Granddaughter of Hamas Leader in Israeli Hospital

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; (Proverbs 25:21)"

This is just how Jews are, that's all.  We live by a very moral code handed down to us by Moses, and we're still reading and studying it.  We haven't stopped since Moses gave us the lecture from about 1310 to 1290 BCE.  There's so much to understand in his 5 books of what we call Genesis (Bereishis), Exodus (Shemos), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (Bamidbar) and Deuteronomy (Devarim).  It gives us the moral code to follow and a reason for our living.  It is easy reading as well as very heavy things to think about

The oddest thing happened in Israel.  The very head of Hamas, the Palestinian Prime Minister himself, Ismail Haniyeh's little 1 year old granddaughter from his oldest son, Abdel Salam, had an acute infection in her digestive tract.  First she was taken to Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza.  Then she was taken to Israel's Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva for treatment.  Now she is back in Gaza in their hospital.  

This was not the first time that Haniyeh made use of the medical facilities in Petah Tikva.  His brother in law went there 1 1/2 years ago in a cardiac episode.  

So here we are, supposedly in a state of cease fire and  Gaza was not to bomb southern Israel but has been regularly.  Hamas is in charge with the job of keeping terrorists from doing this.  Somebody is giving the go-ahead, as they are not being stopped.  And Israel can turn around and treat their loved ones without batting an eye.  Too bad the feeling is never reciprocated.  

Proverbs come from King Solomon.  RASHI, the great commentator on the 5 Books, said that Solomon's words are allusions and parables.  When he speaks of a good woman, he is alluding to the Torah.  When he speaks of a promiscuous woman,  he is alluding to idolatry.  Solomon said that wisdom itself loses its meaning without fear of G-d.  Even reading Proverbs superficially gives countless nuggets of wisdom.  He tells us that though money brings us popularity, ill-gotten gains have no value.  It is the quality of a bank account that matters, not its size.  With money comes responsibility to the poor and the obligation to heed their cries.  It's a collection of lessons for life with formulas that give life the only meaning that truly matters.  

Remember, Solomon was born a good 3,404 years ago.  Moses cannot be replaced with better lessons for us.  He got his information  from the master himself.  King Solomon was raised on the Torah, the 5 books of Moses.  To see intellectuals sitting around in a Yeshiva and discussing and debating each point is something in itself, an educational marvel.  That's an exercise that our Rabbis engage in.  It's also what makes such great doctors and sharp minds!  

Reference:  http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/israeli-hospital-treating-hamas-heads-granddaughter/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=cf3f3f00fc-BIN+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-cf3f3f00fc-83518689
Tanakh, the Stone Edition

Jews Stoned By Muslims at Temple Site in Jerusalem

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                          

King Solomon (961 BCE- 920 BCE) built our first Temple.  It was built as a shrine for the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred vessels and offerings, with a court for worshipers which was destroyed.   It had consisted of a hall, shrine and the inner sanctum, which was the "holy of holies."  The holy of holies is not mentioned in the Koran but is mentioned many times in the Torah.  For that matter, this very mosque is not mentioned  in the Koran either; only the "farthest mosque".

The holy of holies, called "devir" in Hebrew was where the ark was kept.  It had a raised floor and was windowless.  The ark  was a chest in which the 2 Tablets of the Law were kept, made of acacia wood inlaid and covered with gold.  It was held as being so sacred that even the high priest could see it only once a year on Yom Kipper, the holy day of atonement.  "When the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, he prayed for the peace of the People of Israel and the entire world." .  From the time of Moses to the Temple, the ark was taken out from the Holy of Holies also  in case of national need to lead the people on their journey and help them in battle.   Legend is that Josiah hid it when the Israelites were attacked by Babylon.   The Temple was destroyed completely by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylon king  in 586 BCE.  

 Our 2nd Temple was rebuilt on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem in 538-515 BCE and destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans .  Surrounding the Temple was the Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall.  Today, part of the wall still stands in Jerusalem and it is a site where Jews go to pray.  The custom is to put slips of papers with one's prayer in between the stones of the wall.
                                                                            

The Mosque of Omar (3rd holy Muslim site) stands over the site of the Temple Mount, built after 70 CE in the Moslem Period.  It is also called the Dome of the Rock.  It was built in the center of the Temple area (al-Harim ash-Sherif_ in Jerusalem by Caliph Abd al-Malik in about 738 CE to replace the temporary structure set up by Caliph Omar a century earlier.  It is situated on the traditional site of Mt. Moriah.
                                                         
Moshe Dayan was very careful to allow Muslims the rights to the Mosque. Today the Waqf-the Islamic Religious Authority, with the agreement and cooperation of the Israeli government administer this site.   Extremist Muslims have been stopping Jews from accessing this holiest of Jewish sites in Israel.  Jews are met with attacks who try to get close to the former Temple. Jews are not the only ones wanting to visit.  Most all Christians also expect to visit this site as well.

The site was open from 11am and would reopen from 1:00pm to 2:30pm in the afternoon.  However, 30 teen-aged Arab rioters gathered around 10:30 am Sunday morning and started throwing rocks at the groups of  Jews who were touring the Temple Mount.  This day happened to be the end of the holiday of Passover.

 The Jewish group was escorted by the police as called for.  6 rioters were arrested.  There are many Jewish laws connected with how one goes up to and walks the grounds of the Temple Mount.  Because the exact location of the "holy of holies" is not known today, great care must be taken by educated, observant Jews who visit the area.

This was a serious attack during such an important religious holiday.  But this isn't the first, just one of many attacks.  On March 8th, 100 masked extremists attacked security forces by throwing rocks.  This was a Friday and it happened right after the end of Muslim prayers in the mosque.  They then threw petrol bombs at the police who had to fire back with stun guns.  Muslim women blocked the Jews.  Those injured by rocks had to be taken to the hospital.

This is Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.  Why is it that the Muslims cannot tolerate Jews who have legal rights to walk near the mosque at certain designated times as agreed with their waqf?  After all, it was the most sacred Jewish site, The Temple, in the first place.  Understanding, sensitivity that Moshe Dayan displayed is not to be given in return to the Jews?  This is deplorable for any religion.  With such a chip on their shoulder now, what would life be like with a Palestine next door as a neighbor?

Resource:  Arutz Sheva news@israelnationalnews.com, Eve of Holiday, Muslims Hurl Rocks at Jews on Temple Mount by Hana Levi Julian
http://www.jewishindy.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=19423
http://www.templemountfaithful.org/Articles/golden-bell-and-a-temple-seal-found-near-temple-mount.htm
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

The Epic That Is Israel

The Epic of Jews in the Promised Land goes back 3,700 years.  

Nadene Goldfoot
Not many states have been created because of a directive from the Bible, but Israel was. In his last years as a leader Moses (born 1400 BCE)  had entered Canaan and with the younger generation fought the Amorites, Moabites, Midianites and Bashan who were in what would be Transjordan.   Joshua, of the tribe of Ephraim and the 600,000 entered the Promised Land when Moses could no longer continue on the 40 year Exodus trek, dying at age120. Joshua captured what would be most of the the Land of Israel.   Jews, given monotheism and the laws to be a Holy nation and a model for others by him,  settled and cities grew.

Jerusalem was the capital of Israel sitting in the center of the Judean Mountains.  Joshua's conquest was 1320 BCE and the king of Jerusalem was Adoni-Zedek who was defeated,  but the city remained as an independent town  between the tribal areas of Benjamin and Judah.  King David captured it in 1010 BCE, dealing leniently with the Jebusites while adding to the city.  It became the religious center of Israel and the capital of his empire that reached from the Red Sea to the Euphrates.  Solomon, his son, (970-930 BCE) enlarged the city.  He built the Temple.  Jerusalem remained the capital of Judah and of the Davidic dynasty.

After the destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE by the Romans, many of the wealthier Jews of leadership were taken away as slaves, but still many remained.  Their national language of Hebrew continued.  They maintained their own unique civilization with their special laws.  Large communities were reestablished in Jerusalem and Tiberias by the 9th century.

 In the 11th Century, Jewish communities grew in Rafah, Gaza, Ashkelon, Jaffa and Caesarea.  However, along came the Crusaders starting in 1096-9 bringing war led by Christian rulers to take back Palestine from the Moslems and massacred many Jews. In their zeal they slaughtered Jews in N. France and in the Rhineland, Prague and Salonica, capturing Jerusalem in 1099. During the 12th century  of 1147 the 2nd Crusade began again, .A 3rd Crusade of 1189-92 brought in England who attacked Jews in York, England. 1320 saw another attack in France and Spain. Though dangerous to live anywhere, it seems that Palestine was the safest place to be in those days.  Jews were not safe outside of their own land.    


  The Palestine communities rebounded in the 13th and 14th centuries.  Many rabbis and Jewish pioneers immigrated to Jerusalem and the Galilee.  Famous rabbis started communities Safed, Jerusalem and other places during the next 300 years.  

By the early 19th century, before the birth of the modern Zionist movement, more than 10,000 Jews lived in what is today-Israel.  We've had 78 years of nation-building which began in 1870.  The end goal was the reestablishment of the Jewish state which came to fruition May 14, 1948.

The Balfour Declaration was the promise of the Jewish Homeland through the British who had the mandate after the World War I in 1917.  This was the international clincher to be a nation again among nations. 

                                                             Ashkelon 2012

The League of Nations Mandate gave Britain the responsibility to carry out the decisions to fullfill the Balfour Declaration, but they managed to give away most of the land to the Arabs and saved but a sliver for the Homeland.

The UN partition resolution  of 1947 was accepted by the Jews and rejected by the Arabs that would have given the Arabs most of the land for a state of their own.  Already a huge chunk of the land had been given over to Arabs who created Transjordan-called Jordan today. Israel was announced as a state May 14, 1948 and the next day was attacked by all the surrounding Arabs.   Israel was admitted  to the UN in 1949.

Resource: Myths and Facts by Mitchell G. Bard and Joel Himelfarb
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.jewfaq.org/moshe.htm  Judaism 101
http://www.jnf.org/assets/pdf/gibborim_timeline.pdf