Halloween - continued

As I mentioned earlier, no Jew should be observing Halloween in any shape or form. First of all, it's a non-Jewish holiday and secondly, it takes away from a Jew's spirituality and holiness according to what is cited in http://beingjewish.com/faqs/halloween.html. In addition, its observance is considered idolatry and paganism which is forbidden in the Torah. In Leviticus 18:3, gentile customs of dress and behavior are also forbidden. The presence of the practice of witchcraft and communication with the dead, associated with Halloween, are also condemned in the Torah.

Halloween

More to follow why Jews should not be watching and/or participating in anything related to Halloween. . .

Katyusha Rocket Attack

Israel's northern Galilee town of Kiryat Shmona was attacked by a katyusha rocket on Tuesday. Remember what the enemy's agenda is since a katyusha attack is a precursor of what has been done in the past.

Mitzvah

Follow the link to do a mitzvah for this wonderful organization http://www.ezratavot.org.

The Temple Mount - continued

As the Arabs continue to cause disturbances in the Temple Mount area, several rabbis have maintained a position that Jews cannot ascend the Temple Mount; on the other hand, at a special conference this past Sunday, other rabbis are calling for Jewish ascent to the Temple Mount. It is true that Jews cannot go up to the Mount in an unclean state which is why anyone who does must first go to the "mikvah" (ritual immersion) before ascending.

HarHabeit (The Temple Mount)

Today, helicopters have been circling the HarHabeit (The Temple Mount) because the Arabs have threatened further incitement. It is not uncommon to hear helicopters overhead during times when there any types of threats. From where we are, they circled periodically for about an hour and then stopped. The claims of "equal access" for Jews to visit the Temple Mount have been proven otherwise over the last several weeks. There are manufactured excuses too numerous to mention here why the Arabs are causing any incitement.

Tzadeka Project by Guest, Meira Lettieri Kingberg

We will prepare 18 pita sandwiches, twice a week, to distribute to needy folk as we meet them on the streets. Right now we can't do more than 18 at a time but that is the number of Life in Jewish gematria (numerology). We are being particularly diligent to do this on Fridays when many of the soup kitchens are closed. That means some of Jerusalem's neediest won't go two days without at least a small meal.

These sandwiches consist of fresh veggies and a hard boiled egg in a freshly baked pita pocket. Yeoshua carries a bottle of water and a small hand washing basin in case anyone wants to eat right away and say the blessing over bread.

We know what it means to be hungry and Hashem showed me that if we want to be fed, we must feed others. It is what happened to the Widow of Zarephath when Elijah asked her for bread and told her to trust Hashem.

Please see the "Support Israel" section on the right for ways to participate.

Syrian Sephardic Food

For Erev Sukkot, we had a joyful, sumptuous, authentic Syrian Sephardic meal. The woman does the preparation from home and the ingredients are Badatz eida Charedit. The menu included the following:

Kibbeh-

Golden Ground Meat filled Bulgar shells

Lachmagene-

Miniature Minced Meat Pies- delicious

Garlic, Eggplant, & Pepper Salad

Kibbeh Cherry-

Syrian Meat Loaf cooked in Sweet and Sour Cherry Sauce.

Chicken and Potatoes fried and cooked with Syrian spices with the option to add stuffed eggplant.

Contact Rachel Farhi at farhi27@gmail.com for all these wonderfully prepared foods in the Jerusalem area.

Also, please follow the hyperlink to: http://www.sephardichazzanut.com/ and learn the tradition of Syrian Sephardic Hazzanut. All of the above needs to continue to be passed down and never lost.

This week's Parsha

In this week's parsha (Bereshit), we are at a new beginning. We have been through Rosh Hashanah and ended with Simchat Torah. We see the creation of the world through this parsha, but do we see it from a new perspective? It is a time to meditate on how HaShem created our earth and where we are going. Have each of us asked this question? Are we at a new beginning in the study of Torah and mitzvot? Only we can honestly know the answers to these questions. BS"D we will all find favor with HaShem.

Recharge

The Sukkot holiday is a time of recharging our neshama (soul) so we can continually be tuned into HaShem's ways. As our world around us continues to deteriorate on a daily basis, this is especially vital. Among the Jewish religious world there are many who just practice their "religion" out of rote and/or ritual. One sees this happening in the midst of Jerusalem which has been documented in numerous places in the Tanach. As our neshama stays in touch with HaShem, we will know which direction to follow in these times. Even though the dark forces around us from the east, namely Iran, want to annihilate us, HaShem's ways will guide us through the difficult paths that appear before us.

After Sukkot update

BS"D HaShem provided for the Sukkot holiday. Simchat Artzenu were the guests invited to a Succah lunch and HaShem loaned us our own Succah that popped open and seated two people.

Now that the holidays are over, Simchat Artzenu's funds are depleted and we are looking for your support so we can continue our presence on blogspot.com.

Support Israel, Support Simchat Artzenu

Developing a blog to bring you quality reporting about Israel takes time, effort and expense. We do this for the Joy of living in our Land but we need your help.

Simchat Artzenu has embarked on a tzadeka project as well as endeavoring to support ourselves. We are calling it Chai Pita. See more about this in a separate post.

To donate through Paypal, email me for the address linked to my Paypal account.

Sukkot

HaShem provided Simchat Artzenu with the four species and a Succah!