The food is cooked. The table is set. Showers were taken, and here in TRLEOOB*, everyone is enjoying their traditional pre-Seder naps while listening to this newly-released song by Gad Elbaz:
!שבת שלום וחג כשר ושמח
May you and your families have a wonderful, joyous, and kosher Pesach, and may we all be privileged to celebrate together next year in rebuilt Yerushalayim!
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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog
Looking for some appropriate music for Pesach cleaning?
Here’s the Maccabeats’ latest video:
Happy cleaning!
Israel mourns the terrible loss of Major Yochai Kalangel HY”D and Staff Sergeant Dor Chaim Nini HY”D, who were killed by our enemies in the North. May Hashem avenge their blood, and may their families be consoled among the other mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim.
Seven other soldiers were wounded in the same incident, and may they all have a speedy and complete recovery.
מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת חַיָּלֵי צְבָא ההֲגַנָּה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, הָעוֹמְדִים עַל מִשְׁמַר אַרְצֵנוּ וְעָרֵי אֱלקינוּ מִגְּבוּל הַלְּבָנוֹן וְעַד מִדְבַּר מִצְרַיִם וּמִן הַיָּם הַגָּדוֹל עַד לְבוֹא הָעֲרָבָה בַּיַּבָּשָׁה בָּאֲוִיר וּבַיָּם. יִתֵּן ה' אֶת אוֹיְבֵינוּ הַקָּמִים עָלֵינוּ נִגָּפִים לִפְנֵיהֶם. הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יִשְׁמֹר וְיַצִּיל אֶת חַיָלֵינוּ מִכָּל צָרָה וְצוּקָה וּמִכָּל נֶגַע וּמַחְלָה וְיִשְׁלַח בְּרָכָה וְהַצְלָחָה בְּכָל מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵיהֶם. יַדְבֵּר שׂוֹנְאֵינוּ תַּחְתֵּיהֶם וִיעַטְרֵם בְּכֶתֶר יְשׁוּעָה וּבְעֲטֶרֶת נִצָּחוֹן. וִיקֻיַּם בָּהֶם הַכָּתוּב: כִּי ה' אֱלֹקיכֶם הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּכֶם לְהִלָּחֵם לָכֶם עִם איבֵיכֶם לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם וְנאמַר אָמֵן.
May He who blessed our fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, bless the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our country and the cities of our God, from the Lebanese border to the Egyptian wilderness and from the Mediterranean Sea to the approach to the Aravah, whether on land, in the air, or at sea.
May Hashem deliver our enemies who rise against us stricken before them. May the Holy One, blessed be He, protect them and save them from every calamity and peril and from every affliction and illness, and may He send blessing and success to all their endeavors. May He subdue our enemies beneath them, and may He crown them with the coronet of salvation and with the crown of victory. And may the verse be fulfilled through them: "For Hashem, your God, walks with you, to fight your enemies for you, to save you." And let us say: Amen.
(The Prayer for the Welfare of the IDF)*
May we soon be privileged to witness besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) for Am Yisrael.
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* Special thanks to the official Our Shiputzim Hebrew-English translator for providing the above translation. For more information, please contact me at OurShiputzim at gmail dot com, and I’ll gladly forward all serious inquiries to her.
Six months after Eyal Yifrach HY”D, Gil-Ad Sha’ar HY”D, and Naftali Fraenkel HY”D were kidnapped and brutally murdered by terrorists, their classmates and families released a beautiful song in their memory.
Entitled “Ptach Libcha B’Rachamim” (“Open Your Heart With Mercy”), the song contains poetic allusions to the three boys’ names, focuses on the incredible unity that we all experienced during the summer, and serves as a heartfelt prayer that the unity be rekindled.
Noted Israeli artists David D’Or and Ilan Kenan wrote the lyrics and music, and the song was recorded by renowned singers Koby Aflalo, David Broza, Yishai Ribo, Yonatan Razel, Avraham Fried, and David D’Or.
Here are the moving lyrics:
פתח ליבך ברחמים על בניך
קולם לדורות ישמע
בשמים ניצבים לעד דבריך
ובארץ המצא לנו נחמה
איכה היו השלושה לאחד
וציוו לנו חיים
עלו לתומם כאייל נעקד
על מזבח הבנים
שמים בכו מעל לגלעד
והארץ רעשה
מתוך נפתולי הלב שרעד
חייכו בתמונה השלושה
פתח ליבך.......
ובין מייצרים בקרוב עלי מרעים
התגלו במסך האבק
שקרים שבתוך מנהרות מסתתרים
מזימות שנורו למרחק
הרוח נשבה ישנה חדשה
וקרבה לבבות רחוקים
מתוך תעצומות הנפש ביקשה
לא ליפול גם כשלא מבינים
פתח ליבך.......
ובתוך הטירוף בין מרדף לנרדף
תעלה זעקה לשלום הנכסף
והעם שעייף משינאת החינם
יתאחד בחיבוק אחים
פתח ליבך......
May the coming week be filled with besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) for Am Yisrael.
!שבת שלום ומבורך
In light of recent events, the conclusion of Yaakov Avinu’s blessing to his son Dan in Parshat Vayechi perfectly encapsulates Am Yisrael’s collective mood – especially here in Eretz Yisrael:
“לִישׁוּעָתְךָ קִוִיתִי ה’.”
“For Your salvation I yearn, Hashem!”
(Breishit 49:18)
Shlomo Katz recently released a hauntingly beautiful rendition of this pasuk:
From Shlomo Katz’s new “Likrat Shabbat” album
שבת שלום וחודש טוב!
Shabbat shalom, and may the coming week and month be filled with besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) for Am Yisrael!
Yitzchak Meir’s incredibly beautiful rendition of R’ Shlomo Carlebach’s “HaNeshamah Lach” (from the Slichot prayer):
[Full disclosure (i.e. gilu’i na’ot for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you) - Last year, on Rosh Hashanah 5774, we had the privilege of davening in the shul where Yitzchak Meir was the ba’al tefilah.]
!גמר חתימה טובה
May we all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a wonderful, sweet, happy, healthy, prosperous, and peaceful new year!
I realize that posting has been fairly sparse in recent weeks.
But I’m sure you’ll forgive me when you consider all the, ahem, important and meaningful things we’ve been doing here in TRLEOOB (=the real life equivalent of our blog).
For instance, this past Shabbat, we were extremely busy coming up with a list of acronyms for תשע”ה – 5775 – the upcoming new year:
.תהא שנת עליה הביתה
May this be a year of aliyah to our homeland.
.תחל שמיטה על הארץ
Let shmitah begin in the Land of Israel.
.תהא שנת ערבות הדדית
May this be a year of mutual responsibility.
.תשכון שכינתך על המקדש
May Your Divine Presence dwell in the Mikdash.
.תהא שנת עידן המשיח
May this year mark the onset of the Messianic Era.
.תשים שלום על הבריות
Bestow peace upon mankind.
.תביא ששון על הארץ
Bring joy to the land.
.‘תהא שנת עבודת ה
May this be a year of serving Hashem.
.תבוא שלום עוד השנה
May peace arrive this very year.
.תהא שנת עליית הרגל
May this be a year of going up to Yerushalayim on the festivals.
.תהא שנת עירך הבנויה
May this be the year of Your rebuilt city.
Please feel free to add your own suggestions in the comment section.
Yitzchak Meir and Udi Davidi sing “Ochila LaKel.” (Full disclosure: Last year, on Rosh Hashanah 5774, we had the privilege of davening in the shul where Yitzchak Meir was the ba’al tefilah.)
לשנה טובה תכתבו ותחתמו לאלתר לחיים טובים ולשלום!
May you and your families have a wonderful, happy, healthy, prosperous, and sweet new year!
Rather than commenting on the current ceasefire and its political, military, social, historical, or other ramifications, I instead refer you to my Ceasefire Pie post (which referred to the ceasefire at the end of Amud Anan).
Meanwhile, as I wrote in my most recent counteracting the meraglim post, now is the time for all of our dear brothers and sisters in the Diaspora to join us here in Israel and thus help us hasten the Geulah (the Redemption).
And on a related note, the Maccabeats released a new song this week:
!שבת שלום ומבורך
Well, here we go again.
The war seems to be back on, and as a result, many IDF soldiers and officers - many of whom had been granted short conditional leaves only yesterday - are now being ordered back to their respective bases.
Which means that all across the country - including here in TRLEOOB*! – many families are now coming to terms with the fact that their beloved sons won’t be home for Shabbat after all.
But as I wrote in my achdut post, we still have much to celebrate on this Erev Shabbat Nachamu. For in spite of all the disappointments, the heartbreaks, the traumas, and the tragedies of the past two months, Am Yisrael remains united, and people around the world continue to demonstrate their love and support for the IDF.
For instance, a few days ago, OS (=Our Soldier) received a wonderful surprise from my friend Laura (of Pragmatic Attic fame).
She wrote that her young daughter made this beautiful drawing especially for OS, as an expression of her gratitude and appreciation for him and his friends:
The talented young artist, who graciously gave permission to have her drawing posted here, explained that it’s a picture of two chayalim (soldiers) hugging. “They are hugging,” she added, “because they are happy, and because [I don’t] want them to be sad.”
Thank you, Laura, and please thank your sweet daughter!
The IDF’s Chief Cantor and the Pirchei Yisrael Boys Choir of Givat Shmuel sing the “Mi SheBerach Prayer for the Welfare of the IDF Soldiers” to the tune of “El Eretz Tzvi.” (The IDF Cantor and Choir sang this same song at the Shloshim for the three boys Hy”d last week.)
שבת שלום ומבורך ובשורות טובות!
Shabbat shalom, and may the coming week be filled with besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) for Am Yisrael!
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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog
Shavua tov.
Dedicated to the three kidnapped teens, the following hauntingly beautiful song is based on the words recited at a brit milah:
“קיים את הילד הזה לאביו ולאמו… ישמח האב ביוצא חלציו, ותגל אמו בפרי בטנה… יִשְׂמַח אָבִיךָ וְאִמֶּךָ וְתָגֵל יוֹלַדְתֶּךָ… וָאֶעֱבֹר עָלַיִךְ וָאֶרְאֵךְ מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת בְּדָמָיִךְ וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי.”
“Preserve this child for his father and for his mother. May the father rejoice in the issue of his body, and may his mother revel in the fruit of her womb. ‘Your father and mother will rejoice; and she who bore you will revel.’ (Mishlei 23:25) ‘And I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood; and I said to you with your blood live, and I said to you with your blood live.’ (Yechezkel 16:6)”
Please continue to daven and recite Tehilim for our boys - Yaakov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah (Fraenkel), Gil-Ad Michael ben Bat-Galim (Sha’ar), and Eyal ben Iris Teshurah (Yifrach) - and also for the IDF forces who are working around the clock to rescue them.
May we be privileged to enjoy besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) during the coming week.
Please continue to daven and recite Tehilim for the three kidnapped teenagers - Yaakov Naftali ben Rachel Devorah (Frenkel), Gil-Ad Michael ben Bat-Galim (Sha’ar), and Eyal ben Iris Teshurah (Yifrach) – and also for the IDF forces who are working around the clock to rescue them.
May Hashem watch over and protect them all and bring them home to their dear families, speedily and unharmed.
As you may recall, our almond tree (i.e. our shkeidiyah, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you) is, how shall I put this, um, well, rather, um, flower-challenged.
I mean, it got to the point that the only way we could sing the classic Tu B'Shvat song about the blossoming almond tree was with a healthy dose of irony and a great deal of snickering.
But as it turned out, the tree would be the one to have the last laugh.
Because sometime last year, we suddenly noticed that somehow, we were now the proud owners of a second – and more flourishing – almond tree. Apparently, seeds from the first tree had landed on the ground and had started growing.
And as if two almond trees weren’t enough, this year we discovered that there is now a THIRD – albeit still very small - tree on the premises!
Which means that we may have to rename TRLEOOB* to the Shiputzim Family Almond Orchard (i.e. pardes shkeidim, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you).
But I’ll let you be the judge of that:
(As always, please click on the pictures for a much better view.)
!שבוע טוב וחודש טוב
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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog
At the request of the Resident Ulpanistit (a title that was recently passed down to its next holder), here is the Maccabeats’ latest release, their fourth Chanukah video:
!שבת שלום ומבורך
Warning: The following post exceeds the recommended daily allowance for pedantic nitpickiness (even by the notoriously lax standards of this blog). Proceed at your own risk.
If you’re like the denizens of TRLEOOB (=the real life equivalent of our blog), you probably spent a significant portion of last week – i.e. the week of Parshat Vayishlach – listening to Yonatan Razel’s hauntingly beautiful “Katonti”:
And who could blame you (or the aforementioned denizens)?
After all, not only is it a gorgeous song, but most of the words come straight from last week’s parsha. (The rest of the lyrics come from Sefer Tehillim.)
But – and here’s where the threatened nitpickiness comes in – a closer look at the words reveals that there’s something very funny about this song.
I mean, at first glance, the song seems to be about Yaakov thanking Hashem for His benevolence:
”קָטֹנְתִי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת עַבְדֶךָ כִּי בְמַקְלִי עָבַרְתִי אֶת הַיַרְדֵן הַזֶה וְעַתָה הָיִיתִי לִשְׁנֵי מַחֲנוֹת. הַצִילֵנִי נָא…“
”כִּי חַסְדְךָ גָדוֹל עָלָי וְהִצַלְתָ נַפְשִׁי מִשְׁאוֹל תַחְתִיָה.“
“I have been diminished by all the kindnesses and by all the truth which You have rendered Your servant; for with my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Deliver me, please…” (Breishit 32:11-12)
“For Your kindness is great toward me; and You saved my soul from the lowermost depths of the grave.” (Tehilim 86:13)
But as Rashi - citing Chazal – explains, Yaakov is actually concerned that he has “used up” all his zechuyot (protective merits) and that he is no longer worthy of being saved:
”נתמעטו זכיותי על ידי החסדים והאמת שעשית עמי. לכך אני ירא, שמא משהבטחתני, נתלכלכתי בחטא, ויגרום לי להמסר ביד עשו.“
“My merits have been diminished by the kindnesses and the truth that You have done for me. Therefore, I fear that since the time You promised me, I may have became sullied with sin, and it will cause me to be delivered into Esav’s hand.”
In other words, as lovely as it is, “Katonti” is a so-called “Lo Ra’av” song.
A Lo Ra’av song has nice-sounding lyrics that turn out to mean something else entirely, when one checks the words’ original source and context.
The name comes from a pasuk (verse) in Amos:
”הִנֵה יָמִים בָּאִים… וְהִשְׁלַחְתִי רָעָב בָּאָרֶץ לֹא רָעָב לַלֶחֶם וְלֹא צָמָא לַמַיִם כִּי אִם לִשְׁמֹעַ אֵת דִבְרֵי ה’.“
“Behold, days are coming… and I will send a famine into the land; not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the words of Hashem.” (Amos 8:11)
Over the years, this pasuk has been set to music several times, and there are now many different versions of this song, including:
Apparently, those behind these songs felt that a situation that involves thirsting for Hashem’s words is a wonderful, praiseworthy, and song-worthy thing.
But in actuality, the pasuk means that there will be hastarat Panim (literally, that Hashem will “hide His face”) – i.e. a terrible punishment, and thus not exactly something that most people would choose to sing about!
Which is why “Hinei Yamim” always makes me laugh…
Please share your own amusing examples of “Lo Ra’av” songs in the comment section below.
Yonatan Razel’s beautiful rendition of “Adon HaSlichot”:
!גמר חתימה טובה
May we all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a wonderful, sweet, happy, healthy, prosperous, and peaceful new year!
All evidence to the contrary, I haven’t abandoned this blog.
It’s just that we’ve been busy here in TRLEOOB* with assorted summertime activities.
So, in the meantime, here’s the Maccabeats’ newest video to tide you over until I get back to posting:
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog hiatus…
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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog
Reason #5432 for making aliyah:
You know Shavuot – aka Chag HaKatzir - is coming, because you see wheat being harvested in fields along the side of the road.
"וַתִּדְבַּק בְּנַעֲרוֹת בֹּעַז לְלַקֵּט עַד כְּלוֹת קְצִיר הַשְּׂעֹרִים וּקְצִיר הַחִטִּים..."
“And she clung to Boaz's maidens to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest...”
(Megilat Ruth 2:23)
And on a related note, here’s Ofra Haza singing “Shibolet BaSadeh”:
The lyrics are available here, and an English translation is available here.
!חג שבועות שמח
As you may recall, a few months ago, the J-blogging world collided head-on with the real life world when I had the honor of making my very first shidduch.
Unfortunately, YZG and I were unable to attend the wedding in person. However, thanks to the miracle of Facebook photo sharing and also thanks to the thoughtful Our Shiputzim reader who sent us pictures in real time straight from the chupah, we were very much there in spirit.
Mazal tov to the chatan and kallah and also to their dear parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins!!
יהי רצון שתזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל!
The beautiful wedding took place on Lag BaOmer, and what better way to celebrate than with a joyful song. (The video was shot in the area around the soon-to-be former bridge to nowhere.)
!שבת שלום ומבורך
The Our Shiputzim Editorial Board proudly presents:
The Top 10 Reasons That Iyar Rates As One of the Twelve Best Months to Be Living in Israel
10) The entire country is decorated in blue and white.
9) The IDF – which, as I’ve noted before, does its very best to ensure that religious soldiers’ needs are met – automatically grants shaving exemptions for the duration of Sefirah to any soldier who so requests.
8) The shaving exemption even applies to IDF soldiers appearing on national television during the Yom HaZikaron ceremony at the Kotel.
7) In any given year, at least one of your kids is chosen to play an active role in a Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzma’ut ceremony – whether in gan, school, your community, or even the army.
6) Three years after I first shared my in-laws’ incredible pictures of the Kotel in the summer of 1967, that post continues to be extremely popular - especially in the weeks leading up to Yom Yerushalayim.
5) That satisfying feeling of accomplishment you get after successfully completing yet-another Iyar Challenge (i.e. supplying each of your kids with enough white shirts to make it through the first week of Iyar).
4) The amazing seasonal music. (See, for example, Udi Davidi’s beautiful Hitna'ari (including a translation).)
3) Four words: Yom HaAtzma’ut in Israel. There’s nothing like it!
2) The way the Pesach/Yom HaShoah/Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzma’ut/Yom Yerushalayim/Shavuot continuum serves as a poignant reminder that the future of the Jewish People is here in Israel, where we’re B”H privileged to have front row seats on Jewish history.
1) The newly-minted four-day Lag BaOmer weekend…
!שבת שלום ול”ג-ל”ד שמח
Last week, YZG and I found ourselves driving to Tel Aviv.
After parking our car, we started walking toward our destination when we were stopped by the guard at the entrance to the parking lot.
He seemed to sense that we are from out of town (where town=Tel Aviv, not New York… :-)).
Was it the fact that we missed our exit driving into the city that gave us away?
Or was he simply being prophetic and accurately predicting that later that evening, we would – as we ALWAYS do at the end of every. single. visit to Tel Aviv - have trouble finding our way back onto the highway?
I don’t know.
But I do know that the friendly guard was clearly trying to be helpful when he asked us where we were going.
We told him that we were going to a certain restaurant, and the Russian-accented, bareheaded guard immediately replied, “Is that kosher?”
We thanked him for his concern and assured him that we had checked it out in advance and that the restaurant was indeed kosher l’mehadrin.
!מי כעמך ישראל
“Who is like Your nation Israel…”
(Divrei HaYamim I 17:21)
And on a related note, Latma has a new song for Yom HaAtzma’ut 5773:
