Parsha Vayigash Part 1
We left off last week where HASHEM tells Yacov to return. Yacov
miraculously escapes from Lavan by the intervention of G-D. Now he is going to
have to face his most powerful enemy, his brother, Esav. There is a danger from
Missionaries with the hard sales tactics that Jews face from time to time.
However, the witnesses and some Mormons come on to you with the more subtle
approach of befriending you and sometime later in the friendship comes let me
tell you all about Jews for Cheeses etc. The brother threat is a bigger threat
than a frontal attack for one learns how to deal with a frontal attack by
either fighting back or fleeing the Nazis, Inquisition or Stalin. My first
experience was at the age of 12 with a 12 year old Catholic Girl infatuated by
me and she told me she wanted to marry me but… Fortunately in those days I did
not have a great Yetzer HaRa for females as I had not reached puberty and the
test was not much of a test. This is one of the things that Yacov faced not
only a frontal attack from Esav but “Save me from my brother Esav”!
32:4 And
Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the
field of Edom.
Malachim can be messengers or angels and Rashi says that they were
Angels that Yacov met at Mahanaim. This also explains the wrestling story.
5 And he
commanded them, saying: 'Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: Thus says thy
servant Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now.
Rashi here is based on a more ancient text. However, as nice as
the 613 works out, Yacov had no obligation to any more Mitzvos than a ben Noach
and he married two sisters and some say the servants wives were paternal half
sisters
I
have sojourned: Heb. גַּרְתִּי. I did not become an
officer or a dignitary, but a stranger (גֵּר)
. It is not worthwhile for you to hate me on account of your father’s blessing,
[with] which he blessed me (27:29):“You shall be a master over your brothers,”
for it was not fulfilled in me (Tanchuma Buber Vayishlach 5). Another
explanation: גַּרְתִּי has the numerical
value of 613. That is to say: I lived with the wicked Laban, but I kept the 613
commandments, and I did not learn from his evil deeds.
6 And I
have oxen, and asses and flocks, and men-servants and maid-servants; and I have
sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in thy sight.' 7 And the messengers
returned to Jacob, saying: 'We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh
to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.'
We
came to your brother, to Esau: Concerning whom you said, “He is my brother,”
but he still behaves toward you like the wicked Esau. He still has hatred
(Genesis Rabbah 75:7).
Unless one is making a wedding or a war or a pose to hunt down somebody
one does not come with such an amount of men towards somebody. Perhaps for a
ticker tape parade welcoming him to the city but not such a distance. It can
only mean one thing and that is war.
8 Then
Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. And he divided the people that was
with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two camps. 9 And
he said: 'If Esau come to the one camp, and smite it, then the camp which is
left shall escape.'
On one hand Am Yisrael is dispersed among the nations and
generations of being dispersed has brought about Jews of many colors from very
light blonds and redheads to Ethiopians with black hair but Caucasian Jewish
noses, lips and other features and the Lemba tribe of which some have Cohain
Genes but they are almost pure African in external features. It is these two
camps that have help us escape annihilation by the nations of the world for if
the Inquisition, a Hitler or a Stalin would fall upon one camp the other would
survive. It is this Maaseh Avos Siman Le Banim (the actions of the fathers is a
sign for the children) that has saved us. So while we are depressed that HASHEM
has dispersed us to the far corners of the earth Alaska, Hawaii, Japan,
Australia, the heart of Africa and many more we are slowly coming back to Eretz
Yisrael as the remnants of generations of Gallus.
10 And
Jacob said: 'O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O LORD,
who said unto me: Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do
thee good; 11 I am not worthy of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which
Thou hast shown unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan;
and now I am become two camps.
There was not bridge for the flocks and herds or the women and
children and he managed to split the river seems to be implied by this as the
area known as the “Gesher Banot Yacov” (The daughters of Yacov Bridge) is a
reasonably deep and quite a number of meters wide (This is not to say that he
crossed there and it might have been farther upstream) closer to the Banias
which is a walk across. Or if he did not cross where we call the above
mentioned place perhaps there was a wider and shallower place as we see in
Pasuk 23 later on.
12
Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau;
for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the children. 13 And
Thou said: I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the
sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'
As if Yacov was talking to a human and had to remind him of the
promise made. This is out of fear or because he is used to humans being fickle
and is so sore afraid of Esav.
14 And he
lodged there that night; and took of that which he had with him a present for
Esau his brother: 15 two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred
ewes and twenty rams,
From reading the Torah and Talmud one learns with or without
commentary how to be a Shepherd for here we have the ratio of males to females
on breeding flocks and herds. [In his commentary on the Talmud, Rashi tells how
to press olives and make wine – the only things that I did not learn was the
pickling of olives and other vegetables that was standard in the days of Rashi
as one would preserve the harvest for the winter. Thus items like radishes,
potatoes, beets, kohlrabi, onions, apples, nuts, carrots etc. that could be
kept in cool stowage for longer periods of time became the main food for the
Europeans and north or west of Italy and Greece the olive size began to grow
for a Chumra until it was about half an egg as I wrote previously. The average
Israeli Olive is much smaller.]
16 thirty
milch camels and their colts, forty kine and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and
ten foals. 17 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove
by itself; and said unto his servants: 'Pass over before me, and put a space
betwixt drove and drove.' 18 And he commanded the foremost, saying: 'When Esau
my brother meet thee, and asks thee, saying: Whose art thou? and where are you
going? and whose are these before you?
To
whom do you belong: Heb. לְמִי. To whom do you
belong? Who is sending you? The Targum, therefore, renders: דְמַאן אַתְּ, whose are you? And for whom are these
before you: To whom is this gift being sent? The “lammed” serves at the
beginning of the word in lieu of “shel,” “of,” like (above 31:43), “and all
that you see is mine” ; it is mine. [Similarly, we find,] (Ps. 24:1): “The land
and the fullness thereof are the Lord’s”; of the Lord.
They can identify Esav and his party because they are riding a
pose of 400 men towards Yacov which in the era of the year 2200 is a small
army.
19 then
thou shalt say: They are thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my
lord, even unto Esau; and, behold, he also is behind us.' 20 And he commanded
also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying: 'In
this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him; 21 and ye shall say:
Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.' For he said: 'I will appease
him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face;
peradventure he will accept me.'
I will appease his anger: Heb. אֲכַפְּרָה פָנָיו, I will do away with his anger (Targum Onkelos). Similarly
(Isa. 28:18):“And your treaty with death shall be nullified (וְכֻפַּר)” ; (ibid., 47:11)“you shall not be able
to rid yourself of it (כַּפְּרָה) .” This is Aramaic, and there are many instances of it in the
Talmud, e.g. (B.M. 24a):“and he wiped (וְכָפַר) his hands” ; (Gittin 56a):“He wishes to
wipe (לִכְפוּרֵי) His hands on this person.” In biblical Hebrew also, the sacred
sprinkling basins are called כְּפוֹרֵי זָהָב (Ezra 1:10) because the priest wipes his hands on them at the edge of the
sprinkling basin.
When you give the presents to Esav let it be a ransom for my
family and I.
22 So the
present passed over before him; and he himself lodged that night in the camp.
23 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids,
and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.
What
was his: The animals and the movables. He made himself like a ferry-man, כְּגַשָׁר, taking from here and depositing there. —
[from Gen. Rabbah 75:9]
Here the staff is not mentioned and it appears to be a shallow
perhaps wide stream that was crossable by flocks, herds, women and children.
24 And he
took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had. 25
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking
of the day.
And
Jacob was left: He had forgotten small bottles and returned for them. — [from
Gen. Rabbah 77:2, Chullin 91a] And a man wrestled: Heb. וַיֵאָבֵק.
Menachem (p. 14) explains: And a man became covered with dust, derived from אָבָק, dust, for they were raising dust with
their feet through their movements. I believe, however, that it is a term
meaning that he attached himself, and it is an Aramaic expression [found in the
Talmud] (Sanh. 63b):“After they became attached (דָּאִבִיקוּ)
to it,”“and he would tie it (וְאָבִיק לֵיהּ מֵיבַק),”
for so is the habit of two people who make strong efforts to throw each other
down, that one embraces the other and attaches himself to him with his arms.
Our Rabbis explained (Gen. Rabbah 77:3, 78:3) that this was the prince
(guardian angel) of Esau.
We usually try to raise the level of the mundane to the level of
heaven and this Angel was put down to the dust which mankind was created from
indicating that Yacov brought part of heaven down to earth in his spiritual
fight with Esav. Yacov does not receive help from Michael but does it with his
own physical and spiritual strength. This indicates also that by Yacov’s
tending the sheep, he kept his muscle tone. Normally as a person ages his
muscles and flexibility deteriorates; however, if one works out with weights
and stretches himself and perhaps swims, his muscle tone and movement is not
really impaired like the man who died at the age of 96 of pneumonia but was
very strong (I wrote about him a few years ago). Yacov was a Shepherd and might
have fought big cats, hyenas, wolves and bears that exist in the middle-east.
For we see this when David is willing to fight Goliard as he encountered lions
and bears attacking his flock in Sefer Shmuel Aleph.
26 And
when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his
thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.
He
touched the socket of his hip: The upper thigh bone that is thrust into the hip
bone is called the כַּף, lit., ladle, because
the flesh on it is like a sort of pot ladle. Became dislocated: Heb. וַתִּקַע. It became dislocated from its joint, and
similar to this (Jer. 6:8):“lest My soul be alienated (תֵּקַע)
from you,” and in the Mishnah: לְקַעִקֵע ַבִּיצָתָן,
to tear out their roots. — [from Gen. Rabbah 77:3]
Who can wrestle with an Angel? Only a man who is physically and
spiritually pry and fearless. An Angel is a fearsome being as we see in Sefer
Daniel or when Yehoshua meets Michael before the battle of Yericho. In the
first case it is Gavriel and the second case Michael. On the other hand we see
in the case of the wife of Manoah in Sefer Shoftim that the Angel is less
fearsome and kind. We also see that Yehoshua is not afraid of Michael but ready
to fight until he learns who the Angel is.
27 And he
said: 'Let me go, for the day breaks.' And he said: 'I will not let thee go,
except thou bless me.'
For
dawn is breaking: And I must recite a song [of praise] (Gen. Rabbah 78:1,
Chullin 91a). Unless you have blessed me: Acknowledge for me the blessings
[with] which my father blessed me, which Esau is contesting.
From
this Rashi we learn that the Angels have to pray to HASHEM at the time that
mankind prayers for man is higher being created after the Angels and Avraham
having instituted the Shacharis Prayer they now had to pray too. The blessing
from the Angel would also spiritually protect Yacov from Esav having been
blessed by Esav's Guardian Angel.
28 And he
said unto him: 'What is thy name?' And he said: 'Jacob.' 29 And he said: 'Thy
name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God
and with men, and hast prevailed.'
No…
Jacob: It shall no longer be said that the blessings came to you through
trickery (עָקְבָה) and deceit, but with
nobility and openness, and ultimately, the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal
Himself to you in Beth-el and change your name, and there He will bless you,
and I will be there.“ He then acknowledged them (the blessings) as being his
(Jacob’s). This is [the meaning of] what is written (Hos. 12:5): ”He strove
with an angel and prevailed over him; he wept and supplicated him,“ [meaning
that] the angel wept and supplicated him. With what did he supplicate him? ”In
Beth-el he will find Him, and there He will speak with us“ (ibid). Wait for me
until He speaks with us there. Jacob, however, did not consent, [to release the
angel] and, against his (the angel’s) will, he (the angel) acknowledged them
(the blessings) as being his (Jacob’s). This is [the meaning of] ”And he
blessed him there," that he entreated him to wait, but he did not wish [to
do so]. — [from Zohar, vol. 3, 45a] And with men: Esau and Laban. And you have
prevailed: over them. — [from Targum Jonathan]
30 And
Jacob asked him, and said: 'Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.' And he said:
'Wherefore is it that do you ask after my name?' And he blessed him there.
Why
is it that you ask: (Gen. Rabbah 78:4) We have no permanent name. Our names
change, (all) according to the service we are commanded [to do] in the mission
upon which we are sent.
Rashi’s statement is quite interesting as normally we know the
Angel Samael as the Angel of Death but here he is working as the Angel of Esav
and therefore his name changed with the task!
31 And
Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: 'for I have seen God face to face,
and my life is preserved.' 32 And the sun rose upon him as he passed over
Peniel, and he limped upon his thigh.
And
the sun rose for him: This is a common expression: When we arrived at
such-and-such a place, the dawn broke for us. This is the simple explanation.
The Midrashic Aggadah (Tanchuma Buber, Vayishlach 10; Gen. Rabbah 68:10)
[explains]: And the sun rose for him-to heal his limp, as it is said: (Mal.
3:20): “the sun of mercy, with healing in its wings”; and those hours that it
hastened to set for him when he left Beer-sheba, it hastened to rise for him.
And he was limping on his thigh: He was limping on his thigh when the sun rose.
Actually, I think the limp helped Yacov for it made possible that Esav
would have compassion on Yacov. For 34 years previously, Esav saw Yacov as a 63
year old man who was strong enough after 14 years of Torah learning to lift the
heavy stone covering the well and here is this old man limping towards him
after another 20 years of serving Lavan. In fact he saw a bit of Avraham and
Yitzchak in Yacov and his compassion awakened.
33
Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the thigh-vein which is
upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he touched the hollow of
Jacob's thigh, even in the sinew of the thigh-vein.
The
hip sinew: Heb. גִיד הַנָשֶׁה. Now why was it named
גִיד הַנָשֶׁה Because it sprang (נָשָׁה)
out of its place and rose, and that [root] is a term for springing. Similarly
(Jer. 51:30): “their might has failed (נָשְׁתָּה),”
and similarly (below 41:51): “for God has caused me to forget (נַשַׁנִי) all my toil.”-[from Chullin 91a]
The whole Gid Hanashe is about 4 cm long but if one gets pain in
the sciatic nerve it is excruciating and this part must be cut out of the hind
part of the animal in a process called Nikur and unfortunately very few people
know it today which makes the price of porterhouse steak very expensive to
observers of Kashrus.
33:1 And
Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four
hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto
the two handmaids.
Yacov saw a dust cloud of either horsemen or camel riders of the
army of Esav in the far distance and therefore divided the camp into a number
of parts.
2 And he
put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after,
and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
Yacov loved all his children but he had to divide them according
to their Yechus. The genealogy of the children of the servants was less than
Leah and Rachel and Rachel was his beloved.
3 And he
himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times,
until he came near to his brother.
We look at this bowing and cow towing and my lord Esav as
disgusting but to Yacov this was his Shalom Beis gesture. He comes unarmed as
he would rather be killed than kill. He comes single even though after the
Schem incident to be mentioned next week, Yacov and his sons made a very
successful battle with the surrounding nations.
4 And
Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him;
and they wept.
Ignore the commentary that Esav tried to bite him and his teeth
cracked and that is why he wept; but rather Esav seeing a limping and humble
unarmed Yacov having given gifts and walking towards him and his army, his
brotherly compassion was moved. Am Yisrael does not have a sole supplier of
compassion and mercy and even in the worst of the nations there is some good
for otherwise HASHEM would destroy them like Sodom and Amorah.
5 And he
lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said: 'Who are
these with thee?' And he said: 'The children whom God hath graciously given thy
servant.' 6 Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they
bowed down. 7 And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed down; and
after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed down.
All but Benyamin bowed down and that is why the Temple was built
in his territory.
8 And he
said: 'What do you mean by all this camp which I met?' And he said: 'To find
favor in the sight of my lord.' 9 And Esau said: 'I have enough; my brother,
let that which thou hast be thine.' 10 And Jacob said: 'Nay, I pray thee, if
now I have found favor in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand;
forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as one sees the face of God, and thou were
pleased with me.
Yacov used a current even to include in his conversation with
Esav. This is what a number of Rabbis do in their Drashos and I use it often.
11 Take,
I pray thee, my gift that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously
with me, and because I have enough.' And he urged him, and he took it. 12 And
he said: 'Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.'
13 And he said unto him: 'My lord know that the children are tender, and that
the flocks and herds giving suck are a care to me; and if they overdrive them
one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before
his servant; and I will journey on gently, according to the pace of the cattle
that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come unto
my lord unto Seir.'
Yacov never came to Seir. When will he come to Seir? When Ben
David judges the Nations of the World for what they did all these years.
15 And
Esau said: 'Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me.' And
he said: 'What needs it? let me find favor in the sight of my lord.' 16 So Esau
returned that day on his way unto Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and
built him a house, and made booths for his cattle. Therefore the name of the
place is called Succoth. 18 And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem,
which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram; and encamped
before the city. 19 And he bought the parcel of ground, where he had spread his
tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred
pieces of money. 20 And he erected there an altar, and called it
El-elohe-Israel.
We will continue next week with the story of Dina, the deaths of
Rachel and Devorah and the generations of Esav.
From
Rabbi Tzvi Nightingale: My father passed away last Shabbat. He was a great man who
rose from the ashes of the Holocaust to build a successful business and, more
importantly, raise a proud Jewish family. All of his children and 14
grandchildren were present at his funeral. A little over five years ago I
experienced the most extraordinary thing that ever happened to me in my life
and I wrote about it then. With his passing I felt it appropriate to send it
again this week.
My father has three birthdays. Yes, three. His biological birthday is May
10, 1924. When he came to Canada after the war, he was too old to qualify as an
orphan, so he had to rearrange his age a bit and make himself younger. 5/10/24
became 10/5/27 and he was now born on October 5, 1927. Oddly, our family has
been celebrating this completely fictitious birthday ever since.
But it is his third birthday that he speaks about with the most emotion;
the one that carries the most meaning for him. He spent years in various forced
labor and death camps after his town of Staszow, Poland was liquidated by the
Nazis in 1942. He was finally liberated on April 29, 1945 from Dachau
concentration camp in Germany. My father has never been one to speak at length
about his experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust, but he does talk about
this one particular day. Among other things, I have heard him praise the
American army for quickly delousing the inmates soon after they freed the camp.
Being free from the Nazi hell and from the lice that infested his body for so
long gave him a new lease on life.
The day after Yom Kippur I went to my office and did what I do after every
Yom Kippur -- not much. Not only am I tired from the fasting and teaching, but
truth be told, I find the next day to be a bit of a downer. After intensely
thinking about life, God, goals and being a better person, and trying to
inspire 150 people who come to our Aish center for services, I am just not up
to the everyday mundane grind that comes rushing back. So trying to recapture
some of the seriousness and meaning of Yom Kippur, I found myself on YouTube
and typed in "Dachau" in the search box. The top of the list was a
film called Dachau Concentration Camp Liberation.
It was not a sophisticated piece, by any means. It consisted of photos
slowly being panned to the background music from Schindler's
List. There were photos of soldiers approaching the camp and arresting
surrendering Nazis, a bird's eye view of the camp and photos of the main
entrance and a gate with the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei.
A picture appeared of an American soldier walking on a wall perpendicular
to a building, and I wondered, If my father were to see this short
film, would he remember some of the structures and buildings? I
briefly thought of showing him the film but knew I would not follow through due
to his extreme sensitivity whenever the subject of the Holocaust comes up. In
all the years I have known my dad, I have only heard snippets here and there.
At 1:50 into the film a photo appeared that made me hit the pause
button. It was a relatively clear photo, a close up of sorts, of three inmates
behind barbed wire, all smiling and waving -- presumably at their saviors. The
short man on the left has an overcoat, obviously given to him by one of the
soldiers. The man on the right with the moustache is taller and appears to be
saluting. They are wearing the familiar striped concentration camp garb.
And the man in the middle looks like my father.
I began to stare intensely and analyze every detail of the physical
features to see if they match my dad's. The widow's peak hairline, the shape of
the face, the somewhat larger ear, the gap between his front teeth -- all were
consistent with his look. Could it be? Could this really be him? I
kept asking myself. But the trait that made me think it was him the most was
the shape of his waving hand. I have always noticed this about my father, how
his index finger curls and seems slightly raised higher than his middle fingers
and how his thumb comes to almost meet them. Today, thanks to his arthritis,
his hand is almost frozen in that position, and this was the shape of the hand
of the man in this photo.
I immediately emailed the link to my three brothers in Toronto with the
subject line, "Something very weird" and told them to pause the film
and tell me what they think. By next morning, they agreed that this could
indeed be our father in the photo.
Then things got a little complicated. We were faced with the dilemma of
showing this photo to my father. Will it bring back too many painful memories?
Should we subject him to an image of himself from so long ago of the most
horrible time in his life? What effect would possibly seeing himself in Nazi
prisoner garb have on his psyche?
My oldest brother, Reuben, has always been closest to my father ever since
he went to work for him in his meat packing plant at the age of 15. My dad gave
him the most noxious job there to discourage him from working at Grace Meats,
but packing tripe did not turn Reuben away. They have been very tight ever
since. Reuben felt that we should think this through and "sit on it"
for a while. "He has not seen the photo for all these years, another day
or so will not change things."
Sid, the next oldest brother and the peacemaker in our family, agreed.
Murray and I wanted to show it to him but for the time being we deferred to the
elder siblings. But the following day Murray came up with a Solomonic solution:
Let's show the picture to my dad's one surviving sibling, Henya, who was with
him in the camps earlier in the war and would be able to recognize if this
indeed was him.
Murray called me that morning on his way to Auntie Henya. I told him to
call me on my cell as soon as he spoke with her. Murray called me at 12:30 pm.
"She was unequivocal - it's him. And not only that, but the man standing
next to him with the overcoat was his childhood friend, Herschel D."
With that, Murray then called my dad and asked if he wished to see a photo
of himself on the day of his liberation from Dachau. He did. Murray went up to
his condo and showed him the picture. With tears in his eyes my father
declared, "Yeah, that's me."
**********************
On April 29, 1945 a handful of photos of the liberation of Dachau were
taken by Robert Spring, an X-Ray technician serving with the 59th Evacuation
Hospital of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. There were 32,000 inmates on that day
and most of the photos taken by soldiers were of men too skeletal to discern
their identities, too grainy to see any specific faces, or group shots taken
from afar. But Mr. Spring decided to take one photo of a random group of
nameless survivors whom he would never see again.To the Nazis, the man in the
photo was prisoner number 147 963 and for 64 years and five months it was a
photo of a nameless prisoner experiencing freedom for the first time in many
years.
On the day after Yom Kippur in the year 5770, Tuesday September 29, 2009,
it was discovered that the smiling inmate in Nazi prisoner garb was not just
prisoner 147 963 , and he was not a random nameless survivor that a heroic
soldier happened to capture on camera. He was born Icek Nachtigal, Yitzchak
Dovid ben Reuvain, and he goes by the name of Irving Nightingale. He was born
on May 10, 1924 but he will tell you that his real birthday is April 29, 1945.
And he is my father.
Charedim
now enlisting in the IAF to get training and professional skills: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188251#.VIF7isYcTIU
CDC proclaims health benefits of a good Bris Milah. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599095,00.html
I have been too busy taking care of a 9
year old who had a fever and then because of his situation has problems in and
out of school that when Gail asked me to translate the 3 minute film for her, I
could not. However, in Israel it was easier for her to have it translated. Gail reminded me that: Mohammed chopped off the heads of 800 Jewish men!!?? Of the Jewish Qaraish
[variable spelling] tribe in Mecca when he broke the 10 year Hudabaiya Treaty
with them. The original letter before she got the
translation:Dear Rachamim,
I wasn’t going to send out the worst of the
horror…the Hebrew You-Tube of the one Rabbi telling it over to 2 other
Rabbanim. But, Adam was reading it in Ami Magazine. One of the Rabbis, Rabbi Rothman was hit in the head with a cleaver which
did ‘cleave’ his brain – but he’s still alive. B”H. However, the
scum also stopped to cut off both is hands???!!! It, therefore, wasn’t just ‘an attack of murder’ but an Islamic
attack. So, they are really IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh. This must be told to the world. Just this. Not even that 2 heads were cut off. But, I can’t find the English translation of the Hebrew
You-Tube. I think I saw it in your newsletter. If you have it,
please send it to me ASAP. The world & the Israeli Leftists must wake
up now!
Best,
Gail - Without translating more that is basically what
the Rav of the Schul described to the read minus the clearer into the eyes or
ears of some. RP
Rabbi Yitzhak Mordechai HaCohain Rubin,
rabbi of the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue in Jerusalem that was brutally
attacked on Tuesday, went to visit Haredi leaders on Thursday to ask their
participation in a eulogy for the four Jews murdered in the attack, in which a
Druze police officer was also murdered.
Rabbi Rubin visited Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the foremost rabbinical authorities in
the Haredi world, & described the horrific attack.
The two
Arab terrorists "came in with axes, with guns, they cut off
heads...someone who was there from (United) Hatzalah told me they cut off the
head completely, cut off hands, simply horrors," related the rabbi, noting
the wounded included those missing arms, ears, suffering brain damage &
lost eyes.
"I
heard the story," replied Rabbi Kanievsky. "The Moshiach (Messiah)
has to come."
The Haredi
leader explained that "there needs to be an atonement" for the
generation so as to merit the coming of the Mashiach, an atonement he argued
the victims of the terror attack partially made.
In
hearing how the congregants "shake like fish" in shock following the
horrific attack, Rabbi Kanievsky stated "G-d will help those who shake
(with fear) make repentance."
The rabbi
agreed to take part in a eulogy for the victims. The meeting with Rabbi
Kanievsky, in Hebrew, can be seen here:
Rabbi
Rubin also visited Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, who is widely considered one of the leading
rabbis of the Ashkenazic hareidi stream.
He explained to both rabbis how
he came a few minutes late to the synagogue that morning because his
stomach hurt, in a miracle that saved his life from the attack.
"I
came to the entrance & suddenly I started hearing gunshots & people
started to run outside," said Rabbi Rubin. "I personally had a huge
miracle."
[At the
end of the 3 minute Hebrew You-Tube, you can see Rabbi Shteinman’s ancient
eyes, thinking, as he says: Oi! Oi! Oi! Without knowing the
Hebrew Rabbi Rubin was speaking to the two elder Rabbayim, I was & am still
moved to deep tears & prayers. I’m sorry I couldn’t find this English
partial translation in the Send from yesterday, December 2nd.
Gail]
'Murdered Jews Atone for Generation,
Messiah Must Come' Leading Haredi rabbi hears harrowing details of Har
Nof synagogue attack, how congregation rabbi saved 'by a miracle.'
MK Chaim Katz reports that 9 more MRI’s will be coming to Israeli
Hospitals.
Declassified Operation
Solomon rescues Ethiopian Jewry: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152440993693717&pnref=story
I‘ll be
back could become a reality if we let things go too far. At this point I
believe that Hawkins is correct as the generation of Nerds is getting to be
lazier and more self-serving. My generation took a lesson from the
self-sacrifices of previous generations but now everything is self aka selfie
etc. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540
Expert in
Medical Halacha and Ethics passes away: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188159#.VH6IusYcTIU
On the
Israeli elections: The more hawkish Strong Israel party, which narrowly missed
the last Knesset, announced that it would run again. Bayit Yehudi officials,
however, mocked the party, saying it had no chance of getting elected. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Likud-to-advance-primary-383504
After
losing his position as Av Beis Din, 2 teaching jobs and his wife filing for a
divorce, the Rabbi loses his position as Congregational Rabbi: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Washington-synagogue-fires-rabbi-charged-with-voyeurism-383395
Inyanay Diyoma
IDF gets
a new chief of staff. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188008#.VHoWuMYcTIU
Gaza
testing the IDF besides a second series of rocket or missile tests they are
sending people up to the border. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4597520,00.html
Arabs
trying their tricks as usual: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Abbas-PA-to-halt-security-coordination-with-Israel-if-peace-talks-arent-revived-383159
Turkey
and Qatar could be on trial if the PLO brings Israel to the international
Criminal Court so what goes around comes around: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Could-Qatar-Turkey-be-in-jeopardy-if-PA-brings-Israelis-before-the-ICC-383287
Ed-Op from me after 3 terror attacks in the last 20 hrs. Below I
bring down a few examples thanks to Gail Winston of what Barry Chamish wrote
about in “Traitors and Carpetbaggers” in Israel. When the head of the Shin Bet
tells in August 1995 (recorded by Adir Zik Zal) beforehand that the
assassination attempt on Rabin will come from a Yemenite from the Center of the
Country he is setting up Yigal Amir to shoot blanks only somebody else murdered
Rabbi and pinned the blame on Amir. Read for yourself what is going on. I was
under surveillance for months after I e-mailed with the moderate Chamish who
loved Rabin. The government of Israel has stopped functioning and the Finance
Minister is putting the country at risk by withholding funds from the IDF which
end up costing more see below. Elections is the only solution and the jackass
is about to be knocked out in his boxing match with Netanyahu and the
Religious. After the articles more news.
Stabbing
attack: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598287,00.html Later a
man was run over: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598307,00.html
Synagogue
attacked by leftist dual Hebrew-Arabic Kindergarten by rightist: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188071#.VHyMUsYcTIU
Netanyahu
to sack Lapid and go for elections as the army cancels- training, housing and
Iron Dome: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188116
Because
of Lapid - Namer APC order delayed or cancelled despite deaths of soldiers: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598434,00.html
Housing
Project is cancelled: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188113#.VH04m8YcTIU
US
Service Members in Turkey under a threat ISIS is in the USA due to porous
borders: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598418,00.html
Central
Tel Aviv Traffic Jams will now be underground: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188109#.VH0rk8YcTIU
This is
why she fled to work for the Kurds in the end of the article: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israeli-Canadian-woman-reportedly-kidnapped-by-ISIS-makes-contact-Im-totally-safe-and-secure-383371
Ed-Op
from Martin Sherman: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-the-fray-The-Arabs-war-against-the-Jews-cont-Root-causes-and-red-herrings-383081
Last week
one of the stabbings in Yerushalayim under a gag order and the shooting today
at the Shilo Junction, I picked up on my cellphone from a MAKO update but
nothing in the news but three terrorists captured for the hit and run murder
attempt yesterday http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598514,00.html
Two
articles from Gail Winston the first by MK Moshe Feiglin: Moshe
Feiglin is head of the Manhigut Yehudit [Jewish Leadership] faction &
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.
There is nothing more harmful to the ‘status quo’ that is in
place (more or less) today on the Temple Mount than the senior Israeli
officials’ demand of Knesset Members not to visit the Temple Mount.
To our chagrin, the ‘holy status quo’ has always prohibited Jews
from praying on the Temple Mount. But their free entry to the Mount – certainly
the free entry of Knesset Members – during all hours of the day & to all
places on the Mount, including the Dome of the Rock & the El Aqsa
Mosque – were always part of the ‘status quo’.
The rights of the Jews on the Temple Mount are slipping away.
Pressuring the Knesset Members to give up the last remnants of the
Israeli sovereignty that they are trying to retain on the Mount has
nothing to do with preservation of the ‘status quo’. Israel’s
leadership has simply caved in to Jordan, which constantly tries to erode any
sign of Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount. The sovereign is the
Knesset. Thus, the Jordanian king doesn’t like it when Jewish MKs visit
the Mount.
Why is it so easy to turn public opinion around & dupe
the Jews into once again blaming themselves for the Arab murderousness?
& so, the Prime Minister, President, heads of security & of course an
enthusiastic army of journalists have all converged to incite the public
against its elected representatives & to blame them for the Arab violence.
By doing so, they encourage terror.
Why is it so easy to turn public opinion around &
dupe the Jews into once again blaming themselves for the Arab murderousness? If
the Arabs were to riot because of aliyah to Israel & Jordan’s king would
recall his ambassador would the Prime Minister run to Jordan to appease him
& stop aliyah?
Of course not.
It is not fear & flaccidity that have brought about the
abandonment of the Temple Mount – & as a result, the precarious security
situation in the entire country. Just the opposite. Our emotional detachment
from the Mount, our inability to connect to its essence, to the destiny that it
represents – just as we connected to the idea of aliyah to Israel - this
abandonment of the heart of our nation leads to the flaccidity &
lawlessness that we are currently experiencing.
The first Zionist principles like aliyah & settlement were
easy to explain from a purely nationalist standpoint. But in order to ascend to
the next dimension of the fulfillment of the Return to Zion – the ascent to the
Temple Mount – we need a new spirit. The narrow nationalist consciousness is
nothing more than its foundation.
When G-d restored the Mount to Israel in 1967, the consciousness
of Israel’s leadership was too narrow to perceive its significance. “Who needs
this whole Vatican?” Defense Minister Moshe Dayan scoffed & hurried to give
the keys to the Mount to the Moslem wakf. The religious leadership
adopted the narrow dimension of religion alone, instead of daring to advance to
the all-inclusive vision of the Temple.
But without destiny, existence is empty. When the Temple Mount
was not in Israel’s territory, our spiritual batteries were powered by the
destiny that was out of reach. But in the Six Day War, when General Motta Gur
declared, “The Temple Mount is in our hands,” the destiny became tangible. Its
denial became tangible, as well.
Since the Temple Mount was liberated, Israel has grown &
become unrecognizably stronger. But the stronger we grow, the less existential
legitimacy we retain. Even our ability to preserve our current existence is
slipping away.
For there is no
existence without destiny. & for the Jewish People, there is no
destiny without the Temple Mount.
Op-Ed: Obama: Helping Terror Go Nuclear by Noah Beck
Obama's weakness & lack
of moral clarity encourage terror on every level.
Published: Arutz Sheva
IsraelNationalNews.com Thursday, November 20, 2014 9:24 AM
Last Tuesday’s terror attack on a Jerusalem synagogue killed five people: four
rabbis (including three born in the USA) & a Druze police officer. Two
Jerusalem Arabs entered during morning prayers & attacked worshipers with
knives, meat cleavers, & a handgun.
Congress showed moral
clarity when blaming the horrors on Hamas & Palestinian Authority
incitement, but Obama’s statements
were perfunctorily “balanced.” Obama warned of a “spiral”
of violence – an
obtuse refrain of those suggesting moral equivalency between terrorism
& the fight against it.
Obama also misleadingly claimed that “President Abbas...strongly condemned the
attacks” omitting that Abbas did so only after
pressure from the administration & with equivocation (Abbas suggested a link
between recent terrorism & visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, as if to
justify the attacks). It’s also worth noting that Palestinians celebrated the
massacre(as they did after the 2013 Boston
bombing & the 9/11 attacks).
Obama’s weak reaction is consistent with his mostly impotent response to ISIS
terrorists who behead Americans & Mideast Christians & grow their Islamist empire
by the day. Frighteningly, his approach to Iranian nukes follows the same meek
pattern, but the stakes are exponentially higher, because when Iran goes
nuclear, so does terrorism.
Iran is already the world’s
leading state sponsor of terrorism, without nuclear weapons. Iran-supported Hamas has
already tried to commit nuclear terror: last summer, Hamas launched rockets at Israel’s
Dimona nuclear reactor. How much more dangerous will Iran become when
it has nukes? Even if Iran doesn’t directly commit nuclear terrorism, an Iranian
nuclear umbrella will embolden the regime & the terrorist organizations it
sponsors.
Obama has a long record of weakness towards Iran. In 2009, when Iran’s Basij
paramilitary force brutalized demonstrators protesting Iran’s fraudulent presidential
election, Obama kept his response
irrelevantly mild for
the sake of “engaging” Iran. That surely helped Iranian voters understand the
risks of protesting the “free” election of 2012 (involving eight
regime-picked candidates). It was indeed a very orderly rubber stamp.
In 2011, when a U.S. drone went down on Iranian
soil, Obama cordially requested
it back. The regime recently scoffed at such impotence by showcasing its knock-off based
on that drone.
President Hassan Rouhani’s election vastly improved the public face of Iran’s
nuclear program, & Obama was charmed too. Obama has been unilaterally weakening
the sanctions against Iran by not enforcing them. He has threatened to thwart any
Congressional attempt to limit his nuclear generosity by simply lifting sanctions
without Congressional approval. Yet despite these concessions & Rouhani's smiles, human rights abuses in Iran
have actually worsened.
Obama declared in 2012 (while running for reelection) that he doesn’t bluff when it
comes to stopping Iranian nukes, & that containment was not an option, unlike military
force. But the credibility of that statement collapsed after Obama shrunk away
from his “red line” against Syrian chemical weapons use.
In 2013, Basher Assad gassed his own people & Obama took no military
action. So if Obama cowers against a disintegrating state, what are the chances
that he’ll militarily prevent Iranian nukes?
Obama’s top aide, Ben Rhodes, was caught saying how a
nuclear accord is as important to Obama as “healthcare”.
& Obama has dangerously undermined
the only military threat to Iranian nukes that anyone still takes seriously:
Israel. On the Iranian nuclear issue, Obama has isolated Israel on how close Iran is to a
nuclear capability with
estimates that are far laxer. & as long as Obama continues negotiating
(even if Iran is clearly playing for time as the U.S. offers ever more desperate proposals) or reaches a deal allowing Iran
to become a threshold nuclear weapons state, an Israeli military option to
defang Iranian nukes appears less legitimate.
The media’s anti-Israel
bias is well known
(they can’t even get a simple
story about vehicular terrorism against Israelis correct (compare how The Guardian writes
accurate headlines when Canada suffers an Islamist
car attack but not when Israel does). So if Obama accepts Iran’s
nuclear program & Israel then attacks it, the media will be even
harsher on Israel (even though the world will be silently relieved, if Israeli
courage succeeds at neutralizing what scared everyone else).
Downgrading US-Israel relations seems to be part of Obama’s détente
with Iran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei recently tweeted his plan for
destroying Israel, but
Obama grows even more determined to reach an accord that legitimizes Iran’s
nuclear program.
& the Obama administration’s diplomatic abuse of America’s
closest Mideast ally is unprecedented – from his humiliation of Prime
Minister Netanyahu in 2010, to Secretary of State John Kerry’s betrayal of Israel
during Operation Protective Edge, to calling Netanyahu a
“chickenshit” a few weeks
ago, without even apologizing
later (note the irony of
calling Netanyahu a coward anonymously).
Obama seems far more concerned by Israeli construction of
apartments in Jerusalem than a nuclear Iran. & he has been pressuring Israel
to retreat from more disputed territory, effectively rewarding Palestinian
Arabs for launching the third missile war against Israel from Gaza in five
years last summer & now the third Intifadah inside
Israel in 17 years. That
puts Obama just behind the European appeasers who think
Palestinian bellicosity merits statehood.
Obama indeed appears desperate to get a nuclear accord with Iran at any price.
He has written letters asking for Iran’s help
against ISIS after they hinted at an ISIS-for-nukes
exchange, & has pursued an
agreement at all costs. Obama’s top aide, Ben Rhodes, was caught
saying how a nuclear accord is as important to Obama as “healthcare”; at least there’s a fitting
slogan to sell the deal to Americans: “If you like your nukes, you can keep
them.”
Russia, the serial spoiler, suggested extending nuclear talks past
the November 24th deadline. Iran will undoubtedly agree to more
enrichment time (while it keeps stonewalling the IAEA’s
investigations into it nukes), as it did last July. For Obama, a bad agreement or an
extension looks far better than concluding that talks have failed & issuing
more empty threats to stop Iran militarily.
& so U.S. foreign policy will continue its freefall, as the world’s bad
actors will want to see what they can extort from a leader even
weaker than President Carter. While Carter permitted Iran to hold 52 American
diplomats & citizens hostage for 444 days, Obama may allow Iran to hold the
world hostage with nuclear terrorism.
It's now dreadfully obvious: without massive public pressure, Obama will help
Iran get nukes; anyone concerned about nuclear terrorism should sign this
petition: http://www.nobombforiran.com
Noah Beck is the author of The Last Israelis, an apocalyptic novel about Iranian nukes & other
geopolitical issues in the Middle East.
New
anti-Semitism by Fern Sidman: http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/fern-sidman/the-new-anti-semitism-comes-of-age-a-decade-later/
National
Union makes threats to Bennett – we don’t need more splits. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598379,00.html
Also from
Gail regarding MK Moshe Feiglin in response to former Shin Bet Head against
Netanyahu As for me some stinks in this this country
from the Shin Bet.
"Israel is headed today by a bunch of
pyromaniacs & is being led by an egomaniac to
its final destruction," Gillon said, at a leftist
demonstration against the Jewish State Law outside the Prime
Minister’s residence in Jerusalem.
The demonstration, organized by Peace Now, was attended
by thousands, & included speakers from the left-wing Meretz & Labor
parties as well as the outspoken Gillon.
“The Jewish State Law will eat the body of the
entire nation like a cancer. The continuation of the radical & messianist
policy on the Temple Mount will bring about a Gog & Magog war against
the Jewish people," he continued.
Feiglin, speaking on the program "Orly &
Guy," said that Gillon was "one of the people who signed to have Tel
Aviv bombed for two months [during Operation Protective Edge]."
"He helped to remove IDF soldiers from out of the
Strip, & from there [Gaza] fired on Tel Aviv," Feiglin added.
"People need to learn to shut up a bit," the MK
continued. "You made a colossal mistake, & inserted Israel into a
disaster we've never gotten out of," Feiglin said, referring to the
disengagement from Gaza in 2005.
"It is a little strange that these people never say
sorry, but I expected them to ask for forgiveness instead of giving us
marks."
Feiglin called Gillon "one of the pillars of the Oslo Accords" which resulted in Israel "being taken out of Gaza" & "Hamas promptly shelling us."
Getting angry, Feiglin exclaimed, "At least sit quietly at home, you who
have led us to this disaster. But instead you're leading demonstrations &
calling us pyromaniacs? After all, he set the entire country on
fire!" Feiglin called Gillon "one of the pillars of the Oslo Accords" which resulted in Israel "being taken out of Gaza" & "Hamas promptly shelling us."
Gillon, who headed the Shin Bet at the time
of the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, resigned from
his position in 1996, after the Shamgar Commission, who investigated the
assassination, criticized his conduct in their official report.
Since
then, he worked as a director-general for the Peres Center for Peace between
2000 & 2001 & served as mayor for the Jerusalem suburb, Mevasseret
Zion.
MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) responded to the comments former
Shin Bet Chief, Carmi Gillon made against P.M. Binyamin Netanyahu
If treason was not afoot in the Shin Bet look at the Mossad thanks
also to Gail as I heard this but have been too busy with a child with 102
fever. Rafi Eitan admits he gave the orders to turn away Jonathan
Pollard & his wife from the Israeli Embassy in November 1985.
For we
seniors or injured people – How to get up from the floor thanks to Albert Levy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ETgQD8QhZs
No more
discrimination against settlers: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188126#.VH14TMYcTIU
Skull
found near Kibbutz Ein Harod is that of Guy Hever? http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4597478,00.html
Search
resumes for the body of Guy. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188112#.VH16mcYcTIU
Trumps
the rebellious ministers and fires them: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598871,00.html
Helping
observe Shmita and the helping the IDF: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188134#.VH3wuMYcTIU
Man run
over by terrorists and bludgeoned passes away HY”D: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599270,00.html
Picked
this up from Ivar about Israel-Cypress-Greece natural gas supplier to Europe: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/01/israel-sees-stars-aligned-for-new-gas-pipeline-to-europe
Danny
Danon is at least on the right track matching talk with actions: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188163#.VH6FG8YcTIU
Russia in
economic trouble could lead to a future war in my opinion as wars start for
religion, politics and money: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/12/02/russian-government-warns-economy-slipping-into-recession-next-year/?intcmp=latestnews
This is what I discussed with Dr. Moshe Ahrens years ago and it is
coming to the forefront now (Both of us were retired at the time but his word
is still gold in some circles) again Thanks to Gail Winston. FREEMAN CENTER BROADCAST DECEMBER 1, 2014
[Freeman
Note: We are thankful today that the Jewish People have a powerful Army to
defend us against the Islamo-Nazis & and anti-Semites of the world. We are
sad that this power is not unleashed to totally annihilate those
evils...Bernard]
Laser
Weapons & the Force Build-Up of the IDF By Ami
Rojkes Dombe Operation Protective Edge was a turning point
for the "Iron Dome" system.
Nevertheless, the future apparently holds in store laser-based weapon systems as a primary interceptor 30/11/2014 http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=3237
Laser Weapons & the Force Build-Up of the IDF Operation Protective Edge has once again raised for public discussion the issue of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile interception system opposite the laser-based interception solutions. While the "Iron Dome" system has been breaking records with some
500 interceptions, according to data provided by the IDF Spokesperson, in the background, the battlefield economy issue has raised the question of why cheaper-to-operate laser-based systems are not being developed. Admittedly, trials of the Nautilus system (which was rejected) began as early as 1996, & even this year Rafael introduced its Iron Beam system for intercepting short-range threats & Elbit Systems launched their MUSIC (Multi Spectral Counter MANPADS System) for protecting passenger aircraft. Nevertheless, the State of Israel decided, in the last few years, to invest most of its
efforts in the "Iron Dome" system – an investment that proved to be justified opposite the rockets fired by Hamas.
At the same time, a strictly-professional discussion regarding the force build-up of IDF, just like the discussion that is not being conducted around the question of which technology is the superior one, would have revealed professional considerations that pertain to logistics & maintenance budgets as well. Eventually, if Israel is ever forced to fight terrorist organizations on two or three fronts simultaneously, the scenario will be extremely costly & uncertain if the IDF relies entirely on missiles. This, at least, is what Maj. Gen. (res.) David Ivry, Vice President of Boeing International, President of Boeing Israel, & the man who devised the concept for the Arrow missile system in the mid-1980, thinks.
"Firstly, we should understand the idea behind active defense. The best example is the fighter aircraft. When a fighter aircraft is assigned to intercept some element that had come to attack it – it is an active defense aircraft. In the past, we took such fighter aircraft as the Spitfire & Mustang, & converted them to strike aircraft, namely – we developed systems to enable them to become multi-role fighters. With such an aircraft, the pilot can take off on an interception mission, & an hour after landing – take off again on a strike mission," explains Ivry.
"There are situations where the aircraft is too costly for active defense. Take, for example, Abu-Rodeis in the Sinai during the Yom-Kippur War (a town on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, where numerous wells were producing oil. The town was in Israeli hands during the Yom-Kippur War).
Instead of aircraft, we deployed HAWK missiles to defend that town. You take a single-role SAM battery & it complements the interceptor aircraft," says Ivry.
The Laser Era
Research activity in the field of lasers began in the USA in the 1960s, with financing provided by ARPA (which subsequently evolved into DARPA – the US), but the research activity did not evolve into mature military products. The quantum leap in laser development may be attributed to the "Star Wars" (Strategic Defense Initiative - SDI) program of the Reagan administration, launched in 1983. In the context of that program, the Americans made investments in Israel & the Soreq Nuclear Research Center conducted research activities financed by US funds (in Israel: Project Carmel).
"Laser is a multirole system – like a fighter aircraft. You can deploy it on the ground, on board an aircraft, on a Jeep or on an armored vehicle. It can intercept aircraft, missiles, artillery shells & UAVs. In some situations, it is unable to provide a solution – just like fighter aircraft. For example, under fog or heavy cloud conditions. Under these circumstances, the laser beam is distorted & becomes ineffective. These are the situations that should be complemented by the "Iron Dome" system, just as we did with the HAWK batteries. Take Ben-Gurion Airport, for example. You do not want anything dropping there under any circumstances. If even one rocket should hit that airport, no airline will land there. This is the place where you should deploy both the laser weapon system & the "Iron Dome" system. As far as costs are concerned, a single "Iron Dome" missile costs between US$70,000 & US$ 100,000, as opposed to a laser shot, which costs US$ 5,000 or less."
In addition to the direct cost of the defensive resources, there is the logistic aspect. While certain laser types only require a power supply source, the "Iron Dome" system requires an extensive logistic envelope. Missiles need to be manufactured & transported from overseas to Israel (a major percentage of the manufacture of the interceptor missiles is carried out in the USA). In Israel, the "Iron Dome" batteries deployed at the various deployment sites require storage facilities for the missiles, & the missiles themselves need to be serviced. "The logistic costs of the "Iron Dome" system are extremely costly. With the laser system, you can take it with you & just connect it to a power supply source. (With the "Iron Dome" system,) if you have to shoot down 40,000 missiles, multiply that by
US$ 100,000. That is extremely expensive. The laser is a lot cheaper," explains Ivry.
Laser weapon systems are divided into solid-state & gaseous-state systems. Gaseous-state lasers use various types of gas as the active medium. A high-energy laser system is a terrestrial system based on a deuterium fluoride or hydrogen fluoride chemical laser. One example of this system
category is the Nautilus system, designed to intercept short-range missiles & rockets. For the purpose of this type of interception, a power output of 100 kilowatts is required. Other chemical laser weapon systems may be installed on aircraft. The ground-based & airborne systems proved, in
trials conducted around the world, that they can handle rockets & artillery shells fired individually or in salvos. Another laser category includes airborne laser systems designed to intercept ballistic missiles (like the SCUD missile) during the acceleration phase. Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL) systems of this type are normally installed on board converted passenger aircraft & have a range of about 400 kilometers.
Yet another laser category includes solid-state lasers based on a crystal, glass or ceramic solid element. These solid-state lasers are based on a process where diodes pump in ions & emit light in the form of a laser beam. This particular technology has reached maturity. Several such lasers
may be "concatenated" to generate higher output rates. The advantage of the solid-state laser stems from the fact that it hardly requires any logistic support – unlike the chemical lasers, & its operation presents no safety risks owing to gas emissions. One of the examples of the use of a solid-state laser is the Avenger system by Boeing, which is installed on Jeeps & intended to intercept UAVs.
"In order to shoot down Katyusha rockets from a range of 15-20 kilometers, you need a power output of 100 kilowatts. Today, with a solid-state laser, you can reach output rates of 30-40 kilowatts – depending on the manufacturing country. No one states exactly what they actually have, but it is certain that all of them have reached (output rates of) 10-15 kilowatts. So, you connect a few of those & obtain the output you need," says Ivry.
"Accuracy is important. If you want to shoot down a Katyusha rocket, you need to penetrate its outer shell. For this you have to keep the beam on the same point for two seconds. This is the challenge. It was proven with the Nautilus system on targets including mortar & artillery shells. You
establish a connection between a radar & a self-aiming system & then you achieve results. If you have 100 kilowatt output – you will have a solution for all of the Katyusha rockets. In the USA they are in no hurry as no one fires Katyusha rockets at them. They do not face the threats Israel faces.
"In '96 we began developing the Nautilus as a prototype. We deployed a system in Kiryat-Shemona. It was a collection of components from different systems & its achievement was the fact that is succeeded in keeping the beam for two continuous seconds on the same point. The radar was the
prototype of the radar used in the Arrow system (Green Pine). This system was not operational, but it succeeded in proving that it was feasible. That was the goal. But then they decided to put this project on hold. They thought it would be less costly to stop the rocket fire by two divisions. In reality, the rocket fire never stopped.
"Our interest was to go with the "Iron Dome" system in order to preserve the knowledge regarding air-to-air missiles. It was a declining market & one of the thoughts was to preserve the knowledge at Rafael – justifiably, from their point of view. But they are not the ones calling the shots – another
element makes the decisions. Many things are being developed here with money that is not ours, & whoever gives us the money determines where they want to go. Much depends on your persuasive capabilities. When they began developing the "Iron Dome" system, laser was still classified information in many countries. Air-to-air missiles fired from a launcher – that was something you could market. The "Iron Dome" is an air-to-air missile system."
Missile Defense – the Beginning
After the first Lebanon war, the Syrians switched from aircraft to SSMs. Back then, IDF & Rafael produced studies according to which those missiles were inaccurate & there was no need to develop countermeasures. In 1988, before the first Gulf War, Ivry wrote a letter to the supreme command of IDF & to the leadership of IMOD, according to which SSMs were a threat with which Israel should prepare to deal. In the background was the Iran-Iraq war & as it turned out, the Iraqis used SCUD missiles to attack Tehran, & Tehran remained half empty. "This was one of the main reasons for the cease fire in 1988. The Iranians realized the price was too high, owing to the
SCUD missiles. The same SCUD missiles that were fired at us in '91," says Ivry.
"In 1986 we launched the Arrow project. Even that project met with opposition. It is a single-role missile, which goes against the versatility, multirole concept of the IDF – but you need smaller quantities. The IDF objected to allocating a budget, so I obtained funding from the USA. There
were reports that the Syrians were preparing chemical warheads for their SCUD missiles. They were conducting experiments. They had 18 SCUD launchers. In those days, you needed 6 hours between launches: you launched a SCUD missile & needed 6 hours to prepare the launcher to fire the next missile.
"I told Rabin: if they were to purchase 100 launchers tomorrow (and that was only a matter of money) & aim them at 10 targets in Israel, let's assume that 90% of them work & they do it during a dark night, in the winter. Tell me – what do you think? They think that you would not be able to get
out of this in the six hours until the next round. In such a scenario, you would have lost your deterrence. But if you deployed the Arrow system, even if it succeeded in intercepting only 80% of those missiles, you would still have residual power & your deterrence would have remained intact. The late Reuven Pedatzur spoke against the Arrow system, as he did not believe it would be capable of dealing with nuclear weapons with 100% success. What does that have to do with anything? The Arrow never started out as a project against nuclear weapons.
"At one time, we had a finalized agreement with them (the USA) for US$ 500 million funding for the Arrow. When I arrived to sign the funding agreement, they showed me an article published by the 'Ha'Aretz' newspaper, according to which the IAF was against the project. Everyone there had long faces. Luckily, they authorized the allocation of US$ 50 million per year to keep the project alive."
Preparing for Future Wars
Ivry explains that at the time of the SDI, the idea was to deploy the laser on the ground & position mirrors in space, on satellites or on a high-altitude aerostat, to direct the energy. "Whereas there is no dust & air (in space), there is no loss of energy. You aim the beam in space wherever you want & destroy whatever you want to destroy. But that was extremely costly & eventually they halted the project. Some of the elements remained, & that was where lasers began," explains Ivry.
"Since then, we initiated various efforts of developing tactical lasers. Everything was experimental. Laser started out with the premise that we needed versatile active defense. Budget-wise, you cannot base your active defense exclusively on such measures as missiles, which cost a lot of money
to maintain. You need both.
"In Israel, we deal with real-life problems. This has both advantages & disadvantages. It is the same in every field, including lasers. The solution provided by the 'Iron Dome' system is excellent, but it should be the complementary solution – not the primary one. Opposite tens of thousands of rockets & missiles, how long will you be able to keep going? The State of Israel must allocate funds to the development of lasers. It is not a lot of money compared to the acquisition of missiles. We must allow the industries to run ahead with it".
The discussion of new technologies such as the laser technology is not futile in view of the gap between the range of threats & the technologies currently available. Today we have more asymmetrical conflicts with terrorist organizations than conventional wars between states, & this
scenario category requires different preparations. But the defense system, just like a state, needs time to organize. "We initiated the Arrow project in '86 & in '92 we obtained the first authorization. The IDF objected. It is natural to object to new developments. The officers' job is to see to it that the military is ready for war, & the industries worry about cash flow & their quarterly financial reports. That is natural. You cannot blame anyone. But the echelon above them must see two steps ahead, & find the right balance with the limited budget they have. That is how we advanced the Arrow system, the satellite, the UAVs & many other things. It is all a matter of priorities. You must understand that it is a highly complex management of needs within a fabric of conflicting interests – not simple at all," explains Ivry.
"Additionally, you cannot wait for it to be developed elsewhere in the world & then purchase it. The world does not move at the pace of Israel's needs, owing to our unique situation in the Middle East. After we began developing UAVs, suddenly the market started developing. We started with the Arrow –who else in the world had it back then? There are many other examples. Admittedly, after the technology had already evolved worldwide, there are products worth purchasing rather than developing. It is a very delicate game of managing the needs vis-à-vis the budget.
"The IDF wants training for the reservists – equally justifiably. But there is not enough money for everything, & someone must decide what is more vital & more appropriate for Israel. In the case of the "Iron Dome" system, I think it would have been right to invest more in lasers as the primary active defense measure, with the "Iron Dome" system as the complementary measure. It is not a simple undertaking being at the decision-making echelon. It is not a discussion of whether the "Iron Dome"
system is better than the laser. The question is how to develop a concept that is appropriate for the future wars".
Will laser weapons be provided to the tactical echelons?
"Certainly. Even today laser devices are used for range measurement, target designation & as a blinding measure. There are many things you can do with lasers.
"Developing a combat doctrine is a dynamic process. When we initiated the Arrow project, we regarded it as an anti-aircraft missile. The Patriot was an anti-aircraft missile converted to serve as an anti-missile missile. But as it is an anti-aircraft missile, it kept searching for a future point of collision with the SCUD missile. But the SCUD drops toward the ground, & there were cases where we found the Patriot missile alongside the SCUD missile, at the same point on the ground, as the Patriot system had thought that the point of collision would occur somewhere under the ground.
"We began to understand those things & started developing other capabilities. You start developing a new force build-up doctrine. It is not anti-aircraft – it is anti-missile. It is the same with the lasers".
And what would happen if a laser-based weapon system fell into the hands of a terrorist organization or a rebel state?
"Anti-laser countermeasures are already being developed. There are all kinds of developments if you know the frequency of the laser. This is the nature of the defense industry. It is an endless cat-and-mouse game. I think the State of Israel should develop lasers, & not just one type."
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review & Analysis
Nevertheless, the future apparently holds in store laser-based weapon systems as a primary interceptor 30/11/2014 http://www.israeldefense.com/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=3237
Laser Weapons & the Force Build-Up of the IDF Operation Protective Edge has once again raised for public discussion the issue of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile interception system opposite the laser-based interception solutions. While the "Iron Dome" system has been breaking records with some
500 interceptions, according to data provided by the IDF Spokesperson, in the background, the battlefield economy issue has raised the question of why cheaper-to-operate laser-based systems are not being developed. Admittedly, trials of the Nautilus system (which was rejected) began as early as 1996, & even this year Rafael introduced its Iron Beam system for intercepting short-range threats & Elbit Systems launched their MUSIC (Multi Spectral Counter MANPADS System) for protecting passenger aircraft. Nevertheless, the State of Israel decided, in the last few years, to invest most of its
efforts in the "Iron Dome" system – an investment that proved to be justified opposite the rockets fired by Hamas.
At the same time, a strictly-professional discussion regarding the force build-up of IDF, just like the discussion that is not being conducted around the question of which technology is the superior one, would have revealed professional considerations that pertain to logistics & maintenance budgets as well. Eventually, if Israel is ever forced to fight terrorist organizations on two or three fronts simultaneously, the scenario will be extremely costly & uncertain if the IDF relies entirely on missiles. This, at least, is what Maj. Gen. (res.) David Ivry, Vice President of Boeing International, President of Boeing Israel, & the man who devised the concept for the Arrow missile system in the mid-1980, thinks.
"Firstly, we should understand the idea behind active defense. The best example is the fighter aircraft. When a fighter aircraft is assigned to intercept some element that had come to attack it – it is an active defense aircraft. In the past, we took such fighter aircraft as the Spitfire & Mustang, & converted them to strike aircraft, namely – we developed systems to enable them to become multi-role fighters. With such an aircraft, the pilot can take off on an interception mission, & an hour after landing – take off again on a strike mission," explains Ivry.
"There are situations where the aircraft is too costly for active defense. Take, for example, Abu-Rodeis in the Sinai during the Yom-Kippur War (a town on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez, where numerous wells were producing oil. The town was in Israeli hands during the Yom-Kippur War).
Instead of aircraft, we deployed HAWK missiles to defend that town. You take a single-role SAM battery & it complements the interceptor aircraft," says Ivry.
The Laser Era
Research activity in the field of lasers began in the USA in the 1960s, with financing provided by ARPA (which subsequently evolved into DARPA – the US), but the research activity did not evolve into mature military products. The quantum leap in laser development may be attributed to the "Star Wars" (Strategic Defense Initiative - SDI) program of the Reagan administration, launched in 1983. In the context of that program, the Americans made investments in Israel & the Soreq Nuclear Research Center conducted research activities financed by US funds (in Israel: Project Carmel).
"Laser is a multirole system – like a fighter aircraft. You can deploy it on the ground, on board an aircraft, on a Jeep or on an armored vehicle. It can intercept aircraft, missiles, artillery shells & UAVs. In some situations, it is unable to provide a solution – just like fighter aircraft. For example, under fog or heavy cloud conditions. Under these circumstances, the laser beam is distorted & becomes ineffective. These are the situations that should be complemented by the "Iron Dome" system, just as we did with the HAWK batteries. Take Ben-Gurion Airport, for example. You do not want anything dropping there under any circumstances. If even one rocket should hit that airport, no airline will land there. This is the place where you should deploy both the laser weapon system & the "Iron Dome" system. As far as costs are concerned, a single "Iron Dome" missile costs between US$70,000 & US$ 100,000, as opposed to a laser shot, which costs US$ 5,000 or less."
In addition to the direct cost of the defensive resources, there is the logistic aspect. While certain laser types only require a power supply source, the "Iron Dome" system requires an extensive logistic envelope. Missiles need to be manufactured & transported from overseas to Israel (a major percentage of the manufacture of the interceptor missiles is carried out in the USA). In Israel, the "Iron Dome" batteries deployed at the various deployment sites require storage facilities for the missiles, & the missiles themselves need to be serviced. "The logistic costs of the "Iron Dome" system are extremely costly. With the laser system, you can take it with you & just connect it to a power supply source. (With the "Iron Dome" system,) if you have to shoot down 40,000 missiles, multiply that by
US$ 100,000. That is extremely expensive. The laser is a lot cheaper," explains Ivry.
Laser weapon systems are divided into solid-state & gaseous-state systems. Gaseous-state lasers use various types of gas as the active medium. A high-energy laser system is a terrestrial system based on a deuterium fluoride or hydrogen fluoride chemical laser. One example of this system
category is the Nautilus system, designed to intercept short-range missiles & rockets. For the purpose of this type of interception, a power output of 100 kilowatts is required. Other chemical laser weapon systems may be installed on aircraft. The ground-based & airborne systems proved, in
trials conducted around the world, that they can handle rockets & artillery shells fired individually or in salvos. Another laser category includes airborne laser systems designed to intercept ballistic missiles (like the SCUD missile) during the acceleration phase. Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL) systems of this type are normally installed on board converted passenger aircraft & have a range of about 400 kilometers.
Yet another laser category includes solid-state lasers based on a crystal, glass or ceramic solid element. These solid-state lasers are based on a process where diodes pump in ions & emit light in the form of a laser beam. This particular technology has reached maturity. Several such lasers
may be "concatenated" to generate higher output rates. The advantage of the solid-state laser stems from the fact that it hardly requires any logistic support – unlike the chemical lasers, & its operation presents no safety risks owing to gas emissions. One of the examples of the use of a solid-state laser is the Avenger system by Boeing, which is installed on Jeeps & intended to intercept UAVs.
"In order to shoot down Katyusha rockets from a range of 15-20 kilometers, you need a power output of 100 kilowatts. Today, with a solid-state laser, you can reach output rates of 30-40 kilowatts – depending on the manufacturing country. No one states exactly what they actually have, but it is certain that all of them have reached (output rates of) 10-15 kilowatts. So, you connect a few of those & obtain the output you need," says Ivry.
"Accuracy is important. If you want to shoot down a Katyusha rocket, you need to penetrate its outer shell. For this you have to keep the beam on the same point for two seconds. This is the challenge. It was proven with the Nautilus system on targets including mortar & artillery shells. You
establish a connection between a radar & a self-aiming system & then you achieve results. If you have 100 kilowatt output – you will have a solution for all of the Katyusha rockets. In the USA they are in no hurry as no one fires Katyusha rockets at them. They do not face the threats Israel faces.
"In '96 we began developing the Nautilus as a prototype. We deployed a system in Kiryat-Shemona. It was a collection of components from different systems & its achievement was the fact that is succeeded in keeping the beam for two continuous seconds on the same point. The radar was the
prototype of the radar used in the Arrow system (Green Pine). This system was not operational, but it succeeded in proving that it was feasible. That was the goal. But then they decided to put this project on hold. They thought it would be less costly to stop the rocket fire by two divisions. In reality, the rocket fire never stopped.
"Our interest was to go with the "Iron Dome" system in order to preserve the knowledge regarding air-to-air missiles. It was a declining market & one of the thoughts was to preserve the knowledge at Rafael – justifiably, from their point of view. But they are not the ones calling the shots – another
element makes the decisions. Many things are being developed here with money that is not ours, & whoever gives us the money determines where they want to go. Much depends on your persuasive capabilities. When they began developing the "Iron Dome" system, laser was still classified information in many countries. Air-to-air missiles fired from a launcher – that was something you could market. The "Iron Dome" is an air-to-air missile system."
Missile Defense – the Beginning
After the first Lebanon war, the Syrians switched from aircraft to SSMs. Back then, IDF & Rafael produced studies according to which those missiles were inaccurate & there was no need to develop countermeasures. In 1988, before the first Gulf War, Ivry wrote a letter to the supreme command of IDF & to the leadership of IMOD, according to which SSMs were a threat with which Israel should prepare to deal. In the background was the Iran-Iraq war & as it turned out, the Iraqis used SCUD missiles to attack Tehran, & Tehran remained half empty. "This was one of the main reasons for the cease fire in 1988. The Iranians realized the price was too high, owing to the
SCUD missiles. The same SCUD missiles that were fired at us in '91," says Ivry.
"In 1986 we launched the Arrow project. Even that project met with opposition. It is a single-role missile, which goes against the versatility, multirole concept of the IDF – but you need smaller quantities. The IDF objected to allocating a budget, so I obtained funding from the USA. There
were reports that the Syrians were preparing chemical warheads for their SCUD missiles. They were conducting experiments. They had 18 SCUD launchers. In those days, you needed 6 hours between launches: you launched a SCUD missile & needed 6 hours to prepare the launcher to fire the next missile.
"I told Rabin: if they were to purchase 100 launchers tomorrow (and that was only a matter of money) & aim them at 10 targets in Israel, let's assume that 90% of them work & they do it during a dark night, in the winter. Tell me – what do you think? They think that you would not be able to get
out of this in the six hours until the next round. In such a scenario, you would have lost your deterrence. But if you deployed the Arrow system, even if it succeeded in intercepting only 80% of those missiles, you would still have residual power & your deterrence would have remained intact. The late Reuven Pedatzur spoke against the Arrow system, as he did not believe it would be capable of dealing with nuclear weapons with 100% success. What does that have to do with anything? The Arrow never started out as a project against nuclear weapons.
"At one time, we had a finalized agreement with them (the USA) for US$ 500 million funding for the Arrow. When I arrived to sign the funding agreement, they showed me an article published by the 'Ha'Aretz' newspaper, according to which the IAF was against the project. Everyone there had long faces. Luckily, they authorized the allocation of US$ 50 million per year to keep the project alive."
Preparing for Future Wars
Ivry explains that at the time of the SDI, the idea was to deploy the laser on the ground & position mirrors in space, on satellites or on a high-altitude aerostat, to direct the energy. "Whereas there is no dust & air (in space), there is no loss of energy. You aim the beam in space wherever you want & destroy whatever you want to destroy. But that was extremely costly & eventually they halted the project. Some of the elements remained, & that was where lasers began," explains Ivry.
"Since then, we initiated various efforts of developing tactical lasers. Everything was experimental. Laser started out with the premise that we needed versatile active defense. Budget-wise, you cannot base your active defense exclusively on such measures as missiles, which cost a lot of money
to maintain. You need both.
"In Israel, we deal with real-life problems. This has both advantages & disadvantages. It is the same in every field, including lasers. The solution provided by the 'Iron Dome' system is excellent, but it should be the complementary solution – not the primary one. Opposite tens of thousands of rockets & missiles, how long will you be able to keep going? The State of Israel must allocate funds to the development of lasers. It is not a lot of money compared to the acquisition of missiles. We must allow the industries to run ahead with it".
The discussion of new technologies such as the laser technology is not futile in view of the gap between the range of threats & the technologies currently available. Today we have more asymmetrical conflicts with terrorist organizations than conventional wars between states, & this
scenario category requires different preparations. But the defense system, just like a state, needs time to organize. "We initiated the Arrow project in '86 & in '92 we obtained the first authorization. The IDF objected. It is natural to object to new developments. The officers' job is to see to it that the military is ready for war, & the industries worry about cash flow & their quarterly financial reports. That is natural. You cannot blame anyone. But the echelon above them must see two steps ahead, & find the right balance with the limited budget they have. That is how we advanced the Arrow system, the satellite, the UAVs & many other things. It is all a matter of priorities. You must understand that it is a highly complex management of needs within a fabric of conflicting interests – not simple at all," explains Ivry.
"Additionally, you cannot wait for it to be developed elsewhere in the world & then purchase it. The world does not move at the pace of Israel's needs, owing to our unique situation in the Middle East. After we began developing UAVs, suddenly the market started developing. We started with the Arrow –who else in the world had it back then? There are many other examples. Admittedly, after the technology had already evolved worldwide, there are products worth purchasing rather than developing. It is a very delicate game of managing the needs vis-à-vis the budget.
"The IDF wants training for the reservists – equally justifiably. But there is not enough money for everything, & someone must decide what is more vital & more appropriate for Israel. In the case of the "Iron Dome" system, I think it would have been right to invest more in lasers as the primary active defense measure, with the "Iron Dome" system as the complementary measure. It is not a simple undertaking being at the decision-making echelon. It is not a discussion of whether the "Iron Dome"
system is better than the laser. The question is how to develop a concept that is appropriate for the future wars".
Will laser weapons be provided to the tactical echelons?
"Certainly. Even today laser devices are used for range measurement, target designation & as a blinding measure. There are many things you can do with lasers.
"Developing a combat doctrine is a dynamic process. When we initiated the Arrow project, we regarded it as an anti-aircraft missile. The Patriot was an anti-aircraft missile converted to serve as an anti-missile missile. But as it is an anti-aircraft missile, it kept searching for a future point of collision with the SCUD missile. But the SCUD drops toward the ground, & there were cases where we found the Patriot missile alongside the SCUD missile, at the same point on the ground, as the Patriot system had thought that the point of collision would occur somewhere under the ground.
"We began to understand those things & started developing other capabilities. You start developing a new force build-up doctrine. It is not anti-aircraft – it is anti-missile. It is the same with the lasers".
And what would happen if a laser-based weapon system fell into the hands of a terrorist organization or a rebel state?
"Anti-laser countermeasures are already being developed. There are all kinds of developments if you know the frequency of the laser. This is the nature of the defense industry. It is an endless cat-and-mouse game. I think the State of Israel should develop lasers, & not just one type."
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review & Analysis
Because
of the Defense Cuts F-35 purchase cut it may be revised up after the elections:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188088#.VH7vIcnQM0o
Iranian
Nukes and the Israeli Sabotage: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188187#.VH8Ul8YcTIU
Elections
to be held on March 17th. Bibi like Obama blames the voters: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599094,00.html
Terror
attack at the supermarket a 16.5 year old Arab grabs a knife from the store’s
knife rack and starts stabbing everybody. Knives to be moved to secure areas
security cameras capture the off-duty guard shooting the terrorist. He and his
cohorts apprehended. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599306,00.html
Rape and
theft of a Jewish Family in Paris by a Muslim Group: http://www.tlvfaces.com/paris-jewish-community-shock-rape-muslim-group-saying-jews/
The other
reason Netanyahu fired Livni and Lapid: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188196#.VH9om8YcTIU
If an
anti-Netanyahu Block forms, the President can turn to the left unless the right
can get their act together but if they run separately, Netanyahu wins it is as
simple as that. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599457,00.html
How to
drain off votes from the right by forming a new Political Party: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188209
The
continuation of Netanyahu as Prime Minister is not a done deal. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4598704,00.html
Israel
becomes a green energy center: http://www.jpost.com/Business/In-Israel-US-sees-opportunity-for-green-tech-and-development-383565
Sabotage,
traffic accident or just a weak pipe??? We may never know. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599460,00.html
Seven
Rockets tested by Hamas this week: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188238#.VIBr9MYcTIU
Debka is back
after a long illness by the Editor in Chief: Iran’s Lebanese
surrogate, the Shiite Hizballah was putting in place for war against Israel –
possibly as soon as April 2015: http://debka.com/article/24279/Israel’s-new-IDF-chiefs-must-take-next-prospective-war-with-Hizballah-onto-enemy-ground
What is
really happening with the ISIS bombings and what routes they use: http://debka.com/article/24281/US-led-warplanes-cut-through-to-ISIS-targets-in-Syria-Iraq-over-Israel map of route
interactive http://www.debka.com/static/banners/Airplanes.html
You liked
Romney now take this acts Obama: http://debka.com/article/24283/Obama-set-on-obstructing-Netanyahu’s-re-election
The
people are sick of Sara running everything and her husband Bibi: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Post-poll-60-percent-of-Israelis-dont-want-Netanyahu-anymore-383724
The
American Public believes more in a One State Solution: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188274#.VIFrFMYcTIU
Some of
the public gets fooled all of the time!!! Every election cycle a new bright
political star rises in a meteoric flash and the sheep rush to vote for it and
then it fails and wanes. This happened to Lapid’s father and to him and now
another party about to begin as Kadima’s Star sets. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188262#.VIFrr8YcTIU
Yisrael Hayom Public Opinion Poll: Likud 22 under Netanyahu,
Bennett National Union16 (I have seen up
to 20), Kahalon’s Party 13, Labor 12, Yisrael Beitaynu (Lieberman) 10 (I have
seen up to 16), Lapid 10, Aguda 8, Shass 8 (usually they underestimate Shass by
two or three), Meretz 6, Communist Arabs 5, Arab R-T 4, HaTenua 4 and Islamist
2 if they make the voter threshold. This Poll places 64 and 13 to Kahalon
making it 77 members to the right. Now
Gideon Saar may return to run against Netanyahu in the primaries and that could
be a game changer for Kahalon and the Likud.
Brooklyn
girl killed by reckless valet throw the book at him and then some: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599835,00.html
Did the
cops frame him or his prints were on the gun? https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/nypd-officer-fatally-choked-eric-garner-wasnt-indicted-183500298.html
How the
knife attack was stopped. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4599890,00.html
Now for M. Wolfberg’s Story “Thais that bind”
Good
Shabbos Everyone. In this week's portion Vayishlach, we
read some of the most amazing verses in the entire Torah. The Torah tells us
how Yakov fought with a malach - an angel until the break of dawn. On the simplest
level, the verses are describing how Yakov had a knock down, drag out fight
with an angel. After fighting, the angel gave Yakov a new name, Yisroel. The
verse states: "And he [the malach - angel] said, Your name shall be called
no more Yakov, but Yisrael; for as a prince you have power with G-d and with
men, and have prevailed." (Bereishis 32:29)
We can also understand these verses on a deeper spiritually rewarding level. Namely, all of our struggles in life are tests from Hashem. Hashem gives us challenges so that we can grow from them. This is similar to a teacher who gives assignments to his students so that they can learn. Just as Hashem sent the malach - the angel to fight with Yakov, so too does Hashem send us challenges every day.
A few years ago a young Israeli in his early twenties entered Rabbi Wilhelm's Chabad House and stood before the massive bookcase filled with Torah books with a bewildered look on his face. Rabbi Wilhelm asked him if he needed help and he replied that he was looking for a book on Judaism.
When the Rabbi suggested that perhaps they learn something on the book of Bereshis (Genesis) the fellow asked if that was a Jewish book and when he heard it was, agreed to sit and learn. The young man (we will call him Erez) grew up on an atheistic Israeli Kibbutz where religion (especially the Jewish religion) was branded as no more than a crutch for the crippled. So it was no wonder that he knew virtually nothing about Judaism. Erez told the Rabbi that a few months ago he and his girlfriend, from another Kibbutz, decided to ditch Israel for a few months (at least) and set off for an unforgettable tour of the Far East together …. like tens of thousands of other Israelis.
They traveled from one exotic country to another, met the people, ate the food, camped out in jungles, climbed mountains … but were careful to call home regularly to let their family know they were still alive.
Several months into their journey in one of his calls home Erez's parents made an interesting proposition. His sister was coming from Canada to visit Erez's parents in Eretz Yisroel for two weeks. They suggested that they would pay Erez's way, round trip, and they would love to have him for a family reunion.
He talked it over with his girlfriend, she agreed and a day later he was back in Israel with his family. There was a wonderful warm feeling of love and unity that he never felt before. They ate together, spoke, sang, laughed, reminisced and took walks together every day and after two weeks his sister flew back to Canada, he kissed his parents good bye and returned to his girlfriend in Thailand. When his plane landed he called to tell his parents that he arrived safely but his mother, fighting back the tears gave him some terrible news. Just minutes after his plane took off his father suffered a heart attack and passed away.
The burial was to take place in a few moments. Erez was stunned. Not being religious he didn't even consider a period of mourning but it was a shock to his entire being; especially the wonderful irony of the family reunion. He felt "lucky" to have been able to spend time with his father before his untimely passing and he even began to feel that there was some G-dly force involved with that "luck."
But every time he brought it up to his girlfriend she just fell silent; she wanted to just enjoy the trip and concentrate on happy, non-religious things. And that's what Erez did. The weeks passed, the trip went on and they were enjoying every moment of it together.
But once in a while, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon as they were walking in the street, sometimes before he went to sleep, the mystery of it all suddenly welled up in his heart like a mysterious ocean until he took his mind off it. Then his girlfriend came up with a fantastic idea; she heard of that a very special yoga master in India was beginning an unforgettable ten-day silence and meditation seminar and she wanted that they should go. But for the first time Erez disagreed. How could it be that she didn't want to speak about Jewish things but she did want to go to an ashram? He respected her desire for the seminar, but he wanted something different. So they talked it over and decided that they wouldn't be able to be together in the meditation seminar. They would part ways for ten days and he would go to learn about Judaism.
In fact, he didn't really have much of a plan but he had been briefly in the Chabad House in Bangkok (his girlfriend stood outside and didn't even want to enter while he looked around) which was the only religious Jewish place he had been to in his life and figured that maybe they would teach him. Rabbi Wilhelm was more than happy to arrange a full day of teachers for Erez and even take time every day to personally teach him. But when he suggested that he should first of all put on Tefillin for a minute or so, Erez flatly refused; he hated religion, he came only to learn.
But at learning he was fantastic. He took to the books like a fish to water. He asked tens of questions on each detail and enjoyed the answers but at every opportunity he was careful to declare that it would never bring him to change his lifestyle. Then, two days later, he suddenly approached Rabbi Wilhelm and said he wanted to put on Tefillin. Rabbi Wilhelm didn't ask questions. Before Erez could change his mind he took out his Tefillin as quickly as possible and showed Erez how to put them on ….. for the first time in his life.
"You're probably wondering why I suddenly changed my mind and put on Tefillin." Erez asked when he finished. Rabbi Wilhelm nodded 'yes'.
"Well, last night when I called home and told my mother that I decided to learn in the Chabad House she began to cry. She said that she would never have even thought of telling me, but now that I mention Chabad, she has a secret about my father to reveal. She told me that over fifty years ago Chabad helped him to get out of Russia and he got to know them. He didn't like religion, not at all. But the Chabad people made a good impression and, well... he used to put on Tefillin every day. "He didn't want anyone to know. Especially the people in the Kibbutz, so he used to put them in the bathroom where no one would see. But he did it every single morning till the day he died. He was proud to be a Jew. And that is why I decided to put on today."
After her seminar Erez's girlfriend returned to Bangkok to resume their trip but she was in for a surprise; Erez wanted one more week and he wanted her to join him! It wasn't an ultimatum. He made it clear that he would do what she decided. So they talked it over. She agreed to the week but there was no way she would even set foot in the Chabad House. But on the other hand she knew that Erez was no fool. He was a clever young man, and had been as big an atheist as herself, maybe bigger. She didn't want to be closed minded. So they came to an agreement; he could have one more week and she would participate from 'outside'.
Every morning Erez would enter the Chabad House with a list of questions she had prepared the night before and after each class he would go outside, meet her, they would discuss the answers and he would enter with more questions.
The week ended, Erez announced that he was continuing his trip, said goodbye and Rabbi Wilhelm returned to the hundreds of visitors that pass through the Chabad House every day.
A year later Rabbi Wilhelm, was invited to speak at several institutions in Israel the last of which was the Yeshiva in Tzfas where four hundred-plus students learn. As he entered the building and the Rabbis there greeted him and shook his hand, someone from behind him yelled "Hey, Rabbi!!" and as he turned to see who it was one of the bearded young men ran up, hugged him warmly, gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped back saying "Don't you recognize me?"
Rabbi Wilhelm was baffled. "It's me! It's Erez! Remember? A year ago? Remember? how my father passed away?"
The Rabbi could not believe his eyes. "Wow!" He exclaimed" Of course I remember! It's a miracle! But what about your girlfriend? What happened? How is she?"
"Listen Rabbi" Erez moved closer and spoke in a low voice, "You better watch out! There are a lot of people that I think are after your life! A lot!"
"My life?" he replied "Are you serious? Why? Who? What has that got to do with your girlfriend? Why are you smiling?" "Who?" Erez answered "All the people in my kibbutz and in my girlfriend's as well!! That's right, she is now learning around the corner in M'chone Alte, the Chabad College for girls. And the people in our Kibbutzim are blazing mad! They're going out of their minds!"
A few months later Rabbi Wilhelm got an invitation to their wedding and just recently he heard they were hired by a Chabad House to do what the Rebbe sent him to do wake up Jews.
If we fight hard and rise to the challenges as Yakov did, then we will merit to be called Yisroel, meaning, as the verse says: "a prince [who has] power with Hashem and with men." Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: L'illui Nishmas Aryeh Leib ben Avrohom and Malka bas Tzvi Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta
We can also understand these verses on a deeper spiritually rewarding level. Namely, all of our struggles in life are tests from Hashem. Hashem gives us challenges so that we can grow from them. This is similar to a teacher who gives assignments to his students so that they can learn. Just as Hashem sent the malach - the angel to fight with Yakov, so too does Hashem send us challenges every day.
A few years ago a young Israeli in his early twenties entered Rabbi Wilhelm's Chabad House and stood before the massive bookcase filled with Torah books with a bewildered look on his face. Rabbi Wilhelm asked him if he needed help and he replied that he was looking for a book on Judaism.
When the Rabbi suggested that perhaps they learn something on the book of Bereshis (Genesis) the fellow asked if that was a Jewish book and when he heard it was, agreed to sit and learn. The young man (we will call him Erez) grew up on an atheistic Israeli Kibbutz where religion (especially the Jewish religion) was branded as no more than a crutch for the crippled. So it was no wonder that he knew virtually nothing about Judaism. Erez told the Rabbi that a few months ago he and his girlfriend, from another Kibbutz, decided to ditch Israel for a few months (at least) and set off for an unforgettable tour of the Far East together …. like tens of thousands of other Israelis.
They traveled from one exotic country to another, met the people, ate the food, camped out in jungles, climbed mountains … but were careful to call home regularly to let their family know they were still alive.
Several months into their journey in one of his calls home Erez's parents made an interesting proposition. His sister was coming from Canada to visit Erez's parents in Eretz Yisroel for two weeks. They suggested that they would pay Erez's way, round trip, and they would love to have him for a family reunion.
He talked it over with his girlfriend, she agreed and a day later he was back in Israel with his family. There was a wonderful warm feeling of love and unity that he never felt before. They ate together, spoke, sang, laughed, reminisced and took walks together every day and after two weeks his sister flew back to Canada, he kissed his parents good bye and returned to his girlfriend in Thailand. When his plane landed he called to tell his parents that he arrived safely but his mother, fighting back the tears gave him some terrible news. Just minutes after his plane took off his father suffered a heart attack and passed away.
The burial was to take place in a few moments. Erez was stunned. Not being religious he didn't even consider a period of mourning but it was a shock to his entire being; especially the wonderful irony of the family reunion. He felt "lucky" to have been able to spend time with his father before his untimely passing and he even began to feel that there was some G-dly force involved with that "luck."
But every time he brought it up to his girlfriend she just fell silent; she wanted to just enjoy the trip and concentrate on happy, non-religious things. And that's what Erez did. The weeks passed, the trip went on and they were enjoying every moment of it together.
But once in a while, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon as they were walking in the street, sometimes before he went to sleep, the mystery of it all suddenly welled up in his heart like a mysterious ocean until he took his mind off it. Then his girlfriend came up with a fantastic idea; she heard of that a very special yoga master in India was beginning an unforgettable ten-day silence and meditation seminar and she wanted that they should go. But for the first time Erez disagreed. How could it be that she didn't want to speak about Jewish things but she did want to go to an ashram? He respected her desire for the seminar, but he wanted something different. So they talked it over and decided that they wouldn't be able to be together in the meditation seminar. They would part ways for ten days and he would go to learn about Judaism.
In fact, he didn't really have much of a plan but he had been briefly in the Chabad House in Bangkok (his girlfriend stood outside and didn't even want to enter while he looked around) which was the only religious Jewish place he had been to in his life and figured that maybe they would teach him. Rabbi Wilhelm was more than happy to arrange a full day of teachers for Erez and even take time every day to personally teach him. But when he suggested that he should first of all put on Tefillin for a minute or so, Erez flatly refused; he hated religion, he came only to learn.
But at learning he was fantastic. He took to the books like a fish to water. He asked tens of questions on each detail and enjoyed the answers but at every opportunity he was careful to declare that it would never bring him to change his lifestyle. Then, two days later, he suddenly approached Rabbi Wilhelm and said he wanted to put on Tefillin. Rabbi Wilhelm didn't ask questions. Before Erez could change his mind he took out his Tefillin as quickly as possible and showed Erez how to put them on ….. for the first time in his life.
"You're probably wondering why I suddenly changed my mind and put on Tefillin." Erez asked when he finished. Rabbi Wilhelm nodded 'yes'.
"Well, last night when I called home and told my mother that I decided to learn in the Chabad House she began to cry. She said that she would never have even thought of telling me, but now that I mention Chabad, she has a secret about my father to reveal. She told me that over fifty years ago Chabad helped him to get out of Russia and he got to know them. He didn't like religion, not at all. But the Chabad people made a good impression and, well... he used to put on Tefillin every day. "He didn't want anyone to know. Especially the people in the Kibbutz, so he used to put them in the bathroom where no one would see. But he did it every single morning till the day he died. He was proud to be a Jew. And that is why I decided to put on today."
After her seminar Erez's girlfriend returned to Bangkok to resume their trip but she was in for a surprise; Erez wanted one more week and he wanted her to join him! It wasn't an ultimatum. He made it clear that he would do what she decided. So they talked it over. She agreed to the week but there was no way she would even set foot in the Chabad House. But on the other hand she knew that Erez was no fool. He was a clever young man, and had been as big an atheist as herself, maybe bigger. She didn't want to be closed minded. So they came to an agreement; he could have one more week and she would participate from 'outside'.
Every morning Erez would enter the Chabad House with a list of questions she had prepared the night before and after each class he would go outside, meet her, they would discuss the answers and he would enter with more questions.
The week ended, Erez announced that he was continuing his trip, said goodbye and Rabbi Wilhelm returned to the hundreds of visitors that pass through the Chabad House every day.
A year later Rabbi Wilhelm, was invited to speak at several institutions in Israel the last of which was the Yeshiva in Tzfas where four hundred-plus students learn. As he entered the building and the Rabbis there greeted him and shook his hand, someone from behind him yelled "Hey, Rabbi!!" and as he turned to see who it was one of the bearded young men ran up, hugged him warmly, gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped back saying "Don't you recognize me?"
Rabbi Wilhelm was baffled. "It's me! It's Erez! Remember? A year ago? Remember? how my father passed away?"
The Rabbi could not believe his eyes. "Wow!" He exclaimed" Of course I remember! It's a miracle! But what about your girlfriend? What happened? How is she?"
"Listen Rabbi" Erez moved closer and spoke in a low voice, "You better watch out! There are a lot of people that I think are after your life! A lot!"
"My life?" he replied "Are you serious? Why? Who? What has that got to do with your girlfriend? Why are you smiling?" "Who?" Erez answered "All the people in my kibbutz and in my girlfriend's as well!! That's right, she is now learning around the corner in M'chone Alte, the Chabad College for girls. And the people in our Kibbutzim are blazing mad! They're going out of their minds!"
A few months later Rabbi Wilhelm got an invitation to their wedding and just recently he heard they were hired by a Chabad House to do what the Rebbe sent him to do wake up Jews.
If we fight hard and rise to the challenges as Yakov did, then we will merit to be called Yisroel, meaning, as the verse says: "a prince [who has] power with Hashem and with men." Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: L'illui Nishmas Aryeh Leib ben Avrohom and Malka bas Tzvi Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta
Good Shabbos try to fortify your prayers, deeds and love for your
fellow Jews so that the Moshiach can come speedily,
Rachamim Pauli
