U'netanneh Tokef - the hymn of Israel

U'netanneh Tokef (ונתנה תוקף) is one of the most well known liturgical songs (piyyuts) - a description of the frailty of Man standing in judgement before G-d, who endures man's sins and wants him to repent.  

I think almost everybody knows the story of Rabbi Amnon of Mainz ('Magentsa' in Hebrew) in Germany, who was wiling to undergo intense punishment rather than convert to Christianity (see Wikipedia).


The story was written down by the 12th century Rabbi Ephraim of Bonn, who also gave us another interesting legend about the feud between the Israeli poet Yannai and his student Eleazar Kalir.


The Cairo Genizah gave us many fascinating finds.  One of these was a copy of Unetanneh Tokef, from which we know that it was written before the 10th century in Israel, or possibly nearby.  Researchers date it to the Byzantine era.  Some attribute it to the poets of the late Byzantine era, Yannai or Eleazar Kalir.  However, it may even originate from the earliest Piyyut period, in the 3rd and 4th centuries, as during this time anonymous poets wrote liturgies not confined by rhyme or meter.   

The story of Rabbi Amnon might have an historical basis.  Amnon was a common Jewish Italian name, and we know that the ancient Israeli traditions, including the piyyuts, made their way from Israel to the Ashkenaz communities via Italy. 

However, we should recognize that Unetanneh Tokef is part of our Israeli heritage.  It was written here in the Land of Israel, by Israeli poets, for Israelis.  For them, and for us, a cloudless sky, withering grass and flying dust are not just irrelevant similes, they're the reality of the end of summer.

Unetanneh Tokef gives us a glimpse of the hardships faced by the Jews in that very obscure era,when the Romans destroyed Jewish life, and left us with the shards of pottery and memory.


Over the past year I've written about our history in this land.  It is not just a matter of history, it's a matter of continuity.  Every generation, facing trials and tribulations, can relate to the words of Unetanneh Tokef.  Following the Yom Kippur War, this rendition by Yair Rosenblum, sang by the Givatron, made it into a modern Israeli hymn.



May we all have a good and peaceful year.

 See here for more articles about our history in Israel. 

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Happy Jewish Barbecue Day!

by Lurker

For those who aren't aware, today is the 1st day of Elul, which is a very special and important day on the Jewish calendar:

It is the New Year's Day for Animals.

The first mishna in tractate Rosh HaShana teaches that there are four days in the year that are regarded as New Year's Days. Each one is considered a cut-off point that begins a new year for certain specific respective purposes in Jewish law:

• The 1st of Nisan is the New Year's Day for dating the reigns of kings, and for caclulating the cycles of festivals.
  
• The 1st of Tishrei is the New Year's Day for calculating calendrical years, shemitot (sabbatical years), and yovelot (jubilee years), as well as for planting (with regard to the law of orla), and for the ma'aser (tithing) of vegetables.
  
• The 15th of Shevat is the New Year's Day for the ma'aser of (fruit) trees.
  
• The 1st of Elul (today) is the New Year's Day for the ma'aser of animals.

On the New Year's Day for the tithing of fruit trees -- commonly referred to as Tu B'Shevat -- it is customary to celebrate by eating fruits grown in the Land of Israel.

And thus, in the exact same way, it is certainly most fitting to celebrate the New Year's Day for the tithing of animals -- today -- by eating meat grown in the land of Israel.

So happy New Year's Day!

And enjoy your barbecues!


ADDENDUM:

The mishna actually gives two opinions regarding the date of the New Year's Day for tithing animals: The first, unattributed, opinion (stam mishna) is that it is on the 1st of Elul, whereas R. Elazar and R. Shimon hold that it is on the 1st of Tishrei. The rishonim (medieval rabbinic authorities) are divided on the question of which view to accept: The SMaG (positive mitzva 212), Meiri (Rosh HaShana 2a, s.v. "והמשנה"), and Ritva (Rosh HaShana 2a, s.v. "באחד") all rule that the date is the 1st of Elul. Rambam, on the other hand (Hilkhot Bekhorot 7:6), rules that it is on the 1st of Tishrei. [Hattip to MB for pointing out Rambam's opinion.]

Therefore, those who wish to be cautious and stringent, and are careful to follow all opinions, should make it a point to do barbecues on both the 1st of Elul and the 1st of Tishrei.

---

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Perseverance

Perseverance -- a Rosh HaShana/Yom Kippur message




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Obama Promises Security for Israel

In his Rosh HaShana greeting to the Jewish People around the world, US President Obama promised "To work to achieve lasting peace and security for the State of Israel so that the Jewish state is fully accepted by its neighbors and its children can live their dreams, free from fear."

Just last week, President Obama could be seen brandishing a presidential Star Wars (tm) blue and white Zionist lightsaber on the White House lawn -- ready to defend Israel.


To be fair, Michelle Obama said in response to Obama's lightsaber jousting, "He was pathetic."

On the other hand, it's a good start that President Obama referred to Israel as the "Jewish State", since the Palestinians refuse to recognize Israel as such.

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Jameel's Personal Rosh HaShana Message

Dear JBlogosphere and others, (**see below for special update)

I'm reminded of the "outatime" license plate from "Back to the Future" --

since it's Erev Rosh HaShana, and there are so many posts I wanted to write, emails to send, good wishes to convey, and yet, I found myself without enough time to do so.

Luckily, I did managed to accomplish a few important items over the past few days

- completed a pruzbul

- allocated loan money not to be affected by the pruzbul

- managed to get to the bank today so I can pay our HVAC installer before Rosh HaShana

- posted about the opportunity to help save a life.

- went on milluim.

- studied over shabbat with son #2 for his gemara test.

On the other hand, I didn't get to post about milluim, didn't post what I wanted to about Rosh HaShana, didn't post about Nefesh b"Befesh, didn't do a Treppenwitz-type post where he links to many friends of his, which is really a great idea (and I would do it if I had the time...) -- Treppenwitz even calls from time to time, "just to say hi" -- which is truly heart-warming that blog people call sometimes just to say hi.

And therefore, there's something I needed to say. This past year was rather amazing for me on a personal level -- as I managed to meet many of you in person (whether at the JBlogger convention, or in the US, or simply around Israel). Without a doubt, there's something to be learned from everyone, their take on life, their contribution to society, whatever it is that makes them unqiue -- and I appreciate meeting each and everyone one of you.

This past milluim, while sitting around in between exercises I took some pictures of our unit. To my surprise, someone said to me, "Are you going to put that on your blog?" And then another said, "don't put a smiley face on me...put a frowny face on me...", and yet another said, "make my face green"...and yet another said, "don't put anything on my face at all". I guess my blogger identity is quickly becoming the worst kept secret in the JBlogosphere. So I turned to the guy next to me, and said, you really read my blog? He replied that he and his wife read it religiously...

And with that comes responsibility. Not so much the pressure to post quality, informative, and entertaining content -- but that people are actually reading what goes up here. Blogs can ruin lives and have all sorts of negative consequences -- and I hope that this blog still manages to convey something positive.

Some people think that the virtual blogosphere means ignoring "reality" -- and I sincerely apologize if reality took second seat to the virtualness of the blog world.

Additionally, I would like to apologize if you sent me an email to which I didn't reply, to those who sent me links to publish and I didn't, to those I should have linked to...but didn't, and to those commenters who I should have acknowledged with followup comments -- but didn't. It was never malice -- just lack of time...or even a bit of laziness on my part, for which I'm sorry. Not any less important -- is that I'm sorry to those who were upset or offended by anything I may have written (what comes to mind is my posting about shabbat guests).

As we welcome the new year, may we all be inscribed in the books of health, well-being, repentance...and the book redemption. Redemption on a personal level and a national one. May this be a year of increased Jewish unity instead of divisiveness, and may the JBlogosphere bring about positive change.

Shana Tova -- a good year to all of us,

Jameel.

PS: Obligatory Srugim comment: I spoke to Laizy Shapiro for a minute today, and his message to you all is that he appreciates your comments and insights about the Srugim show (they put alot of thought into he writing of it, and many of your comments are spot on.). He also added, "its only a TV show".


Shana Tova!


** Special Update:


Thanks to everyones help & generousity, we managed to raise the full ammount to cover the costs of Gili's surgery.

Gili flew this morning to London, where she is supposed to undergo surgery on this comming Tuesday (first day rosh hashana).

Her name for tefilot is: גילי חיה צביה טובה בת רוית

Shana tova & ktiva vechatima tova



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

Thought provoking video

I found this video very thought provoking.

Its not preachy -- and its refreshingly apolitical.

Give yourself 6 minutes to watch it today before Rosh HaShana.



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

Srugim's last episode to air on Rosh HaShana?!

Several Srugim aficionados have already contacted me about this alleged travesty -- how can Srugim's final season one episode be aired on Rosh HaShana night (Monday evening, Sept 29th)?!

This reminds me of life in Israel during the 1970s.

Eons ago, before cable TV in Israel, before Satellite TV, before Channel 2, before commercials, when there was only one TV channel for Israeli viewers (excluding Jordan and Lebanon TV channels) -- a new TV show was due to air..."Eishet Chayil", a woman of valor. The problem was that it was to air on Friday afternoons, either just before Shabbat was about to start or after Shabbat started already.

If I recall correctly, the Ulta-Orthodox Aguda party spearheaded the effort against the Israel Broadcasting Authority to have the show moved to earlier on Friday. After all, a show entitled "Eishet Chayil" should be viewable to all, especially the religious TV-watching community without worrying about desecrating the Shabbat.

As a result of Aguda's pressure, the IBA heeded their request and changed the viewing hour to earlier on Friday afternoon.

Imagine how shocked people were, when they found out that the show "Eishet Chayil"...the show which Aguda had gone head-to-head with the IBA over moving it's Friday broadcast to an earlier time...was the translated name for..."Wonder Woman!"

Have no fear dear readers -- I just got off the phone with the show's director, Laizy Shapiro, and he said YES had moved the viewing date for the season finale of Srugim to the following week, Monday evening of October 6th.

As as an aside, I'm in contact with Maaleh about the full version of Eicha...will keep you posted.















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Rosh HaShana cards (received via email)

Building the Beit HaMikdash

Not the Muqata kids

Got any good ones? Send them here and I'll add them to this post...

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Official Muqata Greetings for Rosh HaShana

Shalom to all the Muqata readership...

Wishing everyone a Shana Tova. It's customary to have "simanim" around the table on Rosh Hashana...honey for a sweet year, etc.

Additional ones from our Muqata household (feel free to add your own)

Lettuce, Raisins, Celery...and we say, "May we have a Raise-in Salary"

Bisli from Osem...and we say, "May we have an Awesome [Osem] year"

Mangos...and we say, "May our enemies be mangled"

Enough...the following 1 minute video (it repeats, so you only need to watch 1 minute of it) is more than inspiring for Rosh Hashana.

Wishing you a year of health, happiness, redemption, and aliya!

Jameel & Co.
The Muqata


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

The Erev Rosh HaShana Miracle

To some, this may seem like coincidence...or "dumb luck", but if you ask those who were there, it was the hand of G-d.

Last night at 1:30 AM, my wife asked me what all the beeping noises were that were emanating from my emergency medical pager. Reading it, I got the news that a Palestinian Qassam rocket landed in the middle of the Zikim IDF base, about 3 minutes from Northern Gaza...that that there were many wounded soldiers. A "Mass Casualty Event" was declared, and all nearby EMTs and paramedics were instructed to respond.

Far away in the Shomron there was nothing for me to do, but go back to sleep.

Around 7 AM, I sent an SMS to a neighbor "Qassam fell in Zikim, dozens wounded" (we frequently update each other on news going on around Israel), and he called me back within a minute. "No kidding," he said, "there were 67 wounded soldiers...I got the call at 3:30 AM from my son...I'm here in the hospital with him in Ashelon....Baruch HaShem he's OK...very minor injury...should be home for Rosh Hashana."

He proceeded to tell me how the soldiers sleep outside in tents, and have 10 seconds from the time the "Tzeva Adom"/Code Red missile alert system goes off, till the rocket lands. The soldiers were all sleeping soundly when the alert went off at 1:30 AM, and most barely woke up from it.

The rocket landed smack in the middle of the tent camp where everyone was sleeping...and directly hit a tent, exploding into the concrete floor which sent shrapnel flying through canvas tent walls in all directions.

However, of all the tents the rocket could have hit, which were all full of sleeping soldiers, the tent the rocket landed in...was strangely enough...the only empty tent.

Evacuating the wounded, credit Amir Cohen

Granted, 69 soldiers were hurt, and some are in moderate condition**...but a direct hit on any other tent would have resulted in many deaths, and many more serious injuries.

Israel's leaders are reason enough for us not to deserve miracles -- if only due to their lack of resolve to protect our citizens. Yet it's almost impossible to live in Eretz Yisrael and not see the hand of G-d, even if we are undeserving.

Teshuva-Repentance on Rosh Hashana is not necessarily the most logical of concepts. Even if we don't deserve it, if we make an effort, we are promised help from G-d.

Living here isn't the most logical of places either...and yet, we still see miracles from time to time.

Shana Tova.


Read about the rocket attack here.

** Unfortunately, it may not be a condolence to the parents to the 1 fatality, or the soldiers who were moderately wounded (I'm aware of one that lost an eye, and one that lost a foot), yet I somberly say...with all the empathy possible...it could have been much, much worse had it hit any of the occupied tents.


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

High Holy Day Box Seats: $50,000

Crossposted at DovBear.

(Great Belz Shul in Jerusalem)

YNET Reports today that a seat near the Belzer Rebbe for the High Holy Days in the Great Belz Shul in Yerushalayim costs 50 thousand dollars. Wow.

At synagogues of the hassidic rabbis' courts the prices vary according to how close they are to the admor (acronym for "our master, our teacher, and our rabbi). A reserved seat near the admor at the Belz (hassidic sect) synagogue can reach a whopping $50,000.

Synagogues are also charging for the right to read from the Torah, especially following the afternoon prayer session on Yom Kippur. Worshippers at the Vishnitz synagogue can purchase this right for no less than $50,000. A similar price will be charged from those wishing to take part in the opening of the Holy Arc ceremony at Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's Kol Nidre synagogue.

Kfar Chabad is charging NIS 60,000 ($14,500) for being the last person to be called up to the Torah and NIS 30,000 ($7,250) for being called up to the Torah for the opening prayer of the Eve of Atonement (Yom Kippur) service.

My personal shul is 1300 NIS ($310) per family...how about you?

Shana Tova,

Jameel.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael