Wednesday, July 31, 2019

How does the bible sanction killing women and babies in the war on Midian? and The command to live in the land of Israel in this week Torah Portion and 21 KEY IDEAS FOR BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN YOUR CHILDREN

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Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor


Love Yehuda Lave


1. Love your children unconditionally.
2. Each day tell your children you love them. All you have to say is three words, "I love you." If this is difficult for you, there is a greater need to say it.
4. Be a role model for the traits and qualities that you want your children to have.
5. Clarify the main positive qualities you want your child to develop. Keep praising those qualities. Reinforce those qualities when your child speaks or acts in ways consistent with that quality.
6. Realize that each child is unique and different. Understand each child's uniqueness and take it into consideration when challenges arise.
7. Word your comments positively. Focus on the outcome you want. For example, "By developing this quality (for example, taking action right away), you will be more successful in life." (Rather than saying the opposite.)
8. Keep asking yourself, "What is the wisest thing to say to my child right now?" Especially say this when your child has messed up.
9. Read great books to your children.
10. When you come across a story that could have an important positive lesson for your child, relate it. Look for stories that teach lessons. Ask people for stories that had a positive influence on their lives. Share your day with your kids so they know what you do and can learn from you and your experiences.
11. Create a calm, loving atmosphere in your home. Consistently speak in a calm and loving tone of voice. Even when challenges arise for you, speak in a tone of voice that is balanced.
13. Conquer anger. See, hear, and feel yourself being a calm person who has mastered the ability to maintain an emotional and mental state of being centered, focused, and flowing.
14. If you make a mistake when interacting with your children, apologize. They will ultimately respect you more than if you try to deny a mistake.
16. Watch other parents interact with their children. Notice what you like. Apply the positive patterns.
17. Watch other parents interact with their children. Notice what you don't like. Think about ways that you might be doing the same. Resolve not to speak and act that way.
18. Express gratitude daily in front of your children. Ask them regularly, "What are you grateful for?"
19. Become a master at evaluating events, situations, and occurrences in a realistic positive way. Frequently ask your children, "What would be a positive way of looking at this?" Or, "How can we grow from this?"
20. When your children make mistakes, help them learn from those mistakes. Have them mentally picture themselves at their best.
21. Each and every day ask yourself, "What can I say and do to be an even better parent?"

How can we justify the killing of babies and children?

In the portion of the  bible, called Matot, the narrative  goes on to record Moses insistence that the young Midianite women fit to engage in sexual relations be killed and along with the young male Midianite children.

How difficult is all of this carnage to the modern ear? How can we possibly justify such action, even if it was against a nation which had already lifted its banner for Israel's disappearance from the face of the earth?!

What we must remember as we read the Bible is that we are studying a text from the earliest times of recorded history, a text which we believe to have been written more than 4,000 years ago.

Yes, we also believe that the Biblical text is G-d given, but it was never intended that every verse of it be applied to every generation. Our tradition insists that alongside the written Torah, there is an Oral Torah, a vibrant and still developing legal system which determines which Biblical laws only applied to the ancient world, which were open to limitation, re-interpretation and even expansion in different generations, and which were deemed unchanging and immutable for all times.

The traditional orthodoxy which survives today is the heir to those who fought valiantly against the Sadducees in the second commonwealth and the Karaites of the middle ages. Our ideological ancestors regarded these sects as heresies because they believed in a literal interpretation of the written law for all generations. The arena of warfare is probably the one in which sweeping change from Biblical law is most evident.

The Bible commands "But in waging war against the people from the cities which the Lord G-d has given you for an inheritance you shall not allow any person to live. Rather you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizite, the Hivvite and the Jebusite as the Lord your G -d commanded you. This is so that they may not teach you to act according to all their abominations that they performed for their gods and sin before the Lord your G-d." (Deut 20:16-18)

Apparently, at that juncture in history, there was no other way to wage and win a war- and unless we had a national homeland, the nation of Israel never would have emerged. Our historic mission would have been still-born. It would seem that these particular nations were especially evil and heinous, addicted to inhuman and sexual acts of violence in their idolatrous orgies.

They had to be extirpated if a moral society was to emerge and influence the world. The Talmud, therefore, insists that the command to "utterly destroy" every one of our enemies only applied to the specific nations singled out by the Bible during the early Biblical period. During the first commonwealth, King Sennacherib of Assyria conquered the lands of the Middle East and confounded the indigenous people by forcing them to re-settle in different areas and to intermarry with their new neighbors. Hence the ethnic nations identified by the Bible no longer exist and so the law demanding their total destruction no longer applies. (B.T. Berakhot 28a)

Moreover, Maimonides and Nachmanides agree that it is forbidden for a Jew to wage war against any nation or individual - whether of the seven indigenous nations, Midian, or even Amalek- unless he be given the option of making peace and accepting the seven Noahide laws of morality (Maimonides, Laws of Kings 6,1). Once they agree to become moral individuals, we dare not harm them. And according to this view, this was the case even in the Biblical period!

There is also a fascinating interpretation of Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the famed Dean of the Volozhin Yeshiva, in HaAmek Davar, ad loc). He argues that the Biblical command to kill women and children only applies to those who were acting in the service of the enemy. We could never have been commanded to harm perfectly innocent human beings, created in G-d's image!

And when we think of the women and children who are being encouraged and trained by al Qaeda, Hamas and Fatah to become suicide bombers, when we realize how Hamas terrorists used innocent Palestinians as their protective human shields so that they can continue their evil murders, then we understand how Israelis are sometimes compelled to fire at women and children for our own self-protection and the protection of the free world.

The comand to live in the land of Israel





How can we be a light to the nations of the world if we don't live amongst Gentiles and are ensconced in our own homeland? One could argue however, that the mandate to live in the chosen land of Israel is crucial to the chosen people idea.

Being the chosen people doesn't mean that our souls are superior. Rather it suggests that our mission to spread a system of ethical monotheism, of G-d ethics to the world, is of a higher purpose. And that can only be accomplished in the land of Israel. From this perspective, the significance of the modern state of Israel is not only as the place of guaranteed political refuge for Jews; or as the place where more mitzvot can be performed or where our continuity as a Jewish nation is assured. Rather it is the only place where we have the potential to carry out the chosen people mandate.






By World Israel News Staff

"The Palestinian Authority is 100% to blame for the failure of the Oslo Accords," said Avi Dichter, Likud MK and former director of Shabak, Israel's internal security agency, to an audience in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening.

He made his remarks at a conference organized by the pro-Zionist nonprofit Im Tirtzu ("If You Will It") in collaboration with Canadians for Israel's Legal Rights on the topic of Israel's legal rights.

Dichter said it was obvious what PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat's intentions were right from the start. Dichter noted that early on Arafat visited Egypt and returned with four mass murderers hidden in his car.

Dichter, who was responsible for the area that included the border crossing through which Arafat returned, said he wasn't permitted to search the vehicles but it was obvious something was up as "Arafat was six inches taller than when he left."

It turned out later that the terror chieftain was literally sitting on one of the murderers who was lying on his car seat.

Dichter said the Palestinian Authority never fought terror and that some of the organizations it established to fight terror became terror groups themselves. He also noted that it is PA law that terrorists are entitled to salaries. They receive 12,000 shekels a month. If the terrorist is an Israeli citizen, he receives an additional 500 shekels a month.

The former Shabak chief also touched on Israel's legal rights, the religious nature of Arab hostility toward Israel. He gave in-depth discussion of the efforts to pass the Nation-State Law, which he introduced in 2011. The law finally passed in July 2018.

The Nation-State Law, which came under widespread attack by its critics as "racist," defines Israel as a Jewish state. Dichter noted that during a final committee discussion, in which Arab Knesset members attempted to torpedo the legislation, one of them shouted at the end, "We want a state of all its citizens."

Dichter said the comment was revealing and showed the importance of the Nation-State Law. It presents an obstacle to those who would like to dismantle Israel from within and turn it into a multicultural hodgepodge made up of many nations.

Regarding the Left's opposition to the law, Dichter said, "There are no greater hypocrites than the Israeli Left."

"The Nation-State Law cements in law the Jewish People's national rights, but does not infringe on anyone else's civil rights," he said.

The conference was dedicated in memory of Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger who was murdered this past March in a terror attack. He had courageously turned back to face a terrorist and according to reports managed to get off four shots with his personal weapon before he was outgunned.

His widow spoke to the conference, clearly still suffering from the blow of her loss. She spoke about his efforts to establish a yeshiva in South Tel Aviv, which has been overrun by African illegals who have turned the area into a drug and crime-infested neighborhood.

Sheffi Paz, a social activist in South Tel Aviv, also spoke at the conference Paz said that the government has abandoned South Tel Aviv and is unwilling to tackle the problems caused by the influx of thousands of illegal migrants. "I've lost faith in all politicians," she said.

Goldi Steiner, founder and co-chair of Canadians for Israel's Legal Rights, said that learning about Israel's rights is the key to combating false claims against Israel.

"There is only one way to counter the ever-growing accusations of apartheid, occupation, and all the lies propagated by anti-Israel organizations like IfNotNow and B'Tselem, and that is through education."

Matan Peleg, CEO of Im Tirtzu, noted that one cannot accurately evaluate the Arab-Israeli conflict without first understanding Israel's legal rights.

"When discussing the conflict, it is critical to first understand that the Jewish People have legal rights to the Land of Israel," said Peleg.

"This is precisely why we have teamed with Canadians for Israel's Legal Rights to educate students and the broader public about Israel's legal rights," added Peleg.

The opening talk was given by popular Israeli journalist Amit Segal. He argued that Israel is divided into two camps: Israelis and Jews. With those who identify as Israelis tending to vote left and those as Jews voting right.

In this election, Segal said there's a fight over the Russian vote between Avigdor Liberman, leader of the Israel Beiteinu party and Likud leader and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Liberman is appealing to the Russians as a "family," asking them to question whether they really have anything in common with the haredim, or ultra-Orthodox.

Netanyahu is appealing to them on the basis of "tribe," telling the Russians that they belong to the tribe of the right-wing, which includes haredim, he says.

We won't know the verdict until after the elections, Segal says.

This has been a big week in Washington

A key moment was the passage of House Resolution 246, the bipartisan resolution opposing efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and calling out the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, which solely targets the Jewish state of Israel.

It's heartening that an overwhelming majority of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle voted for the resolution. It affirmed that legislators across the political spectrum stand united in opposition to efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state. It demonstrated that there is broad agreement that the BDS movement is unacceptable by any standard, even as the Members affirmed their strong belief in the right to protest and in the First Amendment. And the House recommitted to supporting direct negotiations as the best pathway to peace and a two-state solution that can resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This was a resounding defeat for those people who demonize and delegitimize the Jewish state and a setback for individuals who've tried to politicize Israel and use it as a wedge issue. In fact, across the board, the House proved that there is broad bipartisan support for Israel and unambiguous opposition to the global BDS movement.

This was critical because, as we know, Jewish students on campus frequently face campaigns of harassment and intimidation by BDS supporters.

We are gratified that so many members of the House spoke out for this resolution. Their support transcended politics and proved that principles matter most

See you tomorrow bli-neder

Love Yehuda Lave

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

PO Box 7335, Rehavia Jerusalem 9107202




Tuesday, July 30, 2019


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Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor


Love Yehuda Lave






Led Zeppelin: Pictures show first concert, in 1968 -

The current intellectual level, is it decreasing?



















And the best for last:




Bet El comes to life once again


Here are just a few examples:

  1. "Hashem appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land'. So he built an altar to Hashem… from there he relocated to the mountain east of Bet El…" (Genesis 12:7-8)
  2. The famous dream of Yaakov's ladder with angels ascending and descending on it happened in Bet El – When Yaakov awoke; "he took the stone that he placed around his head and set it up as a pillar… and he named that place Bet El" (Genesis 28: 18-19)
  3. In chapter 35 of Genesis, Hashem told Yaakov; "Arise – go up to Bet El and dwell there, and make an altar there to G-d…"
  5. Bet El was one of the first places where the Ark of the Covenant was set up. People used to come there to inquire of Hashem, as it says; "They got up and went to Bet El and inquired of G-d" (Judges 20:18)

Those examples are from as far back as 3,700 years ago… but there's a much more recent history to Bet El than that!

Today, the beautiful city of Bet El – brought back to Jewish life in the 1970's - has 7,000 residents.

While much has been written about the famous Bet El Yeshiva and other institutions such as Tefillin Bet El and Arutz-7, very little has been recorded about the incredible boutique winery called "Bet El Wines."






See you tomorrow- Blli neder

Love Yehuda Lave

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

PO Box 7335, Rehavia Jerusalem 9107202




Monday, July 29, 2019

Summer fun in Jerusalem and Unlikely Heroes a great Holocaust film

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Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor


Good Deeds Elevate Us

 When you are engaged in a mitzvah, you are not just doing a mechanical action. Rather, you are transforming yourself into a more elevated person. You are not just "doing," but "becoming."

Today, think of three good deeds you have done in the past that have given you a better feeling about yourself. Remembering these will increase your good deeds and increase their positive effect on you.

Love Yehuda Lave

For most people, the idea of Jewish resistance or defiance during the Holocaust is limited to the heroism of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and a few isolated acts throughout World War II. Unlikely Heroes chronicles the yet untold stories of Jewish resistance and individual heroism throughout the Nazi Holocaust.

Trailer: 1:48 Minutes
Feature: 117 Minutes



Director:Richard Trank

This documentary highlights seven extraordinary people whose unique and inspiring stories add new chapters to the story of Jewish resistance throughout the Holocaust.

Unlikely Heroes chronicles untold stories of Jewish resistance and individual heroism during the Holocaust.  Rare film and photos discovered in archives are utilized, and they're enhanced by newly filmed sequences in the same locations where many of these stories occurred.  For most, the idea of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust is limited to the heroism of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and a few isolated acts throughout World War II.  Contrary to the view that Jews caught in the terror of Hitler's Europe were passive, this film exhibits previously unknown stories of extraordinary individuals who exemplified utmost courage and human dignity during the most desperate days of the Holocaust.See LessProducer:Marvin HierDirector:Richard Trank

Summer fun in Jerusalem--full pdf of events

Rabbi Meir Kahane- Parashat Balak


To be alone is the destiny of the Jew ever since it was decreed "Hen, am l'vadad yishkon," "Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone" (Numbers 23:9). But the word "hen," which is generally translated as a poetical "lo," is much more than that, since the Torah isn't primarily a book of poetry. So the Rabbis, noting that the Hebrew word "hen" is composed of the letters hei and nun, state:

"Take all the letters and you will find [that if one wishes to add two of them together to get the sum of 10] each letter has a partner, but hei [the number 5] and nun [the number 50] have no partners. [For example, the letter aleph (one) and tet (nine) add up to 10; bet (two) and chet (eight) add up to 10; gimel (three) and zayin (seven) add up to 10; daled (four) and vav (six) add up to 10. Only hei (five) has no partner [except for a second hei. Similarly the letter nun (50) has no partner other than another nun to get the sum of 100]" (Yalkut, Balak 23).

This remarkable Midrash emphasizes more than anything the halachic injunction of isolation. Not only must the Jew not be afraid of being isolated, he is commanded to choose isolation. THAT IS WHY ALL JEWS MUST LIVE IN ERETZ YISRAEL- SO AS TO BE ISOLATED FROM THE NATIONS AND THEIR CULTURES!!! In the words of the Rabbis: "separated from the nations of the world and their abominations" (Mechilta, Yitro, Bachodesh Hashlishi 2:3).

But there is another lesson to be learned from the requirement of isolation, and that is that the Jew is NOT ALLOWED to seek allies- that the very act of seeking allies is one of faithlessness to G-d. Thus, we find the prophet Isaiah condemning the Jews of his time for turning to Egypt for aid against the Assyrians who were threatening them: "Woe to the rebellious children, says the L-rd, who take counsel, but not from Me; and who prepare a plan, but not of My spirit, in order to add sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt but did not inquire of My Mouth, to seek strength in Pharaoh's stronghold and to take shelter in the shade of Egypt!" (Isaiah 30: 1-2).

And again: "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who rely on horses; they trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they look not to the Holy One of Israel, neither do they seek the L-rd" (Ibid. 31:1).

Consider the words of the prophet, and the context in which they were said. Assyria, the mightiest empire of its time, the empire that had vanquished nation after nation, is descending on Israel. Is it not normal to seek allies? What would religious Jews and rabbis say today about seeking help from the United States? Surely they would all cry out the need for "practicality." But the prophet does not. He condemns it.

And the great Biblical commentator, the Radak, explains: "It is not enough that they have sinned and erred, but they add the sin of asking besides me help from someone else without My permission? And this is a great rebellion of the servant against his master, as he places his trust in someone else besides him" (commentary on Isaiah 30:1).

The fear of man, of human flesh and blood, rather than trust in the Almighty, has ever been the cause of tragedy for the Jewish people! Let's consider the national tragedy that befell the Jewish people when its kingdom was split into two after the death of Solomon. Why did this occur? Because Solomon sinned by marrying Pharaoh's daughter who turned his heart from G-d, as it says (1 Kings 11:11), "And the L-rd said to Solomon, ' have not kept My covenant and My statues which I commanded upon you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.'"

But why such a harsh punishment for marrying Pharaoh's daughter? It hardly, at first glance, seems to fit the crime.

The Seder Olam writes that the original decree was only to last 36 years "in line with the 36 years that Solomon was married to Pharaoh's daughter...The Kingdom was due to have been restored in the reign of King Asa...but Asa ruined it by sending a bribe to the king of Aram [when he was attacked by Basha, King of Israel], not relying on the Almighty but on the king of Aram." The Radak cites the Seder Olam and writes similarly, "The decree was that the kingdom should be split for 36 years corresponding to the 36 years that Solomon was the son-in-law of Pharaoh."

Consider the odd language of the Radak: "the son-in-law of Pharaoh." Why not say: "the husband of Pharaoh's daughter"? Because the real sin was that Solomon married the woman in order to be the son-in-law of Pharaoh! Egypt was the most powerful nation of its time and Solomon hoped to neutralize her and make her an ally by marrying the monarch's daughter, a common method of diplomatic alliance throughout history. Solomon feared man, not G-d, and sought through this marriage to guarantee his kingdom. Therefore, the Almighty punished him with the perfect and most fitting punishment: the splitting of his kingdom.

And that is the reason for the following remarkable statement in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 21b): "When Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, Gabriel came down and struck a reed in the sea which gathered about it a sand-bank upon which was built the great city of Rome." The point made by the Rabbis is clear. On the day Solomon showed fear of man rather than faith in G-d and made an alliance with Pharaoh to save his kingdom, the ultimate destruction of the Kingdom- Rome- was born. What a remarkable underlining of the foolishness and sin of trusting in humans when all flesh is in the hands of G-d! What a remarkable example of how history is created and guided by G-d!

"Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone." L'vadad! Alone! THAT IS THE JEWISH WAY!

The Jewish Press, 1989

Mariano Rivera: I Want to Understand All About Israel

He was once one of the most dominant closers in the game of Major League Baseball, but he's now content with his illustrious career being over and is focused on living life and supporting Israel through Christian initivates. Our Michelle Makori spoke with the legendary New York Yankee.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and no less than five top US officials addressed the annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) confab in Washington D.C. as the largest grassroots pro-Israel conference in America kicked off Monday.

A common theme running through the evening's heavyweight speeches: soaring tensions with Iran and the Islamic Republic's nuclear capabilities.

Netanyahu kicked off the evening, appearing via satellite link the 14th Annual CUFI Summit, an event which draws thousands of pro-Israel Evangelical Christians from across the United States each year.

The Israeli leader dedicated a portion of his remarks to tensions with Iran, slamming the "terrible" 2015 nuclear deal with world powers which he claimed had paved the way for Tehran to develop a nuclear bomb.

Signalling Evangelical voters' importance to President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, no fewer than five senior administration officials addressed the event.

Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (both Evangelical Christians themselves) addressed the confab on Monday, along with Trump's national security adviser John Bolton, Special Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

In his remarks, Pence spoke of the White House's dedication to their Israeli allies, claiming the Trump administration "will always support our Jewish brothers and will always stand with the State of Israel."

But the vice president also zeroed in on Iran, warning that the USA and its military are prepared to protect American interests as tensions continue to spiral with Iran.

And Iran-hawk John Bolton said the United States "will continue pressuring Iran until it abandons its nuclear weapons program and stops its violent operations throughout the Middle East, including its support for global terrorism."

Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) represents 147 Jewish Federations and over 300 Network communities, which raise and distribute more than $3 billion annually and through planned giving and endowment programs to support social welfare, social services and educational needs. The Federation movement, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of JewIsH Persons worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning). Learn more at

Forget 1 -10

13. Alternative facts are aversion of the truth.
15. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
16. Did you know they won't be making yardsticks any longer? (think!)
18. The patron saint of poverty is St. Nickeless.

20. Do you have weight loss mantras? Fat chants!
22. What is a thesaurus's favorite dessert? Synonym buns.
23. A relief map shows where the restrooms are.


See you tomorrow

Love Yehuda Lave

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

PO Box 7335, Rehavia Jerusalem 9107202

