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18 Cheshvan, 5781 - November 5, 2020 | Mordecai Plaut, director | Bereishis- 5781 Published Weekly
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The Ins and Outs of Phony Aliya

An ongoing battle has been waged for the past thirty years against non-Jewish immigration from many countries, primarily from Russia, all because of the infamous `grandfather' clause in the Israeli immigration laws. This allows immigration for someone, even one born of two gentile parents, as long as he or she has even one Jewish grandparent. These people are considered full immigrants under the Israeli Law of Return and are entitled to the full basket of rights and privileges.

As if this were not enough, that person is allowed to bring his entire non-Jewish family into the country, even though they don't have a Jewish antecedent, two generations back. This opens the door for the entry thousands of non-Jews to Israel. Many dozens of articles have appeared in Yated Ne'eman on the subject during this long period.

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The Lowest Amount of Jews in Europe in a Thousand Years

The findings of a comprehensive study undertaken by the Institute for Jewish Policy in London were published at the beginning of this week showing that the total number of Jews in all of Europe, including England, Turkey and Russia, is at its lowest in the past millennium.

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Guidance for a Pandemic: One Must ask for Rachamim Not to Get Sick

Chazal say: "One should always pray not to become ill, because if he sickens he is told: produce merit - show that you are worthy of being healed.

This is perplexing: does one only need merit when he is ill and not when he is healthy?

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True Bitochon and Worthless Imitation

Great confusion reigns within the community at large, particularly among the circles of bnei Torah, as to what is the correct way to act during times of danger: what is a person obliged to do and what is he forbidden to do. On the one hand we see some gedolei Torah veyirah who absolutely refrain from making any physical efforts whatsoever, while other equally eminent Torah leaders rule that we should do whatever the experts advise us to do.

The general public is bewildered.

Rav Shlomo Wolbe zt"l (shlita), in his monumental work Alei Shor (volume II, p. 573-574), writes the following: "There is no spiritual level (madreigoh) about which so many people are mistaken; no spiritual level which so many people mistakenly think they have attained, as bitochon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Our Archives


Special Education

a story by N. Bar

"Nu, have you decided yet what you want to major in?" asked her neighbor, Yael, the one now finishing seminary. Actually, Shoshy wasn't sure what to answer. She had already picked out her specialty years ago, while she was still in grade school. Her cousin, who was also in seminary, was trying hard to decide but Shoshy already knew then that she wanted to go into special education. She cared so much for these special children and had such sympathy for their learning difficulties that she'd decided she would like to be a special ed. pre-school or elementary school teacher.

But that was then, and as often happens, over the years this goal lost part of its appeal and other interesting possibilities came up, so that she wasn't really sure any more what to choose. In her heart, she knew that she had chosen her specialty years ago, but somehow, it wasn't as appealing anymore. Her mother advised her to ask among her teachers and older girls who had studied special ed, but the information left her feeling more confused than ever.


The Jews of Bukhara

by C. Ofek

" Part I: The Torah World of 90 Years Ago

"Exile is not good for exiles," says 95-year-old Shulamit Tilayov. "Yet leafing through the annals of the Jews of Bukhara can be a heartbreaking experience. Splendor alongside the great suffering and hardships that would strike mercilessly. Sometimes tranquility would descend upon our lives, then once again the storm waves would come sweeping through, leaving us vulnerable to the blows of a foreign country.

"But like a scarlet thread we passed on our Jewish roots of faith and our yearning for the Land of Glory from one generation to the next. There were always rabbonim who girded their strength and restored the ruchniyus for us in the Diaspora, planting new sprouts and cultivating the young generation on eternal values preserved throughout the years." In this multi- part series, C. Ofek writes Mrs. Tilayov's story of the past glory of Jewish Bukhara and the many tribulations the community faced, particularly following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

In 1905 my parents came from Bukhara to Eretz Yisroel to pray at the holy sites and to spend time with my grandfather, Rav Shimon Chacham, who was among the founders of Shechunat HaBucharim in Jerusalem.




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