Eulogies by Shimon Peres’ Three Children
President Reuven Rivlin’s eulogy at the funeral of Israel’s Ninth President Shimon Peres
Rightwing Paper Crowns Shooting Medic Azaria ‘Man of the Year’
AG Schneiderman Deepens Trump Charity Probe
Newcomer Rabbinic Organization Launches Lower East Side Eruv Against Establishment View
Political Hitman – What Do You Do When An Arab Tells You To Take Your Yalmuke Off? [audio]
BULLETPROOF – What’s the Real Reason World Leaders are Coming to Peres’ Funeral? [audio]
Life is Like a Banana – Parshat Nitzavim
US Flags Fly at Half-Staff Worldwide for Israel’s 9th President, Shimon Peres
NY Gov. Cuomo, NJ Gov. Christie Cancel Trip to Peres Funeral Due to Deadly Train Crash
Peres Funeral Closed to Public, Security Tightened, Streets Closed in Central Jerusalem
‘Anti-Semitism in Europe As Important As Climate Change’
Mahmoud Abbas, Leader of Palestinian Authority, to Attend Peres Funeral in Jerusalem
3 Dead, 100-Plus Injured in NJ Transit Hoboken Train Crash
Abbas Political Adviser Nimr Hammad, Dead at 78
The Mandela Effect and a Flat Earth [audio]
Thursday, September 8th, 2016Ira and Rod discuss the latest in Christian doctrines to explain away what some see as inconsistencies in biblical text that they cannot explain.
Israel News Talk RadioPosts Tagged ‘earth’
It’s My Opinion: The Happiest Place On Earth
Thursday, June 30th, 2016Disney World in Orlando calls itself “the happiest place on earth.” Great effort has gone into creating the perfect environment to go along with the catchy tagline. The brand is a revered icon, known around the world. The theme parks, water parks, and Disney hotels combine to bring magical moments to all who enter their gates.
Guests want to be immersed in enchantment and are more than willing to pay for the experience. After all, a positive Disney experience has always been something that could be counted on in a world often fraught with worry and negativity.
There is never a frown on any of the faces of the thousands of workers who greet, meet, and seat in Disney’s many properties. There is never as much as a gum wrapper or speck of dirt in the streets. The sights and sounds and pumped-in smells combine to create a place where fantasy becomes fact and dreams come true.
However, decades of Disney nirvana were recently turned upside down when something truly horrific occurred. A two-year-old boy wading in a lake at a Disney resort was dragged away by an alligator. The toddler’s father fought to pull his child from the grip of the beast. He did not succeed. Sadly, divers found the boy’s body the next day.
The Orlando community and the entire country are reeling from the tragedy. It doesn’t seem possible that a calamity of this caliber could have happened in a place that promised such safety and fun.
Enjoying a vacation is often a positive way to counteract the stress of daily life. Disney-style vacation resorts present an illusion of perfection. But the happiness they offer is a figment of imagination. It’s not real.
As Jews, we are instructed “Ivdu et Hashem b’simcha,” to serve G-d with happiness. Having a cheerful countenance and positive attitude are important components of our faith. It is difficult to accomplish anything when a person is sad and depressed.
True happiness, however, should not depend on a location. Neither Shangri-La nor Never-never Land nor even Disney World can create a reality of non-stop paradise. The happiest place on earth should come from within.
Editor’s Note: B’ezrat Hashem, as you read this I will be in Israel touring with the Eretz Israel Movement. This amazing organization offers the very best Israel experience. Eretz Israel Movement tours are always special. They combine top-notch tour guides and interesting and informative places to visit with a real and abiding love of the land. I hope to share my experiences when I get back. Shalom and l’hitraot.
Shelley BenvenisteR’ Eliezer Knew More Science than R’ Yehoshua
Tuesday, October 1st, 2013This is an interesting interpretation by the Torah Temimah where he uses scientific knowledge to explain a dispute in the Talmud.
The verse in Parshas Breishis states “There went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.” The Torah Temimah quotes the Babylonian Talmud in Mesechta Taanis 9B that records a dispute between R’ Eliezer and R’ Yehoshua regarding the source of rain.
[Copied from Soncino] “R. Eliezer said: The whole world draws its water supply from the waters of the ocean, as it is said, but there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole of the ground. Thereupon R. Joshua said to him: But are not the waters of the ocean salty? He replied: They are sweetened by the clouds. R. Joshua said: The whole world drinks from the upper waters, as it is said, And drinketh water as the rain of heaven cometh down. If so, what is the force of the verse, ‘But there went up a mist from the earth’? This teaches that the clouds grow in strength as they rise towards the firmament and then open their mouth as a flask and catch the rain water, as it is said, Which distill rain from His vapor, they are perforated like a sieve and they slowly distill waters on the ground.”
The Torah Temimah explains what R’ Eliezer means using (then) modern science. R’ Yehoshua is correct. The waters of the oceans are salty and unfit for drinking. Therefore R’ Yeshoshua concludes that rain water cannot come from the oceans. R’ Eliezer understood that the reason the waters of the ocean must rise to the clouds and then return to the earth is to desalinize the ocean water. Only the water evaporates while the impurities like salt are left behind.
This can be demonstrated by boiling dirty water says the Torah Temimah. The droplets that form on the lip of the boiling pot are pure water no matter what the water in the pot looks like. Similarly, the salt and minerals in water on earth are removed when the water evaporates and are returned to earth via the clouds in the sky. That’s why R’ Eliezer says the whole world draws water from the oceans. R’ Yehoshua is confused because the ocean waters are salty. To which R’ Eliezer replies that the waters are sweetened during the evaporation and cloud process just like the droplets on the lid of the pot boiling dirty water.
I read this and thought this was a pretty good explanation of R’ Eliezer’s position. Unfortunately it leaves R’ Yehoshua in a very vulnerable position. What are we to think happened after R’ Eliezer explained evaporation to R’ Yehoshua? Perhaps when presented with the scientific explanation he acquiesced to R’ Eliezer. The Talmud assumes he did not because the subsequent discussion deals with R’ Yehoshua’s position as equally viable to R’ Eliezer’s.
More importantly, could R’ Eliezer have known this scientific information? According to my brief Internet research, it seems that the basic principles of natural desalination were known to the Greeks. It’s possible that R’ Eliezer adopted something he heard from them. Although I am unsure if they understood that evaporated seawater turned into clouds in the manner the Torah Temimah understands it. Of course, it is possible that R’ Eliezer received this scientific information from God or some Divine Tradition. Personally, I do not subscribe to this view, but many others do.
Perhaps this is the correct explanation R’ Eliezer’s position. It is elegant in its explanation and pretty clever but it leaves us with other unanswered questions. Either way, kudos to the Torah Temimah for using his secular knowledge in his commentary on the Torah.
Read the Torah Temimah here: PDF
Visit Fink or Swim.
Rabbi Eliyahu Fink