This One Is Not Just A Face Or A Name

IDF Soldier Killed in Action Near Ramallah
by Gil Ronen

(IsraelNN.com) A soldier from the IDF Duchifat Battalion was killed when terrorists opened fire on an army force at Bir Zeit, near Ramallah, in the Binyamin region on Wednesday night. His name was released for publication on Thursday morning: Noam Adin Rechter Levi, 20, from Mitzpeh Netofa in the Galilee.

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Thank God soldiers don't die very often. But even when they do, how many times do we know them? Usually, we'll see their picture in the paper, be sad, think of him every Yom HaZikaron, but that's it.
Well, I know this one. We were together for a year, maybe a little less. He was in the Nov 06 draft, but because he was a medic, he came to my draft to finish training. He was in the 2nd division (machlakah 2), while I was in the 3rd (Machlakah 3), so we for basic and advanced training, a lot of the day we weren't together. But we talked alot, chilled, hung out. Noam was a great person, and great friend. He always cheered me up when I needed it, he always made me laugh. He was Canadian too, and therefore spoke English, which for me in the army was huge (I was the only American). I didn't see him so much, we weren't SO close, but we chilled a lot, & let me tell you, he was a really speical "neshama," as they say in Hebrew.

E-l malei rachamim...Goodbye Noam.
I miss you man.

HaShem Yikom Damecha.

The Siren

Just like last week on Yom Hasho'a, there was a siren to remember the dead -- two actually on Yom Hazikaron, one at night at 8 pm, and the other at 11 am the next morning. On Yom Hasho'a though, the siren is at 10 am, so when I looked at my watch at 1045 I thought I might have missed it. But then I thought can't be.... either way, at 11 I was on a bus to town. We were on Begin, and I see the bus pull over. I look up from what I was doing, and then I see him stand up, and I realize that the sound I hear in the backround is the siren. It was really cool, finally having that experience of stopping-in-the-middle-of-everything for the siren. I don't stand quietly. I don't think that does anything. I say Tehilim to myself quietly, l'ilui nishmas the dead. So that's what I did. Then it stopped, and we kept going. Until next year...

Milu'im, Pesach

Once again it's been a while since I last wrote. Since then I had milu'im a week and two days before Pesach. I finished milu'im on Erev Pesach itself. Said Birkas Hachama on base at 630 am. Gorgeous sunrise, above the hills. It was cool being back, I missed the army. I brought my gun also, that was cool. I was one of about 5 people who brought their pistols. Everyone who did, though, works as a security guard somewhere (one guy even works in the Old City, but I don't see him because he's in the Christian Quarter). Everyone kept asking me, "So, where do you work?" "Uh...at home," I said, or "I work for my wife."
My friend is making for me a thigh holster for it for next milu'im. It's not comfortable to keep in the pants when I got the vest and all that on me.
Milu'im was good. It was the first shabbos a I wasn't home since July, that shavu'a milchama. A little weird, but it was ok. It was funny getting there the first day and seeing my sergeants in the same milu'im unit as me. I got there and saw one of them with long hair, an eyebrow ring. I even did a jeep patrol with one of them for eight hours.
Milu'im is such another world. They don't care about being "medugam," looking good and presentable. You can have your sleeves rolled up while wearing the vest, you don't need to cuff your pants up above the boots, there's no dress uniform. Milu'im is about coming, doing the job, and going home. No fooling around with all that stuff.
Pesach was great. We were at her parents. On Sunday Chol HaMoed we went to Teveriya to the Sheraton. Gorgeous place, amazing food, great people. met some friends there. New ones, old ones, random ones, good stuff. We went biking at Agam Chula in the Chula Valley next to the Golan on Monday. We went to some kivrei tzadikim also. Erev Yomtov afternoon we went on a boat ride on the Kineret. All in all, great time.

Now I'm BH back at yeshiva, new zman, new meseches. Same Old City.
Well that's it for me. Til next time...hopefully soon....

Let's Go Mets!

"Missing Baseball"

My friend tagged me in her note on Facebook. She's doing a limerick contest, and the winner gets some prize. So I figured, eh why not? She tagged me, I might as well. So this is what I entered. What y'all think?

I'm so happy for the return of baseball
I craved having a catch and all
I yearned for the sound of ball and mitt
And that game-winning hit
Oh how I missed the game of baseball

Ok well someone commented on it and said that they also have to be in rythym. Oh well. I guess I'll fix it up...(what if I take out the word "so?" Let's see...)

I'm happy for the return of baseball
I craved having a catch and all
I yearned for the sound of ball and mitt
And that game-winning hit
Oh how I missed the game of baseball

Whatever...what y'all think?

Schimmelism Of The Week LXXXII

I haven't done this in a LOONG time... no good lines worth repeating. What is a man to do?

Props (some like saying "hat tip." I like that actually) to Kfare on this one. I think this happened at the Superbowl two years ago:

Clive (Kfare's English roomate): It's funny, I thought I heard a guy say SuperBOWL instead of superball.
Kfare: It is Superbowl
Clive: Oh, that's stupid.

Kiddush Levana -- Praying To The Moon....? Nah...

Wow I haven't posted in a long time... shame on me. Anyway it's mine and Tzivia's wedding anniversary this Shabbos. One year...wow. The year went by so fast didn't it?

I was at the Kotel tonight, and after I finished Ma'ariv, my friend and were saying Kiddush Levana, the prayer for sanctifying the moon after Rosh Chodesh. I've noticed that many people actually face the moon.

Listen, I understand how it would start that people would face the moon. Kinda like what I think about the Kotel, people just might not realize. I mean, you DO have to look at the moon first. But people have to realize that we can't face the moon. We have to face mizrach (or whatever direction Yerushalayim is), and not look we're actually praying to the moon.

The annoying one is when they're facing the moon when they're AT the Kotel...*sigh*

Are sfardis actually supposed to face the moon...? That's ridic...

Agunos: The Problem & Solution

Tzivia has been taking an introduction to Taldmud class at HU, where she's doing mechina. The final isn't a test, but a thesis paper, on pretty much anything they want in Judaism, with, obviously, roots in the Gemara (not excactly sure what that means...). I have been helping my wife on the topic she chose, takanos, while using ksuba and agunah as her rxamples.
For those who don't know, an agunah is a woman is "chained" (the literal meaning) to her marriage, there is no way for her to get out of it (the Torah says that the man has to give her the get). Either the husband disappeared, or he refuses to give her a get. Fortunately, the former is not so common. Sadly, the second one is more common than it has ever been.
It seems that everyone (rabbis, non-rabbis, people who think they're rabbis...) has tried to come up with something to get rid of the agunah situation, but for one reason or another, it's shot down.

The question is though, why does something need to be done? Why do we need to think of a new halcha, takana?

No, no, I'm not saying agunah is good. I'm saying that maybe we should revert to something of old. There is already something to be done. The Gemara (Kiddushin 50a, and about four or five other places including Bava Basra, Arachin, Gittin) says, "we force him until he says, 'I'll do it.'" According to pretty much everybody (Rambam Hil. Gerushin 2:20; Tur Even Ha'ezer Siman 134 (I'm pretty sure that's the siman)), "force" means to beat the crap out of the guy. It was used in the times of the gemara, geonim, rishonim and even acharonim. So why don't we use it today?
Great question. And the answer I got from two seperate people today (one of which, I'm told, has been involved with agunah work, and the other a rabbi)? Because governments are full of leftists who don't like hitting people. The rabbi said it a little nicer, but that's basically waht he meant. People are getting more politically correct. Of course we should try to avoid it if we can, like imprison him, fine/tax him, etc., but if none of these work, then hey, we shouldn't just stop there, especially when the halacha says not to! Halacha says to beat him, so why aren't we? Because the government is against hitting people, as is understandable, but is sometimes needed.
The beating is only allowed though, when the husband is required to give a get. If he is not required, no beating. I must say though, I would think most of the agunah cases are, in fact, requiring the husband to give a get. I've read a few cases where the husband is abusing and beating her -- clearly a case where he would be obligated.
I did hear though, that there might be a few secret mafias around beating up recalcitrant husband who refuse to give a get. That is good. But that fact that it needs to be secret...?
A few of the things I have read have been bashing the rabbis. "The rabbis are all selfish," "the rabbis don't care about agunahs," "If they cared, they make a takana or something,"etc. etc. Listen, I don't know these rabbis, it could be they really are as seflish as people are saying, and really they could do something. I do know one thing though: It's hard to change halacha. Sure, we can try to make a takana, passively not doing anything ("from now on we won't do this...," "from now on, this is assur...," etc.), but to actively add something to halacha can, and is, to my knowledge, very questionable. I don't think its fair to blame the rabbis for not doing anything, not trying to find a loophole. It just might be that, nebach, there's no way to get an agunah a get, except by the husbands will. I don't like it eiter, and I don't think it's fair, but that's the Torah of God, and for whatever reason He decided it to be this way. I think rabbis obviously should try to find something, but shouldn't be blamed for not finding anything. Believe it or not, it's kinda hard to make up halachos.
Besides, as I said before, there is a beautiful way that has worked for a long time, and I think that should be put back in use.

Names No Normal Person Should Name Their Kids

Adolph
Hitler
Eichmann
Heinrich
Himmler
Haman
Sadam
Osama
Aryan Nation

Anyone care to add?

Adolf Hitler refused a birthday cake

Adolf Hitler refused a birthday cake

By staff writers December 17, 2008

The father of a toddler called Adolf Hitler Campbell says it is unfair that a store denied him a birthday cake with his child's name on it.

New Jersey man Heath Campbell, 35, has decorated his home with swastikas and says he is related to a member of the SS.

But he says it is the store that wouldn't write "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler" on a cake that should be showing more consideration for other people's feelings.

"They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what (Hitler) did," he told the Associated Press.

...."Other kids get their cake. I get a hard time," he said. "It's not fair to my children."

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Say that again? Your poor boy Adolph doesn't get a cake while everyone else does? Aw, I'm sorry, maybe next time you won't be an idiot.

And no, my misguided friend, a name isn't just a name. You gotta think before you give your son a name like that. "Haman Schwarzmer! Get back in here!"

Seriously, come on...

Besides, how do you know how your kid will grow up? I bet the first adolph hitler's (yimach shmo vzichro) mother said the same damn thing..."He's gonna grow up and kill Jews? My son??..."

Aryan Nation?? Please...