MY NEW BLOG THAT I AM UPDATING

I have stopped using this blog, and now I am updating my blog
http://hesderoleh.blogspot.com/

Rally for Darfur in Jerusalem

Its finnally over...or really it just started.
The campeign to end the Genocide in Darfur from Israel.
Together with some friends, I started TAG, Talmidim Against Genocide, as a way of raising awareness about Darfur in Israel.
On sept 17th we had our first rally. Check it out on http://www.dayfordarfur.org/Events/Jerusalem_Israel.htm

so while I was expecting maybe 30 people, we got over 200!

And this was only planned in three days. I litteraly got the permit on thursday and only then did we start getting the word out about the rally.
I took a lot of sunday going to Ramat Gan to buy a megaphone becuase of bad directions abnout how to get there, but that gave me an oppertunity to learn my morning Seder on the bus and plan my speech on the way back.

This is a write up of the rally by Ari Perlow

On Sunday night, designated as the Global Day For Darfur, a rally was held in Jerusalem protesting against the Genocide in Darfur. The rally was organised by Talmidim Against Genocide (TAG), an organisation created by overseas students spending the year studying in seminaries and yeshivot in Israel, with over 200 participants from many seminaries and yeshivot as well as universities.

Organisers of the rally had duel aims of publicising the genocide and espousing Global Day For Darfur’s goals of increasing Security, Humanitarian Aid and total implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

The Rally consisted of a program of speeches, singing, chanting of psalms/prayers and ended with the recitation of Ma’ariv and the singing of Hatikva. During the evening, speakers focused on the aims of Global Day For Darfur, an update on the situation and the obligation of Jews, as victims of the Holocaust, to fulfil the pledge of “never again.”

Many participants noted that they were shocked by the number of passers-by who asked "מי זה דרפור?"(Who is Darfur?) However, the atmosphere of the event was undeniably uplifting with one participant from Sydney, Australia noting that the rally “renewed his faith in religious youth.”

Myspace.com

So what is myspace?
I am not really sure

My Profile is Here

I am using it to meet Israelis, so that hopefully I will know more people when I go there soon.
Also, I am stuck a bit in the insular religous Israeli world. Some interaction with other segements of Israeli or American could be very worthwhile. Not that MySpace or the Internet is a great place for it, but you have to start somewhere

Ariel Sharon

I figure most people who are reading this Already know what has happened to Sharon.

I will just ask you keep Ariel Ben Devorah in your thoughts , prayers and tehillim.

After this stroke, and he looks like he will recover somewhat, there is no way the Israeli political structure will be the same.

I do not want to think of the possible consequences of this power vaccuum.

Just keep Medinat Yisrael's welfare along with all of Klal Yisrael in mind.

Rough Times are Ahead

WZC

Its not just Channukah, Hannuka Sameach to all!!

But, it is also time to Register and Vote for the World Jewish Congress

USA: www.votetorah.org

Australia: www.zfa.com.au


The Candidates you vote for will allocate more than 1 billion dollars, among other things. I think everyone who qualifies
1) Jewish
2) Zionist
3) over 18 by june 30th, 2006
4) something else
5) something else


should vote

I did, now you go out and Register!!!

The OTHER MTA

So the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is on strike now.

Meaning that everything in the city is going to be wierd.
Buses and Subways are not running
Taxis are using differnt fares
Cars to get through some places must have at least 4 passangers
Schools are opening late

So besides of the MTA- MTA connection... how does this effect me?

Well first of all to get into MTA(Bnei Akiva Program) I need an interview, but I can't get ot the rabbi who is interviewing becuase of the MTA strike.

Also right now, this might effect my shabbat plans. I could get paid $50 to go to a smll shule in an isolated place in the bronx and do a little kriyat ha'torah and who knows what... with transport provided. Or if the MTA is not on strike any longer, I will want to go to Riverdale. Sure I can walk to Riverdale or bike in the sub-zero temperatures, thats not the issue. But Kyra Young of Queens would have no good way of getting to Riverdale, so if she isn't coming to Riverdale then I have to think about taking the "job."

The strike will probibly affect me in other ways, we just have to see how long it goes on

More about MTA??

so what is MTA? INFO HERE

now I just have to wait for questions from people about it...

so why go now?

It's ISRAEL!! are you kidding me? why delay going to Israel?

ok, but also, everyone at YU is so much older than me, and even though I love Rabbi Wieder, thats not a good enough reason to stay.

I was tinking of staying another half a semester so that i could improve my gemara skills, but I can do that better at Yishiva so why not?

I also thought that maybe I wanted to go to maale gilboa, but I can still do that.

I also though, maybe I won't be able to transfer to an Israeli university, but between GEDs, Mechina and possibly coming back to YU I can also do that...

In short, I want to make Aliyah at some point, why not get a headstart on it?

ok, fine I do admit I want to see my family and my aussie friends...

MTA??

So update in my life:

lets see, I have resolved the director/play issue and am getting credit for it.

I am hainvg trouble sleeping and eating on schedule but overall school isn't that bad.

I am going out with a very cool girl :)

I am a madrich in bnei akiva in riverdale, we had an awesome peula for za"ch this last week

I just applied to Moshava IO, ennismore and stone. The interviews went well

I can't figure out what courses to take next semester

The last two things are probibl irrelivent becuase I will likely go on the MTA shant ba'aretz prgoram of Australia at Yeshivat Har Etzion.... Just a few issues to resolve


and MAKE ALIYAH!!! if you need help here are some websites
http://www.aliyah.org
http://www.nbn.org.il

And we needed him to tell us this becuase...?

The explosion during a Hamas procession in the teeming Gaza refugee camp of
Jabalya did not necessarily catalyze the group's fall.
Some finger Yousef
for precipitating the arrests in provocative harangues on Al-Jazeera blaming
Israel for the explosion. Even Abu Mustapha admits "that mistakes were made.
Hamas is not after all made up of saints."

-Hamas making all the wrong moves


lets see, I think we knew Hamas wasn't made up of saints. We didn't need some Hamas "activist" to tell us this. Shelling innocent civilians and blowing up children and buses is not something we usually see the run-of-the-mill saint doing.

Ok, so maybe hearing them say that about themselves, and admit their falibility is intresting, even if they are saying it for the wrong reasons. But, I mean come on this is the Jerusalem Post, look at the headline, I think the readers know that Hamas is making the wrong moves