JERUSALEM — A rare clay seal found under Jerusalem’s Old City appears to be linked to religious rituals practiced at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said Sunday. The coin-sized seal found near the Jewish holy…
Monthly Archives: December 2011
Beit Shemesh: Girl’s plight deepens Israel debate on zealot Jews
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped up pledges to curb Jewish zealotry in Israel on Sunday after an 8-year-old girl complained of being menaced by ultra-Orthodox men who deemed her dress immodest. While his conservative government insists such…
What did Avraham Avinu wear?
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Why, a Shtreimel and Bekishe, of course! That’s the standard “cut and paste”” answer you’ll get for this question. But here’s an answer that might – or might not – surprise you. Translation: “Said the Holy Genius of Sanz, may his…
Tefillin on Santa Claus – Shloime Klausenberg?
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Yaakov Jacobson was doing pre-Chanukah mivzoim in Laguna Beach, CA, when he happened upon a familiar character (Santa Claus) who – he was surprised to find out – is a Jew! The man had never put on tefilin before, a…
“Pure” Jewish Education?
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
The person speaking to Cheder yungerleit is using Yiddish, essentially a bastardised version of High German broken down into street slang. This is the “Lushoin Hakeidesh?” I’ll stick with Israeli Hebrew for speaking when in Israel. Whatever….
Gilad Shalit Update
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Recently on Facebook I came across some Gilad Shalit material that I thought would be of interest: Video on December 11 You can download the video here: Gilad Shalit – Dec 11 Here’s a picture of Gilad lighting candles last…
Palestinian Arabs have Jewish Ancestry! Convert and Come to Israel!
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Palestinian Arabs come from Arabized Jewish Ancestry, not Arab. Over the years many Palestinians have admitted of coming from Jewish ancestry, along with Judaic traditions in their culture. They would carve Star of Davids in their homes before 1948, they…
Matisyahu Shaves Beard – No Drug Rehab!
by Rafael (Rafi) Hecht • • 0 Comments
Yesterday, (former) Hasidic Pop Reggae star Matisyahu, a.k.a. Matthew Paul Miller a.k.a. Feivish Hershel officially shaved his beard, denounced his affiliation with Chassidus completely as part of his spiritual quest/journey. The pictures were first revealed on Twitter. He tweeted the message:…