Making the move from the town of my youth, Baltimore, to my new home in Kiryat Sefer, has been not only a huge physical jump but a huge jump in mentality and culture as well. Most people think of Kiryat Sefer as a cross between Meah Shearim and the European shtetl of old. In reality, Kiryat Sefer is a vibrant and lovely place to live, one that meets all the physical and spiritual needs of its residents. Come, let’s take a look at the city I love.

Kiryat Sefer was started in 1993 as a response to the severe housing shortage in the religious communities of Eretz Yisrael. The city is unique in that it was built from the start to be a Torah community. One hundred percent of its residents are frum, and its streets are named after sefarim; hence the name Kiryat Sefer! It began as a small town in the Western part Israel equidistant to Yerushalayim and Bnai Brak. Over the years, many other neighborhoods were built adjacent to Kiryat Sefer, such as Brachfeld, Green Park, Neot Hapisga, and Kiryat Avi Ezri. In 2008, all these neighborhoods, along with Moshav Matisyahu, part of Chashmonaim village, and some other surrounding villages, were joined together to form the new city, Modiin Ilit (Upper Modiin, not to be confused with the nearby secular city of Modiin). Because Kiryat Sefer was the original neighborhood, many people still refer to the whole city as Kiryat Sefer.

The authors are members of the board of the Religious Zionists of America. This is the third in a series. To view previous installments, please visit www.phillyreligiouszionists.org/lessons-from-the-gaza-war/.)

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is anchored in the premise that the mainstream Palestinian leadership has truly given up its old terrorist ways. Yasser Arafat and his Fatah movement --the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization-- put down their guns and "recognized" Israel. The bad guys became the good guys, and the only bad guys are left are a small minority of Hamas extremists.
The Gaza war provides an opportunity to test that theory. Hamas kidnaps and murders Israeli teenagers, and fires hundreds of rockets into Israel. How has Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, responded?

On the first day of the Gaza war, Philip Gordon, the Obama administration's "Coordinator for the Middle East," lectured the Israelis on why they should make more concessions to the Palestinians, including apparently taking down security checkpoints in the territories.
On the third day of the Gaza war, the Palestinians reminded everyone why those security checkpoints should be remained--and even expanded.
Gordon began with the usual rhetoric about how "both sides" have not made the necessary decisions for peace, how both sides have engaged in "mutual dehumanization," and how "both sides" need to use restraint. In doing so, he underscored the inability of the Obama administration to distinguish between aggressor and victim, between a corrupt pro-terror regime and a reliable democratic ally--in other words, between right and wrong.

It is almost as if I have two tracks running simultaneously in my head. Track number one is playing my regular routine. I’m trying to coax Yedidya into having his diaper changed and stop Tzion as he sits on the floor pulling all the wipes out of the package. I’m cutting up bread and making salad, and feeding Tzion solid foods for the first time. Yedidya is busy with his favorite activity: washing dishes. Yesterday we went shopping in the shuk for fruits and vegetables, and to the Misrad Hapnim to get our Israeli passports. Today we went to the mall.  Everything is normal.

news source: yeshiva world news

While the cabinet gave its approval for activating 40,000 IDF reservists, they are not all being called for service immediately. The first wave will number 15,000 reservists, who will be replacing compulsory service brigades.

The first reservists began arriving on Tuesday morning, some sent to the south immediately while others took up position in Yehuda and Shomron, replacing the compulsory service forces and thereby permitting the compulsory service soldiers to head to Gaza. Many of the first reservists will also be added the Homefront Command force, which is critical as the Hamas rocket fire intensifies.

 news source: Arutz Sheva

Latest batch of olim arrive from the US - including one brave woman moving straight to Israel's southern frontline.

The new arrivals at Ben Gurion Airport

Nefesh B'Nefesh

Making Aliyah is never an easy task, and leaving family, friends and memories behind is enough of a challenge for any new oleh.

But imagine making Aliyah under fire.

(The authors are members of the board of the Religious Zionists of America.)

An Arab-American visiting the disputed (West Bank) territories is brutalized by the police--yet the Obama administration, the United Nations, and the international community are all silent.

Say what?

No, we're not talking about Tariq Abu Khdeir, the 15 year-old from Florida who threw firebombs at Israeli policemen last week and received, in return, a black eye and a fat lip. Tariq's injuries have of course received enormous international attention, including a huge photo on the front page of the New York Times (top of the fold). The Obama administration has announced that it is "profoundly troubled" that Tariq was roughed up, and is angrily demanding a full investigation.

(The authors are members of the board of the Religious Zionists of America.)
The world's praise for Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas's opposition to the kidnapping of the Israeli teenagers has been as loud and frequent as the world's condemnation of the kidnapping itself.
President Obama, in his statement following the discovery of the victims' bodies, went out of his way to claim, not once, but twice, that Palestinian leaders were just as opposed to the kidnapping as Israel's leaders.
 

Source: avivahwerner

A few weeks ago someone called me and asked, “Why is it that bad things happen to amazing people?”I told her, people become amazing over the course of time and it’s the tragedy or difficulties that reveal the shining diamonds they are.This has been something I’ve thought about for the last 18 days, as in every report of the parents of the three kidnapped teens I’ve been struck by how special each family is.Every single boy that was kidnapped – a gem.  Smart, caring, responsible, gifted: youth counselors, musicians, composers, bakers.  Each one of seven children in a family raised with boundless love and strong Torah values.A picture of the two sixteen year olds a day before they were kidnapped with friends; Gil-ad on the center part of the tier and Naftali (US citizen) on the bottom.

Source: rabbihorowitz.com

There is a timeless Yiddish saying - "Vos es feilt in hasbarah, feilt in havanah" - that is probably most appropriate in analyzing your dilemma in responding to your child's questions regarding this horrible tragedy. Loosely translated, it expresses the stark truth that when we find it difficult to explain concepts to others (hasbarah means to explain, while havanah denotes understanding) it is often because we ourselves don't understand them fully.