A World-Wide Prayer

Join tens of thousands of Jews and non-Jews alike in a world-wide prayer, sanctioned by Israel's Chief Rabbi, to be held on Tuesday August 1, 7:00 PM Israel time.

Click here to join.

The fallen soldiers of Israel

Corporal Ohad Kleisner, 20, of Bet Horon

Lt. Alex Shwartzman, 24, of Acre (Akko)

Corporal Shimon Adega, 21, of Kiryat Gat

Sgt. Shimon Dahan, 20, of Ashdod

Corporal Asaf Namar, 27, of Kiryat Yam

Lt. Col. Royie Klein, 31, of Eli

Lt. Amichai Merchavia, 24, of Eli

Sgt. Edan Cohen, 21, of Jaffa

Lt. Yiftah Shrier, 21, of Haifa

Sitting at the comfort of LA, NY or elsewhere, we read the above names, shake our heads and move on to the next internet site or TV channel, desperately hoping for that piece of good news to say that it is all over, but subconsciously we know that it is not going to be over soon, and the killings will continue.

But, is this all we can do? No, perhaps some of us are doing more; writing a check for the IDF or for the refugees from the North of Israel, or even contemplating to join a solidarity mission to Israel at this hour of need. It is wonderful to do all of these things, but, is this really all we can do? Is this really what is required of us?

I want to ask you the following straight question: what do you think that the God of Israel, God of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yakove is requiring of us? Please do not right away chuckle and dismiss me as a fanatic. I beg of you to close your eyes and just for a moment concentrate on this question. We are Jews who were given the Torah, the instructions for living and as how to become a light unto the nations and to bring God-consciousness to the world, but sad to say that majority of us have forgotten this, or have never bought into this. I am not a rabbi, in fact far from it, but it is clear that all these calamities, namely the world hatred of us, fall upon us because we are not following the Torah.

We are in the beginning of the month of Av, the time that throughout our history, all our national catastrophes, from the episode of the spies in the desert, destruction of both temples in Jerusalem and the Spanish expulsion of 1492 have all occurred in this period. It is incumbent upon us my dear brothers, sisters and friends, to take this special time and think about the above question and find out what it is the Hashem wants from each one of us. Our sages tell us that we need to do Teshuvah (return to our Jewish roots), doing mitzvoth and learning Torah.

I am sure that the concept is new to many of us, and even if we wanted to do it, we will be at loss as what to do. So, get hold of your pulpit rabbi and ask him to explain it to you. And if he is too busy hopping from one house to the next on Friday nights to say Hamotzi, then ask him to appoint someone else to help you. Better yet, search the Web, there are lots of resources; as usual, Aish, Chabad, Lazer Beam, Ohr Sameyach, are great sources of information. In the meantime, do not wait for 100% inspiration or understanding of a particular mitzvah to perform it. Pick one and Just do it! For example, lighting candles on Friday night, or baking Challah (bread) for Shabbat. I know what you re thinking to yourself, that I am crazy to suggest that baking Challah is going to bring peace to the world! Ok, may be not instantly to the entire world, but ask any woman who bakes or any man whose wife bakes, and they will tell you what this mitzvah does for the Shalom Bayt (peace and tranquility at home) and enhancement of Shabbat experience. And before you accuse me of chauvinism and wonder why I just mention the women baking and not the men, I will tell you that baking Challah is a specific mitzvah for the Jewish woman, the same way that putting on Teffilin is for the man. In fact, there are 3 highly-rated mizvot for the women; lighting candles, baking Challah, and… going to the Mikvah (oops, did I say family purity?)

So ladies, please pick up the phone this Thursday night and invite couple of friends over and bake Challah together. What have you got to loose? And see miracles happen in your life.

And may it be that in the merit of all our mizvot, the neshamas of our fallen soldiers rest in eternal peace, Amen.

Post a message in support of Israel

YNET, Israel's online newspaper, is making it possible for people all over the world to post a message of support for Israel.

If you would like to send a message of support that will be read all over Israel, click here

Solidarity Rally In Support of Israel

If you attended the rally on Sunday in LA, you may catch a glimpse of yourself in the this video, and if not, you still have a chance to attend the following event:

Please Join PersianRabbi.com and the entire Persian Jewish Community:

Sunday, July 30th at 5:00 p.m.
The Iranian American Jewish Federation's Neman Hall

1317 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., West Hollywood 90046

Special Address by Community Leaders and Political Dignitaries

Light dinner will be served. (Minimum donation $100.)
For more information and to purchase tickets, please contact:

Ziba Golshan at (323) 761-8236 or zgolshan@jewishla.org

Rona Ram at (323) 761-8359 or rram@jewishla.org

For more information about the Israel in Crisis Fund or to make a secure online donation, visit JewishLA.org

Participating Organizations:
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

The Iranian American Jewish Federation

Council of Iranian American Jewish Organizations

Eretz-iamak Cultural Center

Healing Spirits

LIGHT Outreach Center

Magbit Foundation

Nessah Israel Synagogue

PersianRabbi.com

Persian American Jewish Organizations

Persian Jews United

Society of Young PhilanthropistsYachad Outreach Center

Young ARM

The Community is invited to Solidarity Rally In Support of Israel

Public officials and community dignitaries from the Jewish & Christian community of South California will be present. Bring your family and friends and show your support to our families in Israel.

Israel – We stand with you!

The Rally will take place: In front of the Jewish Federation building 6505 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048 Sunday July 23rd 2006 - 4:00 PM. Read more ...

What we can do for Israel, NOW!

My dear friends, as difficult as it may be, forget the BBC, ABC, and CNN and the rest of them; they are all biased against the Jews, as it has been proven in numerous occasions.

Please focus your attention that it is now our opportunity, and in fact our obligation, to have unity, to pray and to love every Jew. We may have the tendency to think that since we are not an officer, or a commander in the IDF, there is nothing that we can individually do. There can be nothing further than the truth. It is within our capacity to do plenty of mitzvoth, in the merit of which all evil will be wiped out and our soldiers will safely return, read more

(image courtesy of jpost)

Emuna News Update at Lazer Beams

For an almost up-to-the-minute news update on the war raging on our brothers and sisters in Israel, please check the Lazer Beams frequently. Rabbi Brody gives an analysis of the situation from the point of view of a Torah Sage as well as a military man, having served in the elite Special Operations Unit of IDF fighting in the earlier war in Lebanon.

My dear friends, these are trying times for the Jewish people. We might ask ourselves what we can do so far away from the war zone. In fact, the war zone is not far at all, and we can do a lot. We can take on a mitzvah upon ourselves for example, tzedakah, walking to the synagogue this Shabbat instead of driving, or simply just being nicer to each other and to cut down (hopefully completely cut off) Lashon Harah.

It should be with the Almighty's help and in the merit of all the good deeds of the Jewish people from all over the world, that our soldiers will return safely and triumphantly soon, Amen.

17th of Tammuz

The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day commemorating the fall of Jerusalem, prior to the destruction of the Holy Temple. This also marks the beginning of a 3-week national period of mourning, leading up to Tisha B'Av.

The 17th of Tammuz is the first of four fast days mentioned in the prophets. The purpose of a fast day is to awaken our sense of loss over the destroyed Temple - and the subsequent Jewish journey into exile.

Agonizing over these events is meant to help us conquer those spiritual deficiencies which brought about these tragic events. Through the process of "Teshuva" - self-introspection and a commitment to improve - we have the power to transform tragedy into joy. In fact, the Talmud says that after the future redemption of Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple, these fast days will be re-dedicated as days of rejoicing and festivity. For as the prophet Zechariah says: the 17th of Tammuz will become a day of "joy to the House of Judah, and gladness and cheerful feasts." more ...

(Header image courtesy of aish.com)

The Iranian Threat

Jerusalem Post Website has dedicated a special section on its Website called Iranian Threat to compile all information relevant to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Ahmadinejad’s proclamations to wipe Israel off the map.

You can find my blog listed here.

(Header image courtesy of Jerusalem Post)

Is this the sign of things to come, or merely "an isolated situation"?
Arsonist Attacks Persian Synagogue in Tarzana; Police Label Incident Hate Crime.

Read it here

Being the Strong Man A Woman Wants

For those great fathers who want to become even greater, kinder, wiser and more understanding fathers, here is an interesting article from Elliott Katz.

Elliott put his life under microscope after his divorce and made some painful, yet liberating realizations that helped him, as he claims in his book, "Being the Strong Man A Woman Wants", to become a better father for his 2 beautiful daughters.

Let us wish that we will see one day soon the end of painful divorces in our community. By becoming more sensitive towards our children and spouses, and lots of tefillah, we can definitely work towards this goal.

A straight, no-nonsense 4th of July commentary
Warning - it may aggitate our American Sensibilities

... " 4th of July? Good, enjoy a picnic with the family. Better still, open a Gemorra. Pesach is our Independence Day; the 4th of July for a Jew is nothing more than a paid vacation, unless you've lost your security clearance and are presently unemployed. There's plenty for you to do over here; we're waiting for you, brothers and sisters, with open arms." ...

Read it all at Lazer Beams

Another 4th of July Occassion

Besides the well known US 4th of July celebration, there is yet another 4th of July occasion, much closer to the Jewish heart; the anniversary of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raid on Entebbe airport to free the Jewish hostages of Air France flight 139, on July 4, 1976.

You can view this event with the eyes of a casual observer of a series of “coincidences” which resulted in a successful operation, or you can marvel at the kindness of Hashem to have showered the IDF and the Jewish people with the divine protection to have successfully pulled off such a mind-boggling and dangerous operation.

It is astounding how many miracles occurred during this operation. Of course, the skeptic mind rationalizes and rejects miracles, but those with emuna understand that it is the Almighty who manages the world events for his ultimate purpose.

Read the details of this daring operation here, courtesy of Jerusalem Post.

Those Brave Israeli wings

This is a blog about Jewish Iranians, but I cannot forgive myself if I do not share this with you.

And of course there must be a Jewish and an Iranian connection here. Mr. Ahmadinejad, watch out for those brave Israeli wings, which under the protection of the Divine Will and the belief in the justice of our cause, are going to if necessary, perform a more daring and miraculous operation.