Our Shiputzim: A Work In Progress

Freshly Baked Goods Friday: Meta Challah Edition

2013-05-16T21:06:00.001+03:00

To continue the previous post’s sheaves of wheat theme, check out the incredible challah that one of our yom tov guests made for Shavuot:

In case you can’t tell - as always, click on the photos for a better view – it was supposed to look like a bundle of wheat.

Or, to put it in hashtag terms:

Wheat flour that was baked into a challah and then shaped into wheat stalks #HowMetaCanYouGet

Thank you, dear Yom Tov Guest! The challah tasted as good as it looked!

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Erev Shavuot 5773

2013-05-14T14:50:00.001+03:00

Reason #5432 for making aliyah:
You know Shavuot – aka Chag HaKatzir - is coming, because you see wheat being harvested in fields along the side of the road.

"וַתִּדְבַּק בְּנַעֲרוֹת בֹּעַז לְלַקֵּט עַד כְּלוֹת קְצִיר הַשְּׂעֹרִים וּקְצִיר הַחִטִּים..."

“And she clung to Boaz's maidens to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest...”
(Megilat Ruth 2:23)

And on a related note, here’s Ofra Haza singing “Shibolet BaSadeh”:

The lyrics are available here, and an English translation is available here.

!חג שבועות שמח

Euphonic Friday: Mazal tov edition

2013-05-03T15:26:00.001+03:00

As you may recall, a few months ago, the J-blogging world collided head-on with the real life world when I had the honor of making my very first shidduch.

Unfortunately, YZG and I were unable to attend the wedding in person. However, thanks to the miracle of Facebook photo sharing and also thanks to the thoughtful Our Shiputzim reader who sent us pictures in real time straight from the chupah, we were very much there in spirit.

Mazal tov to the chatan and kallah and also to their dear parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins!!

יהי רצון שתזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל!

The beautiful wedding took place on Lag BaOmer, and what better way to celebrate than with a joyful song. (The video was shot in the area around the soon-to-be former bridge to nowhere.)

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Iyar Top Ten

2013-04-25T23:03:00.001+03:00

The Our Shiputzim Editorial Board proudly presents:

The Top 10 Reasons That Iyar Rates As One of the Twelve Best Months to Be Living in Israel

10) The entire country is decorated in blue and white.

9) The IDF – which, as I’ve noted before, does its very best to ensure that religious soldiers’ needs are met – automatically grants shaving exemptions for the duration of Sefirah to any soldier who so requests.

8) The shaving exemption even applies to IDF soldiers appearing on national television during the Yom HaZikaron ceremony at the Kotel.

7) In any given year, at least one of your kids is chosen to play an active role in a Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzma’ut ceremony – whether in gan, school, your community, or even the army.

6) Three years after I first shared my in-laws’ incredible pictures of the Kotel in the summer of 1967, that post continues to be extremely popular - especially in the weeks leading up to Yom Yerushalayim.

5) That satisfying feeling of accomplishment you get after successfully completing yet-another Iyar Challenge (i.e. supplying each of your kids with enough white shirts to make it through the first week of Iyar).

4) The amazing seasonal music. (See, for example, Udi Davidi’s beautiful Hitna'ari (including a translation).)

3) Four words: Yom HaAtzma’ut in Israel. There’s nothing like it!

2) The way the Pesach/Yom HaShoah/Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzma’ut/Yom Yerushalayim/Shavuot continuum serves as a poignant reminder that the future of the Jewish People is here in Israel, where we’re B”H privileged to have front row seats on Jewish history.

1) The newly-minted four-day Lag BaOmer weekend…

!שבת שלום ול”ג-ל”ד שמח

Hinei Rakevet…

2013-04-16T18:19:00.001+03:00

In between partying at last night’s wonderful Yom HaAtzma’ut celebration, watching the Chidon HaTanach earlier today, and then enjoying a delicious BBQ (i.e. a mangal, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you), the Shiputzim family managed to find time to revisit Israel's version of the bridge to nowhere.

As you may recall, the bridge was built for the high-speed train which will eventually run from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim.

Since those pictures were taken, considerable progress has been made, and in honor of Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israel Railways offered free bus tours of the bridge and the tunnels behind it.

In addition, they had set up a festive fairground of sorts – complete with various attractions for the entire family.

As always, click on the pictures for a better view:

There were entertainers and patriotically-shaped balloons:

Other attractions included model trains, a picnic area, blue and white Lego, a movie, and inflatable rides for the kids:

Rounded concrete slabs which are used to line the tunnels and are installed robotically:

The erstwhile bridge-to-nowhere:

One of the tunnels:

The bridge leading into the tunnels:

Looking down at families on a Yom HaAtzma’ut hike in the valley below the bridge:

And finally, a video from inside the tunnel, which was bedecked with flashing lights in honor of Yom HaAtzma’ut. As you can hear, the bus driver played loud music, and if you watch carefully, you can catch a brief glimpse of the tour guide:

מועדים לשמחה

!לאלתר לגאולה שלמה

Happy Yom HaAtzma’ut to all!

Yom HaZikaron 5773

2013-04-14T21:15:00.001+03:00

As we remember each of Israel’s 23,085 fallen soldiers, here is the Kel Malei prayer for Yom HaZikaron followed by an English translation*:

אֵ-ל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים שׁוֹכֵן בַּמְּרוֹמִים, הַמְצֵא מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה עַל כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה בַּמַּעֲלוֹת קְדוֹשִׁים, טְהוֹרִים וְגִבּוֹרִים, כְּזֹהַר הָרָקִיעַ מַזְהִירִים, לְנִשְׁמוֹת הַקְּדוֹשִׁים שֶׁנִּלְחֲמוּ בְּכָל מַעַרְכוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל, בַּמַּחְתֶּרֶת וּבִצְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְשֶׁנָּפְלוּ בְּמִלְחַמְתָּם וּמָסְרוּ נַפְשָׁם עַל קְדֻשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם, הָעָם וְהָאָרֶץ, בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁאָנוּ מִתְפַּלְּלִים לְעִלּוּי נִשְׁמוֹתֵיהֶם. לָכֵן בַּעַל הָרַחֲמִים יַסְתִּירֵם בְּסֵתֶר כְּנָפָיו לְעוֹלָמִים וְיִצְרֹר בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים אֶת נִשְׁמוֹתֵיהֶם, ה' הוּא נַחֲלָתָם, בְּגַן עֵדֶן מְנוּחָתָם, וְיָנוּחוּ בְּשָׁלוֹם עַל מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם וְתַעֲמֹד לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל זְכוּתָם וְיַעַמְדוּ לְגוֹרָלָם לְקֵץ הַיָּמִין, וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.

“O God, full of mercy, Who dwells in the Heavens, deliver proper rest on the wings of the Divine Presence, in the ascents of the holy, the pure, and the courageous, who shine like the radiance of the firmament, to the holy souls who fought in all of Israel’s battles, in the Underground and in the Israel Defense Forces, and who fell in their wars and gave their lives to sanctify Hashem’s Name, the nation, and the Land, because we pray for their souls’ ascent.

“Therefore, may the Master of Mercy shelter them in the shelter of His wings for eternity, and may He bind their souls in the bonds of life. Hashem is their heritage; their rest is in the Garden of Eden. And may they rest in peace on their resting places, and may their merit stand for all of Israel, and may they stand for their fate at the end of days. And we shall say: Amen.”

.יהי זכרם ברוך

_________

*The above translation is courtesy of the official Our Shiputzim Hebrew-English translator. For more information, please contact me at OurShiputzim at gmail dot com, and I’ll gladly forward all serious inquiries to her.

Only in Israel: Restaurant edition

2013-04-14T12:25:00.001+03:00

Last week, YZG and I found ourselves driving to Tel Aviv.

After parking our car, we started walking toward our destination when we were stopped by the guard at the entrance to the parking lot.

He seemed to sense that we are from out of town (where town=Tel Aviv, not New York… :-)).

Was it the fact that we missed our exit driving into the city that gave us away?

Or was he simply being prophetic and accurately predicting that later that evening, we would – as we ALWAYS do at the end of every. single. visit to Tel Aviv - have trouble finding our way back onto the highway?

I don’t know.

But I do know that the friendly guard was clearly trying to be helpful when he asked us where we were going.

We told him that we were going to a certain restaurant, and the Russian-accented, bareheaded guard immediately replied, “Is that kosher?”

We thanked him for his concern and assured him that we had checked it out in advance and that the restaurant was indeed kosher l’mehadrin.

!מי כעמך ישראל
“Who is like Your nation Israel…”
(Divrei HaYamim I 17:21)

And on a related note, Latma has a new song for Yom HaAtzma’ut 5773:

Yom HaShoah 5773

2013-04-07T19:59:00.001+03:00

As Yom HaShoah 5773 begins, I think about my beloved maternal grandparents z”l, who were both Holocaust survivors.

My Bobi a”h - whose yahrzeit we will commemorate next week IY”H – was one of the strongest people I knew and loved Israel and her family.

My Zaidy a”h - a gifted talmid of Rav Elchanan Wasserman Hy”d in the Ohel Torah Yeshiva in Baranovitch and then Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l in the Kletzk Yeshiva – wrote an incredible letter to our family just before he died.

Zaidy z”l (standing, in the hat) - who earned an engineering degree from the University of Moscow during the war – teaches other survivors in the DP camp in Frankfurt in 1946.

I know that both Bobi and Zaidy a”h would be so proud that their eldest great-grandson yblt”a is now an IDF soldier.

May their memories be blessed, and may they continue to be melitzei yosher for all of us.

In this moving video, Rav Yisrael Meir Lau - Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and former Chief Rabbi of Israel – meets a fellow survivor from Buchenwald.

אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים שׁוֹכֵן בַּמְרוֹמִים, הַמְצֵא מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה תַחַת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה, בְּמַעֲלוֹת קְדוֹשִׁים וּטְהוֹרִים כְּזֹהַר הָרָקִיעַ מְאִירִים וּמַזְהִירִים, לְנִשְׁמוֹת אַחֵינוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַקְּדוֹשִׁים וְהַטְּהוֹרִים שֶׁנָּפְלוּ בִּידֵי הָרוֹצְחִים וְנִשְׁפַּךְ דָּמָם, בְּאַווּשְׁוִיץ, מַיְידַנֶק, טְרֶבְּלִינְקָה, וּבִשְׁאָר מַחֲנוֹת הַשְּׁמָד בְּאֵירוֹפָּה. שֶׁנֶּהֶרְגוּ וְנִשְׂרְפוּ וְנִשְׁחֲטוּ וְנִקְבְּרוּ חַיִּים, בְּכֹל מִיתוֹת מְשֻׁנּוֹת וְאַכְזָרִיוֹת, עַל קְדֻשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם… בְּגַן עֵדֶן תְּהֵא מְנוּחָתָם.
לָכֵן בַּעַל הָרַחֲמִים, יַסְתִּירֵם בְּסֵתֶר כְּנָפָיו לְעוֹלָמִים וְיִצְרֹר בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים אֶת נִשְׁמָתָם.
ה' הוּא נַחֲלָתָם וְיָנוּחוּ בְשָׁלוֹם עַל מִשְׁכָּבָם, וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.

(From the special Kel Malei prayer recited on Yom HaShoah)

Assorted blogbits

2013-04-05T15:36:00.001+03:00

Once again, in lieu of an actual post, here are various and sundry items of interest or note:

1) David M. Weinberg - a real life friend of the Shiputzim family - writes eloquently about reclaiming the world of Torah. (See also my related post from three years ago about religious-Zionist Torani communities.)

2) A guest post over at A Mother in Israel’s blog documents the separate and unequal situation at the Kotel.

3) HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein shlit”a - Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion and one of the leading Torah giants of our generation - discusses drafting yeshiva students.

4) And finally, the following moving video provides a fascinating glimpse at the birth of the IAF:

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Erev Pesach 5773 Report

2013-03-25T11:34:00.001+02:00

The chametz has been burned; the haircuts have been given; and the charoset (aka the chumus of Pesach) has been made.

Now the only thing left to do is eat our standard Erev Pesach lunch (hint: Kashla”P potato chips are certain to play a prominent role), set the table for the Seder, and then take naps.

But first, YZG and I want to thank the wonderful Shiputzim kids for their incredible help this past week.

They cleaned, cooked, baked, ran errands, peeled mounds and mounds of potatoes, and mostly (seeing as how we’re talking the week before Pesach and all), washed and dried a never-ending stream of dishes.

Thanks, guys! We love you!

But what makes the Shiputzim kids’ help particularly remarkable and appreciated is that they managed to accomplish so much in spite of the fact that they recently expanded this year’s List of ~~Justifications~~ Perfectly Understandable Reasons For Getting Out of Pesach Preparations.

As always, the list included the annual pre-Pesach youth group outing (i.e. the Masa Pesach, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you), studying for the bagruyot, and various and sundry yimei iyun (“study days” or day-long seminars – i.e. a chance for the teachers to cram several weeks’ worth of uncovered material into a few hours).

But this year, the talented Shiputzim kids were able to come up with two more ~~creative ways to avoid working~~ legitimate excuses to be elsewhere: sherut leumi and army service…

On a related note, Our Favorite Bat Sherut had the honor of being the first one to use our brand new Pesach electric hand mixer (our old one is now, um, functioning-challenged…) when she whipped up a batch of these yummy cookies:

Non-Gebrochts Chocolate Chip Cookies

Slightly adapted from here.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar (The original recipe called for 2 cups of white sugar, but next time, we hope to try it this way.)
2 envelopes vanilla sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 eggs
400 grams very finely ground almonds
1 cup potato starch
1 package chocolate chips

Directions

Cream sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla sugar with the oil. Beat in the eggs. Add the almonds and the potato starch and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and mix through.

Put the batter in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the freezer and form small balls out of the dough. Place the balls on a baking-paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until done.

Yield: 72 cookies (The original recipe indicated that it yielded only about 45 cookies, but apparently, we made much smaller cookies.)

!חג כשר ושמח

The entire Our Shiputzim staff wishes our readers a joyous and kosher Pesach.

May we all be privileged to eat in rebuilt Yerushalayim from the zevachim and from the pesachim, speedily and in our days. Amen.

The Maccabeats: Les Misérables

2013-03-19T16:00:00.001+02:00

Here’s the Maccabeats’ brand new Pesach video, based on “Les Misérables”:

Happy cleaning!

City of the Patriarchs

2013-03-12T00:17:00.001+02:00

Recently, one of the Shiputzim daughters had the privilege of going on a school trip to Kever Rachel and Hevron. </reason #2467 for making aliyah>

YZG went along and graciously offered to take some blogworthy pictures.

As always, please click on the photos for a much better view:

Me’arat HaMachpeilah (the Cave of the Patriarchs)

For some 700 years, the Moslems forbade the Jews from going beyond what was then the seventh step leading up to Me’arat HaMachpeilah’s eastern entrance. Today, many Jews continue to daven at this spot, because as the sign beautifully explains, the site “has been hallowed by the prayers and tears of countless generations.”

One of the shuls inside Me’arat HaMachpeilah

The sign reads, “Tziyun Kever Avraham Avinu” (“The Patriarch Avraham’s Grave Marker”) – although the actual burial place is probably not under this spot.

19th century Torah scrolls in Hevron’s Beit Knesset Avraham Avinu. The shul, now B”H rebuilt, was destroyed during the infamous Arab pogrom of 1929, but these Torah scrolls were miraculously saved.

Inside the Beit Hadassah Museum

Another view from the Beit Hadassah Museum

A third view from inside the museum

Thank you, YZG*, for these pictures!

When was the last time you were in Hevron?

___________

* Coincidentally, this is not the first time that YZG’s impressions of Hevron appeared on this blog. Long time readers may recall that thirty years ago, YZG visited Hevron when he came on a high school trip to Israel and kept a journal. :-)

Assorted Blogbits

2013-03-06T15:02:00.001+02:00

In lieu of a full-length post, here are several items of interest or note:

1) In a beautiful dvar Torah he delivered at a bar mitzvah this past Shabbat, YZG said that R’ Tzadok of Lublin explained that simchah (joy) is about optimism and our hope for the future. (For instance, the simchah of Adar is connected to the fact that Nissan – the month of Geulah (Redemption) - is right around the corner.) And on a related note, JPost has a wonderful piece about Israelis' rosy outlook on life.

2) The latest Haveil Havalim is available here. Special thanks to Esser Agaroth for including my post about religious soldiers and today's IDF.

3) Tis the season to, er, dust off the Our Shiputzim General Theory of Pesach Preparations. (IMNSHO, the best part of this plan is that there’s very little actual cleaning involved… :-))

4) Speaking of Pesach, a few years ago I observed that life in Bnei Brak continues to resemble the Haggadah. But as Rafi G. reports, Bnei Brak’s mayor thinks that it’s time for a change.

5) In an amazing take on the mitzvah of bikur cholim, students from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance flash-waltzed Tchaikovsky's “Waltz of the Flowers” at Yerushalayim’s Hadassah Hospital:

6) And finally, did you know that Our Shiputzim updates are available on Facebook? Simply head on over to the Our Shiputzim FB page and click “Like.”

!בשורות טובות

Fantastic Quote Friday: Torah leadership edition

2013-02-28T22:06:00.001+02:00

A recent interview with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein shlit”a - Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion and one of the leading Torah giants of our generation - included the following, which IMHO seems to be an incredible refutation of the newfangled “Daas Torah” philosophy:

Interviewer: “You recently decried the trend of contemporary rabbinic authorities to isolate themselves from worldly affairs and general human wisdom. How much of a problem is this for religious life and for the Jewish people? How can the trend be reversed?”

Rav Lichtenstein שליט”א: “There is a lack of breadth and depth on the part of some in positions of leadership. Despite these limitations, some in the religious community turn to them for guidance in areas in which they lack the capacity to give wise advice. We probably cannot reverse this trend in the short term, but in the long term we should see to it that people receive a rich Torah education that is blended with an understanding of human nature and society. People with this broad education should be given a more prominent role as advisers and in making policy. Conversely, people who lack this educational and cultural breadth should recognize these limitations, as should those who turn to these leaders for guidance.”

Your thoughts?
(Please keep it civil. Thanks!)

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Heblishization of the Megilah III

2013-02-23T23:11:00.001+02:00

In honor of Purim and brought to you by
the producers of the now-legendary Heblish translations of Mah Nishtanah, Esther 3, and Esther 5,
the Our Shiputzim Editorial Board and OOOFNHS (=one of our favorite native Heblish speakers) proudly present:

The Official Heblish Translation

Megilat Esther - Chapter 7

(1) And the king and Haman came to drink with Esther, the queen.

(2) And the king said to Esther also in the second day, in the mishteh of the wine, “What is your question, Esther, the queen, and it will be given to you. And what is your request, until half of the kingdom, and it will get done.”

(3) And Esther, the queen, answered, and she said, “If I found chein in your eyes, the king, and if it is good on the king, my soul will be given to me in my question and my nation in my request.

(4) “Because we were sold, I and my nation, to destroy, to kill, and to lose. And if to slaves and to slaves-that-are-girls, we were sold, I was quiet, because the narrow is not equal in the damage of the king.”

(5) And the king, Achashveirosh, said, and he said to Esther, the queen, “Who is he this, and which is he, that filled up his heart to do yes?”

(6) And Esther said, “A narrow man and an enemy, this bad Haman!” And Haman was kicked from before the king and the queen.

(7) And the king got up in his anger from the mishteh of the wine to the garden of the bitan. And Haman stood up to request on his soul from Esther, the queen, because he saw, because she ended to him the bad from the king.

(8) And the king came back from the garden of the bitan to the house of the mishteh of the wine, and Haman is falling on the bed that Esther is on it, and the king said, “Also to capture the queen with me in the house?” The thing went out from the mouth of the king, and the face of Haman chafu’d.

(9) And Charvonah, one from the sarissim, said before the king, “Also, here the tree that Haman made to Mordechai, that talked good on the king, is standing in the house of Haman, tall of fifty amah!" And the king said, “Hang him on it!”

(10) And they hanged Haman on the tree that he got ready to Mordechai. And the anger of the king shachechah’d.

¡ɯıɹnԀ ʎddɐH

םירופ חמש!

Myths and Facts

2013-02-18T22:54:00.001+02:00

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for opinion pieces by bloggers who have absolutely no business writing about controversial topics and who should stick to things like Heblish. Proceed at your own risk.

Featured prominently in the recent elections and apparently the main focus of the current coalition negotiations, universal conscription - aka “sharing the burden” – is now a hot topic here in Israel.

As I have mentioned several times, YZG and I are the very proud parents of a hesder yeshiva student/soldier, and thus, you won’t be surprised to hear that I firmly believe that hesder is the ideal answer to this issue.

However, I respect the fact that other people see things differently, but nevertheless, I think that there are two fundamental principles that we all can agree upon:

For various reasons, the status quo is untenable and unsustainable (both in the long term and in the short term).
Trying to modify the status quo through coercion (religious OR secular) will only backfire.

Yet, unfortunately, many political and communal leaders – including those who should know better – refuse to acknowledge one or both of these principles and have even resorted to what can only be described as misrepresentations, slander, and outright lies.

Here, then, is my humble attempt at setting the record straight:

IDF Myths and Facts

The following is based on the experiences of the CTO and his friends.

MYTH: The IDF has it in for religious soldiers.
FACT: Not only does the army go out of its way to make sure that religious soldiers are given sufficient time to daven three times a day and to bench after every meal, but consider the following true stories: (I know each of the soldiers involved personally.)

Soldier A’s unit was based down south, on the border, on Yom Kippur. Due to the extreme heat, not drinking would definitely lead to severe dehydration within a relatively short amount of time, and therefore, according to Jewish law, the soldiers were required to drink. However, each soldier carried a small army-issued vial in his pocket to ensure that he drink less than a “shiur” of water at a time. (CYLOR for details.)
Soldier B spent Yom Kippur on a remote, secluded base. On Erev Yom Kippur, the army provided a bus to take the religious soldiers to the nearest town – so that they could immerse in the mikvah.
Soldier C reports that before Succot, the army built a beautiful, large succah on his base. Not only was there plenty of room for everyone to eat in the succah, but there was also room for sleeping. The army even provided the soldiers with cots! Also, there were more than enough sets of Arba Minim to go around, and before Hoshanah Rabah, the army gave each soldier an additional set of aravot.
Soldier D participated in an advanced training course, which involved numerous written tests on the material covered. However, during chol hamoed, the tests were given on the computer.

Note that in all four cases, the soldiers didn’t request any considerations. The army simply granted them automatically.

***

MYTH: The IDF has no interest in making allowances for chareidi soldiers and their stringencies.
FACT: Already today, the food on a surprising number of bases is “mehadrin,” and the army has made it quite clear that it is prepared to increase that number if/when there is a demand.

Also, quietly and without fanfare, the army has been preparing for an influx of chareidim. For instance, male soldiers (including hesdernikim with low medical profiles) are being assigned to some of the positions traditionally filled by women (such as interviewing new recruits, training, etc.). The idea behind this move is to ensure that chareidi soldiers won’t have to compromise on their principles of strict gender segregation.

***

MYTH: Yeshivot hesder can’t be compared to “real” [sic] yeshivas.
FACT: By any objective standard – e.g. the level of learning; the students’ skills, dedication, commitment, knowledge, and love of Torah learning; and the caliber, stature, and reputation of the roshei yeshiva and ram”im – the hesder yeshivas rank among Israel’s top yeshivot.

***

MYTH: The IDF is working to disband the hesder units.
FACT: The IDF’s top brass clearly consider the hesdernikim to be some of the army’s best and most motivated soldiers and recognize that the vast majority of hesdernikim volunteer for combat units and are among the first to show up for reserve duty.

Moreover, the IDF is slowly opening up additional branches of the military (e.g. the navy) to hesder soldiers.

***

MYTH: The IDF has enough soldiers and therefore doesn’t need the chareidim.
FACT: Even a layman can understand that a bigger army is a stronger army.

But even if one accepts the premise that there’s no room in the IDF for more than a specific number of soldiers, a larger draft pool will result in a higher-quality army. (After all, the army will have the luxury of choosing the best possible soldiers.)

Also, a surplus of soldiers can mean shortened military service and less reserve duty for everyone.

***

MYTH: Soldiers tend to become less observant/religious while in the army.
FACT: The opposite is true for hesder soldiers.

Since the yeshivot prepare them - religiously, spiritually, halachically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically - for their upcoming military service, hesdernikim know what they’re getting into and are acutely aware of the fact that they’re fighting for Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael according to Torat Yisrael.

Also, the yeshivot stay in touch with their beloved chayalim throughout their military service - via weekly newsletters, phone calls, and even personal visits from the yeshiva’s rabbis to the army bases.

***

Your thoughts?
(Please keep it civil. Thanks!)

Freshly Baked Goods Friday: Applesauce Crumb Cake Edition

2013-02-08T14:10:00.001+02:00

Some of you (you know who you are!) have suggested that the previous post was – how shall I put this? – quite the blogging cop-out.

But before you rush to award it the much-coveted “Most Unoriginal Post Award,” just wait until you read THIS post.

After all, as the title implies, it’s supposed to be a recipe post. (Please stop by and taste the results, if you happen to find yourself near TRLEOOB* tonight!)

And yet, the recipe comes from Mimi over at Israeli Kitchen; Our Favorite Bat Sherut did the baking; and YZG took care of the photography.

So, where did that leave me and why am I the one getting credit for this post, you [understandably] ask?

Well, SOMEBODY had to click “publish”…

Applesauce Crumb Cake

Slightly modified from here.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
2½ cups flour
2 heaping tsp baking powder (i.e. one envelope for my Israeli readers)
Zest of one lemon – chopped
2/3 cup canola oil
1 jar applesauce (about 2½ cups)

Topping

2 TBSP sugar (next time, I would perhaps increase this to 3 TBSP)
1 TBSP cinnamon

Directions

Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and lemon zest. Add oil and mix through. Spread half the dough into a baking-paper-lined 9x9 square baking pan.

Spread the applesauce over the dough in the pan, and crumble the remaining dough over the applesauce. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the cake.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until done.

Store in the refrigerator.

!בתאבון ושבת שלום

_______________

*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

Euphonic Friday: The Reputation Salvaging Edition

2013-01-31T13:42:00.001+02:00

If you’re a blogger, you have good reason to be very grateful for the amenities of modern life.

After all, as little as, say, oh, 100 years ago, if one’s real life endeavors were getting in the way of one’s blogging time and preventing one from completing the countless half-written posts floating around one’s brain and/or drafts folder, there wasn’t much one could do about it.

I mean, back in those days, one would be accused of shamelessly neglecting one’s blog, and one would be helpless in the face of those, um, slanderous assaults on one’s blogging honor.

But today, thanks to the wondrous miracle of embedded videos, there’s a simple yet elegant solution to this unfortunate problem.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1:

First, select a familiar pasuk from Sefer Tehilim – ideally one that’s recited every morning (both on Shabbat and on weekdays) as part of the Shacharit prayer service.

For example:

“.וַאֲנִי בְּחַסְדְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי יָגֵל לִבִּי בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ אָשִׁירָה לַה’ כִּי גָמַל עָלָי”
“And I trusted in Your kindness, my heart will rejoice in Your salvation, I will sing to Hashem, for He bestowed upon me.”
(Tehilim 13:6)

Step 2:

Second, search for a video (or even two) of a beautiful song based on that pasuk.

For example:

Rav Baruch Chait sings “VaAni B’Chasdecha.

Mordechai Ben David covers the same song.

Step 3:

Finally, slap on a cumbersome introduction and conclusion (which seem oh-so-witty when you write them at 1:00 AM but which you [correctly] suspect will fall flat by the light of day), and publish the resultant post.

And, voila!

Your blogging reputation is, once again, intact…

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Euphonic Friday: Erev Tu B’Shvat Edition

2013-01-24T23:19:00.001+02:00

In an ideal world, Friday Erev Tu B’Shvat would be a perfect time to post a rendition of the classic HaShkediyah Porachat. (A [particularly awkward] English translation is available here.)

But unfortunately, here in TRLEOOB*, our shkediyah (=almond tree) has always been a bit of a, ahem, late bloomer.

In fact, as you can see in the following picture, it doesn’t yet have a single flower:

As usual, feel free to click on the picture for a better view.

And so, it will be necessary to look elsewhere for today’s edition of “Euphonic Friday”.

As you may recall, it’s become somewhat of a tradition here on Our Shiputzim to post Shimi Tavori’s Mizrachi favorite Moshe this time of year, when the weekly Torah readings revolve around the Exodus from Egypt.

But this year, I think we’ll take it up a notch and post not one but - count ‘em! – two versions of this song:

First, the original version, complete with backup dancers (dressed relatively modestly – at least by today’s standards) shimmying (no pun intended…) incongruously to a song about Moshe Rabbeinu:

And second, a more recent, less grainy but also far less amusing :-)version (which also includes “Kinor David”):

!שבת שלום וט”ו בשבט שמח

______________

*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

The top 10 signs you’re voting in Israel

2013-01-22T15:23:00.001+02:00

The Our Shiputzim Editorial Board proudly presents:

The Top 10 Signs It’s Election Day in Israel

10) A glorious, festive air hangs over the entire country.

9) Your son, the IDF soldier, voted on his base.

8) When the election official at your local polling station checked your family’s names on the official list, she noticed that one eligible voter was missing (see #9 above) and said with a smile, “You left someone at home!”

7) You made sure to read Jameel’s excellent elections guide before heading out to vote.

6) Perfect strangers greet you with a joyous “chag samei’ach!” as they pass you in the street.

5) You wonder again, for the umpteenth time, why more Israelis don’t seem to want to have Sundays as a weekly day-off?

4) Even the weather cooperates, as the winter storm of two weeks ago gives way to unseasonably warm temperatures.

3) You’re intensely aware that being eligible to vote in the State of Israel means that you’re blessed with a front row seat on Jewish history.

2) You notice that unlike in the States - where people often refer to voting as “fulfilling one’s civic duty” - here in Israel, people always talk about voting as an incredible privilege or right (i.e. zchut ha’hatzba’ah, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you), which isn’t to be taken lightly or for granted.

1) Although you’ve been living in Israel for many years now BA”H, you still get a thrill over dropping your ballot into the voting box.

May today’s elections herald besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) for Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Torat Yisrael.

Vote early, vote often

2013-01-21T14:44:00.001+02:00

Here in Israel, we’re all busy gearing up for Election Day (i.e. Yom HaBechirot, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you).

Which isn’t as easy as it sounds. In fact, the period leading up to elections is always very tense and stressful.

I mean, not only are our phones ringing off the hook as various and sundry would-be MKs call us “personally” to beg for our votes, but our inboxes and Facebook newsfeeds are overflowing with election-related posts – both serious ones as well as countless versions of the following, um, “prayer”:

רבונו של עולם! תן לי "כח להשפיע" על "עם שלם", להתפלל ב"נץ", לעשות את "העבודה" ב"מרץ", לפעול כדי ש"התנועה" תהיה תמיד "קדימה", ללמוד את ה"שס" ולזכור שעיקר ה"יהדות" היא "התורה". יהי רצון שיהיה בעמנו "איחוד לאומי" ו"ליכוד" של כל חלקי העם וש"ביתנו" יהיה "בית יהודי" אחד גדול, כי "יש עתיד" ו"עוצמה לישראל"!

And then there’s the small matter of deciding which party deserves our vote.

Indeed, many voters (including myself, although YZG and the Shiputzim family’s first-time voters have all made up their minds) continue to waver between ideological and strategic voting and probably won’t make a final decision until arriving at their local polling stations tomorrow IY”H.

But IMHO, the biggest challenge is trying to figure out how we’re going to cram nearly four years’ worth of Sunday activities into a single day…

May tomorrow’s elections bring besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) for Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Torat Yisrael.

Assorted blogbits

2013-01-17T14:22:00.001+02:00

In lieu of a full-length post, here are several items of interest or note:

1) The following fascinating video tells the tragic story of the “Lamed-Heh” – the 35 brave Palmach fighters who set out to provide desperately-needed ammunition and supplies to Gush Etzion’s beleaguered defenders 65 years ago this week:

2) The latest Kosher Cooking Carnival is available here. Special thanks to Ester for including my apple cinnamon cupcake post.

3) Tis the season… for pomelos. If the list of search terms leading to this blog over the past few weeks is any indication, people around the world have apparently developed a sudden interest in learning how to eat a pomelo.

4) As was the case four years ago, YZG and I once again find ourselves deliberating between strategic and ideological voting. How about you?

5) Mazal tov to guest blogger Malke and her family on the birth of a grandson! May his parents be privileged to raise him to Torah, to chupah, and to maasim tovim!

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Fine Arts Friday: Parshat VaEra Edition

2013-01-10T20:32:00.001+02:00

Israelis were divided into two groups today: those who were privileged to have snow in their own backyards and those who were forced to brave the icy roads in order to get their winter wonderland fix.

Although security considerations (ah, the travails of semi-anonymous blogging… ;-)) prevent me from telling you if we belong to the first or the second group, the halachot of snow day blogging apparently require me to share a picture of the Shiputzim kids’ snowy masterpiece:

And speaking of the Shiputzim kids and their handiwork…

About a month or two ago, ACSK (=a certain Shiputzim kid) had to do a project for school about one of the Ten Plagues and chose Makat Dam (the Plague of Blood).

Seeing as we will IY”H be reading Parshat VaEra this coming Shabbat, I figured that it would be appropriate to post the final result:

As always, feel free to click on the picture for a much better view.

In addition, here are a few close-ups of some of the details:

An Egyptian is upset, because his cup of water has turned to blood.

The well on the Goshen side has clear, sweet water.

An Egyptian has to buy water from a Jewish man.

A bathtub on the Egyptian side is filled with blood.

Special thanks to ACSK’s older siblings for all their help.

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Rains of blessing

2013-01-09T15:29:00.001+02:00

As the amazing storm of the century continues unabated and the Kinneret’s water level continues to rise, our Rav has instructed that one recite the thanksgiving blessing for rain.

He added that both men and women should recite the blessing, which can be recited either in public (i.e. as part of a congregation in shul) or in private.

Here is the Hebrew text followed by an English translation*:

ברכת הודאה על הגשמים

מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ ה' אֱלֹקינוּ וֵאלֹקי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ עַל כּל טִפָּה וטִפָּה שֶׁהוֹרַדְתָּ לָּנוּ.

ואִלּוּ פִינוּ מָלֵא שִׁירָה כַּיָּם, וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה כַּהֲמוֹן גַּלָּיו, ושִׂפְתוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁבַח כּמֶרְחֲבֵי רָקִיעַ, ועֵינֵינוּ מאִירוֹת כַּשֶּׁמֶשׁ וכַיָּרֵחַ, ויָדֵינוּ פרוּשׂוֹת כּנִשְׁרֵי שָׁמָיִם, ורַגְלֵינוּ קַלּוֹת כָּאַיָּלוֹת, אֵין אֲנַחְנוּ מַסְפִּיקִים להוֹדוֹת לךָ, ה' אֱלֹקינוּ וֵאלֹקי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, וּלְבָרֵךְ אֶת שִׁמְךָ עַל אַחַת מֵאֶלֶף אַלְפֵי אֲלָפִים, ורֹב רִבֵּי רבָבוֹת פּעָמִים הַטּוֹבוֹת, נִסִּים ונִפְלָאוֹת שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ עִמָּנוּ ועִם אֲבוֹתֵינוּ.

מִלּפָנִים מִמִּצְרַיִם גּאַלְתָּנוּ ה' אֱלֹקינוּ, מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים פּדִיתָנוּ. בּרָעָב זַנְתָּנוּ וּבְשָׂבָע כִּלְכַּלְתָּנוּ. מֵחֶרֶב הִצַּלְתָּנוּ, מִדֶּבֶר מִלַּטְתָּנוּ, וּמֵחְלָיִם רָעִים ורַבִּים דִּלִּיתָנוּ.

עַד הֵנָּה עֲזָרוּנוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ ולֹא עֲזָבוּנוּ חֲסָדֶיךָ.

עַל כֵּן אֵבָרִים שֶׁפִּלַּגְתָּ בָּנוּ, ורוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּפַחְתָּ בּאַפֵּנוּ, ולָשׁוֹן אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתָּ בּפִינוּ, הֵן הֵם יוֹדוּ וִיבָרְכוּ וִישַׁבּחוּ וִיפָאֲרוּ אֶת שִׁמְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ תָּמִיד. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֵ-ל רֹב הַהוֹדָאוֹת.

The Thanksgiving Blessing for Rain

We gives thanks to You, Hashem, our God and the God of our fathers, for each and every drop which You sent down for us.

And were our mouths as full of song as the sea, and our tongues as full of joy as the multitude of its waves, and our lips as full of praise as the expanse of the heavens, and our eyes as radiant as the sun and the moon, and our arms as outspread as the eagles of the sky, and our legs as swift as hinds, we still could not thank You enough, Hashem, our God and the God of our fathers, or bless Your Name for even one of the thousands of thousands and the myriads of myriad favors, miracles, and wonders which You performed for us and for our fathers.

From Egypt, You redeemed us, Hashem, our God; from the house of slaves, You liberated us. In famine, You nourished us, and in plenty, You sustained us. From the sword, You saved us; from the plague, You rescued us; and from malignant and numerous diseases, You spared us.

Until this point, Your mercies have helped us, and Your kindnesses have not forsaken us.

Therefore, the organs which You fixed in us, and the spirit and the soul which You blew into our nostrils, and the tongue which You placed in our mouth – they will thank and bless and praise and exalt Your Name, our King, forever. Blessed are You, Hashem, God of bountiful thanksgivings.

_______

* The Hebrew-to-English translator who provided the above translation has asked me to announce that she’s available for translation work. For more information, please contact me at OurShiputzim at gmail dot com, and I’ll gladly forward all serious inquiries to her.

Prophetic blogging

2013-01-07T17:41:00.001+02:00

So, here’s the question: Do you believe that anyone live-blogged the Exodus from Egypt?

On one hand, the historical evidence suggests that no one did. After all, the Biblical era forerunner of modern blog editing software wasn’t really worth the papyrus it was written on, and even today, few – if any - spellcheckers can handle hieroglyphics.

But on the other hand, it was the Exodus!

We’re talking the Burning Bush! The Ten Plagues! The Splitting of the Sea!

Is it really possible that not ONE person who witnessed those earth-shattering events thought to him- or herself, “Wow! This would make an AWESOME post! My readers would LOVE to hear all about it! I am SO blogging this!”

Well, as it turns out (and as YZG pointed out after shul this past Shabbat Parshat Shmot), Sephardim and Ashkenazim obviously disagree on this topic.

The former apparently feel that blogging played no part in the Exodus, but the latter clearly hold otherwise.

I say this, because while Sephardic practice is to read the haftarah of Parshat Shmot from Sefer Yirmiyahu (Chapters 1-2), Ashkenazim traditionally read from Sefer Yeshayahu (Chapters 27-29).

And if one takes a quick look at Yeshaya 28:11 – i.e. right in the middle of the haftarah - one sees the following:

“כִּי בְּלַעֲגֵי שָׂפָה וּבְלָשׁוֹן אַחֶרֶת יְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעָם הַזֶּה.”

Admittedly, certain literal-minded translators may claim that this verse means:

”For with distorted speech and in another tongue, he will speak to this nation.”

But we here at Our Shiputzim believe that a much better translation is:

”For [on] blogs of (‘bloggei’) language and in another tongue, he will speak to this nation.”

Your thoughts?