Iranian war fears spark closure of Israel reactor

HT: Miguel

ISRAEL is preparing to shut its nuclear reactor at Dimona, where it makes nuclear weapons, because of the site's vulnerability in a war with Iran.

The decision, taken by the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and the country's civil defence authorities, follows a realisation that the facility could be vulnerable to a missile attack.

The Haaretz newspaper quoted officials last week as saying they had concluded the reactor was no longer impenetrable in the event of war.

Deactivating the reactor in the southern Negev desert would minimise the dangers of nuclear fallout in the area "should it be targeted by missiles from as far away as Iran".

The official explanation is that work on the reactor is conducted for research and does not need to be carried out around the clock.

According to defence sources, the shutdown at Dimona would begin before the launch of any Israeli or US assault on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Source: The Australian

The Obama's [Secret] Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Never one to miss a chance to blog Alice in Wonderland, I couldn't resist this one:

A White House “Alice in Wonderland” costume ball — put on by Johnny Depp and Hollywood director Tim Burton — proved to be a Mad-as-a-Hatter idea that was never made public for fear of a political backlash during hard economic times, according to a new tell-all.

“The Obamas,” by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor, tells of the first Halloween party the first couple feted at the White House in 2009. It was so over the top that “Star Wars” creator George Lucas sent the original Chewbacca to mingle with invited guests.


The book reveals how any official announcement of the glittering affair — coming at a time when Tea Party activists and voters furious over the lagging economy, 10-percent unemployment rate, bank bailouts and Obama’s health-care plan were staging protests — quickly vanished down the rabbit hole.


“White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans — or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care — that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton’s and Depp’s contributions went unacknowledged,” the book says.

Read more: NY Post


"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
 "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." 
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. 
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

Spectacular Storm

What a storm.... absolutely fantastic !

Wild storms swept through the central west and Sydney last night, dumping rain and providing a spectacular light and thunder show.

More at: Wild Storms hit Sydney

Rabbi Lau: Shouts of 'Nazi!' Cause Me Nightmares

Jerusalem - Tel Aviv-Yafo [Jaffa]‘s Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau says he was shocked to see a photograph of a Jewish boy wearing a yellow star in last week’s hareidi religious demonstration in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim.

Rabbi Lau told the Hebrew-language newspaper Ma’ariv in an interview that the hareidi public feels “persecuted,” but that this feeling “in my opinion leads it to express itself in a way that borders on blasphemy. If you explain to secular Jews observance of the Sabbath through hurling rocks and shouts of “Nazi!” then first of all, they [themselves] are sinning by touching the rock—which itself is forbidden on the Sabbath—and you also destroy the tiniest chance that those who do not observe the Sabbath might begin to do so.

“The picture of the beautiful and innocent Orthodox child at a demonstration, raising his hands in surrender, wearing on his garment a yellow star, chased the sleep from my eyes that night,” Rabbi Lau continued. “I am afraid for him, even for his faith. When this child will grow up and will realize what they did to him in his community, how they exploited his innocence, how they used him, he is likely to kick away the traditions of his father’s house.

“For me, to stand a child up with his hands raised in surrender in imitation of that famous photograph from the Warsaw Ghetto distorts history and shows incomparable ingratitude to the Master of the Universe, who gave us the Jewish State that did not exist when that original photo was taken,” he added. “The significance of the act is simply to ignore the kindness of the Creator Who tells you, you aren’t standing today before Nazis who are coming to destroy you. Today you have a country, you have a home, and the police are coming to defend every Jew, even if he demonstrates in the streets of Jerusalem.

“How can you compare Jews to a Nazi who was able to throw a baby into a frying pan on a burning Primus stove?” Rabbi Lau demanded. “And I am talking about things I saw with my own eyes. Or a Nazi who could take a child similar to the one who participated in that demonstration and tear him apart? Those who demonstrated “Nazis! Nazis!”—including the “price tag” demonstrators who attacked the IDF officers—don’t know what a Nazi monster is and to what depths he can reach.”

Rabbi Lau said he believes there should be deterrents and enforcement of the law when anyone uses symbols of the Holocaust. “Shouts of ‘Nazi’ at Jews—not to mention photos of things like that child—cause us, the survivors, insomnia and nightmares,” he said.

Source: Israel National News

Within Reach

"She sent her maidservant and she took it"   [Shemos 2:5]

Chazal inform us that the basket carrying Moshe was too far for Pharoah's daughter to reach from where she was standing. Still, she stretched out her hand (amasah) in the direction of the basket and Hashem miraculously lengthened her arm for her.

R' Meir Shapiro, the rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin, called for an emergency meeting of the leaders of Lublin to discuss a certain person whose life was in danger.  R' Shapiro demanded of them to do something to save his life.

"This matter that you speak of" responded one of the leaders, "is beyond our capabilities.  We regrettably do not believe that we can carry it out."

"In this week's parsha," replied R' Shapiro, "the Torah states: "And she sent her maidservant".  Chazal teach us that the arm of Pharoah's daughter was miraculously lengthened in order for her to take hold of Moshe's basket.

"I wonder" continued R' Shapiro, "why did Pharoah's daughter even attempt to retrieve the basket in the first place?  After all, if it is obvious to an individual that something is not within his reach, does he waste his energy trying to obtain it?"

"We see from here" concluded R' Shapiro, "that when a person is expected to accomplish something, he should not deliberate whether or not he is capable of succeeding - he must try! Let him first make an effort, and then Heaven will assist him."

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Challah: A Recipe for Success

L'ilui neshamot Zev Yosef ben Sholom z"l and Rachel bas Mordechai z"l

Today [11 Teves] is the fourth yarzheit of my sister Rachel a"h and her husband Zev a"h who were both killed instantly in a freak accident just outside of Melbourne in 2007.

In memory of Rachel, some women organized a special challah baking this morning, as this was one of the things she always did, no matter what else was going on she found time for the challah.

Below is her special challah recipe and other vital information on how to separate the dough, and the relevant blessing to be said.

For more insights into challah see: The Divine Dough

Autistics' Final Message [apparently]

HT Yaak

I only have the Google translation, but basically they are saying this is their last message:

.......and here we got to the last step before redemption, the most difficult stage for Israel, including the world. And we're going to Open redemption. And now, after so many years of messages, messages designed to help the people of Israel prepare for salvation, we got a moment of final message, like that of Regular treatments ("Facilitated Communication") and short FC.

Why all of a sudden we got a message from heaven to stop the messages at all? That the world has changed completely. [Ecclesiastes: "All the time ... time to be silent and a time to speak"]. And what we have said until now, that's what we say in the future. That there is no more to say at this point. No more to say to the people of Israel how to prepare ourselves for salvation.

Read it all here: their last message

Taking Care of Business

'Zevulun will live by the sea coast....'' [Vayechi 49:13]

Zevulun would engage in business and provide food for the tribe of Yissachar, who would engage in Torah study. [Rashi to v. 13]

Until we reach the time when the nations will provide for the Jewish people [Brachos 35b] - after the coming of Moshiach - the majority of the Jewish people fall into the category of Zevulun, rather than Yissachar. Since this state of affairs is Divinely orchestrated, it follows that G-d's plan for creation must be carried out to a greater extent by the businessman than the Torah scholar - for otherwise, G-d would have made a world with more Torah scholars than businessmen.

This is because the ultimate purpose of creation is that ''G-d desired a home in the lowest realms'' [Tanchuma, Naso 7:1] and it is predominantly the businessman who works in these lowest realms, with the intention of elevating them to a higher purpose.

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe [vol 30 p 137]