From the Notes:

“Echoes of a Shofar” is the premiere episode in the “Eyewitness 1948″ short film series produced by Toldot Yisrael and the History Channel. It is the centerpiece of an educational pilot program being developed with The iCenter and made possible through the generous support of the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Under a British law in Palestine passed in 1930, Jews were forbidden to blow the shofar at the Kotel, pray loudly there, or bring Torah scrolls, so as not to offend the Arab population.

Despite this restriction, for the next seventeen years, the shofar was sounded at the Kotel every Yom Kippur. Shofars were smuggled in to the Kotel where brave teenagers defiantly blew them at the conclusion of the fast. Some managed to get away – others were captured and sent to jail for up to six months.

Six of these men are still alive.

Two weeks ago, these six men returned to the scene of their “crime”. Armed with shofars, they recounted their individual stories and blew shofar again at the Kotel.

This is their powerful and inspiring story.” View video below or at the ToldotYisrael YouTube channel

Mr. Shapiro also posted at the Freeman Center Blog the following:  “MY PRAYER FOR ISRAEL ROSH HASHONA 5771 - An editorial form the October 2003 issue of THE MACCABEAN ONLINE. Re-issued every year I need to.”, which says in part …

“As I survey the fragile planet we call home, my mind makes note of the chaos, blood, and tears. The cries of a million lost souls shatter the night in a million corners of the earth. The sensitive, compassionate among them try to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked. One by one their energies dissipate. They try to hold back the tide with a teaspoon and then see the impossibility of the task. The Jewish people are but a cosmic speck in this universe. To many Jews who feel deeply about their own people, that speck becomes the whole world. Other Jews are irrevocably tied to non-Jewish pursuits.

May we as a people open our eyes and begin to see the world as it really is. Without becoming depressed and morose, we must realize that there are powerful forces in the world that wish us ill. May we mobilize our strength to fight our enemies until they are defeated. May we not succumb to false prophets of peace. We all want peace. We pray for peace in our Sabbath services every Friday night….” Read the whole post

 With thanks to Mr. Shapiro of the Freeman Center and ToldotYisrael.  Join The Freeman Center Email List which has many important articles archived here.

 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem a unmovable rock for all the nations. All who try to more it will injure themselves. … On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.” [Zachariah 12:2-3, 6]. 

Notes-For-News-of-HIS-Land-August-29-September-4-2010

As a Christian who is in support of Israel  the above asks and answers a good question about the purpose of the Jewish month of Elul.

We should always keep our relationship with G-d foremost in our daily lives and actions.  John J. Parsons of Hebrew for Christians has written a short devotion which might be of interest: “Turning Back to God – An Elul Meditation“.

View a worship song via  CalvaryAurora ’s channel at YouTube “Calvary Aurora Worship – I Love Your Presence“, led by Ian Dizon.  View below

For Zion’s sake I will not be silent for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be still. Isaiah 62:1

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isa 62:6-7)

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and via oyvagoy channel at Youtube:  ”Jerusalem Post interview“

via mytrip channel at YouTube ” Dan at the Western Wall – August 4th“

From the Notes:

“Dan repeatedly voiced his impressions of the area, which holds personal significance to him as a Christian who grew up learning about it. “When I was younger in Sunday school, my mom taught me about Jesus in the market. I can’t believe it was here… wow, wow… this is emotional, profound.”

Some of the bloggers mentioned that they had been unaware that non-Muslims were permitted to visit the site. Reacting to the rule that Jews, while allowed to physically visit the site, are forbidden from practicing any Jewish ritual there, Dan said, “if it’s holy for the Muslims and holy for the Jews, why are Jews not allowed [to pray there]?” He added that “coming from the West, you have very little knowledge of what’s going on [in Israel] and there’s so much misinformation. And then you come here and discover it’s completely different.” View video below

More about their trip may be found at:

• OyVaGoy Let’s Talk About Food, Baby
• mytrip channel at YouTube
• NewsRealBlog Ryan Mauro’s Last Day in Israel: I Stand With Israel
• Shanghai Exposed “Lansing to Shanghai to Jerusalem – Dome Magazine Column“
• Stand With Us A Once in a Lifetime Journey by KKL-JNF.  The article posted said in part

“At the beginning of August, a group of world renowned bloggers landed in Israel. They were part of the Once in a Lifetime – 2010 project, the goal of which was to allow them to see and experience daily life in Israel, and then present their impressions to their readers

The project is an initiative of 24 students from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who are members of StandWithUs, a fellowship that selects and trains 150 student leaders from six Israeli universities to become life-long ambassadors for Israel. As part of the project, an international competition was held on YouTube that challenged young people to submit a one-minute video on YouTube explaining why they should win the all-expenses paid trip to Israel. The competition was won by Ryan Mauro, an American student studying for his master’s degree in Political Science, coincidentally also a blogger. Ryan joined three other internationally acclaimed bloggers who were chosen to participate in the project – Dan Redford from the USA, Sun Jinyi from China, and Chas Newkey-Burden from Great Britain, all of whom have audiences of between thirty to forty thousand viewers.

The group spent ten days in Israel, during which they became acquainted with different aspects of the country by visiting historical sites and sites related to Jewish heritage such as the Western Wall, Massada and Yad Vashem. They also visited the village of Abu Ghosh, where they learned about coexistence, along with tension spots such as the Security Fence. The group also stayed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where they experienced Israel’s nightlife, art and culture. The bloggers were also invited to the Knesset, where they met some of Israel’s foremost lawmakers.

Ryan Mauro: “This experience will impact my life very powerfully, since I chose to dedicate my life and career to issues that are very important to Israel – democracy and human rights, among others. When I get back, I’ll have new stories, facts and experiences to share, and the way I relate to various issues has been powerfully affected.”….  Read the whole thing

• View Sun Jinyi from China’s blog (although in Chinese, there are beautiful photos)   http://blog.sina.com.cn/sunjinyi824 . View her video profile at mytrip channel at YouTube
• World Threats Oy Va Goy blog interviews Ryan Mauro in Israel & Ryan Mauro and fellow bloggers in Israel on Jerusalem Post TV

With thanks to the blogs OyVaGoy, NewsRealBlog, Shanghai Exposed,  Stand With Us, Sun Jinyi from China’s blog, and World Threats

“This video contains original lyrics and music and was written to motivate people of all faiths around the world to express solidarity with Gilad Shalit”  View the video at the GiladGreetings website or at Vimeo.

Read further about this outreach at the website which includes a message there from Elie Weisel, and  send a message of support to Gilad.

Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents discussed this outreach to send a birthday or a Rosh HaShanah/New Year Greeting to Gilad Shalit on the August 15th Jewish Moments in the Morning program on August 20th with Nachum Segal.  Listen to this program at the website or via MP3 audio.  Discussion about Gilad Shalit begins at about 15:15 minutes.

Update:  It has now been 5 years since the expulsion from Gush Katif as noted by Jeffy Jacoby in his article in the Jewish World Review: “The ‘disengagement’ disaster, five years on“.  He wrote in part that

“Five years ago this week, the Gaza Strip was forcibly purged of its Jews. In the largest non-combat operation in the history of the Israeli Defense Forces, 50,000 troops were deployed to expel some 9,000 residents and destroy the 21 pioneering communities in which some of them had lived for nearly four decades. (Four communities in northern Samaria on the West Bank were also evacuated.)

The name given to this expulsion by Israel’s government, then headed by Ariel Sharon, was “disengagement.” The name implied, and a majority of Israelis appeared to believe, that by totally withdrawing from Gaza they would no longer be trapped in a dysfunctional relationship with Gaza’s hostile and sometimes violent Arabs”. Read the whole thing as Jacoby looks at the outcome (or fruit)  of the ‘disengagement’.

View a set of videos via the democast channel at YouTube: “Poignant Gush Katif withdrawal from Gaza documentary- Part 1 of 2 (English & Hebrew with subtitles)” which will bring back to memory this sad event.

From the Notes:

“Religious Jews’ lives are uprooted by fellow Jews for Israel’s sacrifice towards Palestinian autonomy (ultimately resulting in increased Palestinian aggression against innocent Israeli civilians), in this emotionally-charged socio-political event from August 2005.”  View Part 1 and Part 2 at the democast website at YouTube.

See some of our previous posts about Gush Katif, the people there and the difficult trauma of people being forced from their homes.  May it never happen again:

2008:

• More Help Needed for the Gush Katif ‘Refugees’ (Expelees)! …Still Waiting …. (Updated)
• Gush Katif – 3 years and still waiting
• Expulsion 2: Preparing the People by Rachel Saperstein

2009

• Remembering … Gush Katif and Netzarim (Updated)
• Gush Katif – Remember and Never Forget (Updated)

2010

• Expulsion from Gush Katif – Adding Insult to Injury
• and Remembering Gush Katif 5 Years Later!

With thanks to democast and Jewish World Review

From the Notes:

“This video is a visual depiction of the history of the geography of the land of Israel. It chronicles the boundaries and rulers of the land from 2,100 B.C. through 2,010 A.D. This video is historically accurate and is meant to empower its viewers with factual information”  View below, at Vimeo, or at MaozIsrael’s website.

The Maps of Israel from maozisrael on Vimeo.

“Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth” ( Jeremiah 31:8 )

and …

“LORD God of Israel, hear our prayers for Your People and Your Land, and when You hear from heaven Your dwelling place, we beseech You, perform that good thing which You have promised to the house of Judah; Your word which You are watching over to perform.”  (With thanks to Jerusalem Newswire’s Praying the Word for Israel)

Notes-For-News-of-HIS-Land- August 8-14, 2010