jews.

Admittedly, we should not be "one-issue" voters and social concerns need to be considered.

The Democrats contend that if Romney moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Medicare will go away and women's rights will be violated.

Unless something is done soon, Medicare WILL go away; what the GOP is proposing is a change in Medicare that will impact people LESS THAN 55 years old. They won't loose Medicare, it just will be a different approach.

As for cancelling Roe vs. Wade, that is not an executive branch option; that is a matter for Congress and the Supremes. Indeed, domestically, there is not much the executive branch CAN do.

As far as Jerusalem-as-Israel's-capital goes, the best thing ANY president can do is to follow the 1995 Congressional mandate to MOVE THE EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM.

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Embassy_Act:

The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995is a public law of the United States passed by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995. It was passed for the purposes of initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999, and attempted to withhold 50 percent of the funds appropriated to the State Department specifically for ‘‘Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad’’ as allocated in fiscal year 1999 until the United States Embassy in Jerusalem had officially opened