Israel News for 12-12-17
Rocket Intercepted
Last night, the Iron Dome system intercepted a rocket over Ashkelon that was launched from Gaza. Earlier on Monday another rocket was fired at Israel and detonated in an open area near the border. There were no injuries or damage from either rocket. The IDF retaliated with armored and air attacks against Hamas posts in southern and northern Gaza.
For further reading click here.
Rabbi Passes
Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, the sage and rabbinic leader, passed away this morning at the age of 104. Hundreds of thousands are participating in his funeral taking place at this time in Bnai Brak. He will be laid to rest next to his wife in the Ponevezh cemetery in Bnei Brak. May his memory be a blessing for us all.
Rabbi Steinmann’s last will and testament was read at the funeral. His instructions included:
1. Not to eulogize him or conduct any mourning gatherings.
2. Not to make mass announcements regarding his funeral. It’s enough if only 10 men attend.
3. To bury him among simple people.
4. Just to write on his tombstone, “Here is buried” along with his full name. No other accolades or approbations.
5. To purchase the cheapest and simplest tombstone.
6. That whoever want to benefit him should study one chapter of Mishna and recite 10 chapters of psalms each day for the 12 months of his mourning.
7. Not to call him “Tzadik” or “God Fearing” so as not to embarrass him in the “World of Truth”.
To read and listen to the entire will, click here.
To see images and video of the funeral click here.
To read more about Rabbi Shteinman’s life click here.
Landmines Exploded
Israel’s Landmines Removal Agency detonated a string of 300 landmines in the Golan Heights in a controlled explosion on Monday. The landmines were buried there by the Syrian army before 1967, when Syria controlled the area.
The Ministry of Defense is pursuing a campaign to clear the Golan of landmines. The campaign began in August and is expected to last three years and clear thousands of mines. The land cleared will be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Golan Regional Council and to the town of Majdal Shams (Druze) to be used for agriculture, tourism or other civilian uses.
For further reading click here.
Hanukkah Tonight
The holiday of Hanukkah begins tonight and lasts for eight days, commemorating the miraculous burning of one day’s supply of oil for eight days in the menorah in the Holy Temple rededicated by the Maccabees and the Jewish nation. The holiday also commemorates the victory of the Jewish people over the Hellenists, who tried to eradicate the Jewish religion. It was the first time a nation rose up in arms in the defense of freedom of religion. The lights of Hanukkah remind us to cherish our faith and freedom, and resist those that try to deprive us of them. May we all continue to enjoy the freedom represented by our Hanukkah lights and share the light with the entire world.
Testimonial
We couldn’t resist sharing this email we received yesterday from a reader:
“I’m fairly new to your emails. But besides for making a donation (I can’t afford much but I sent $36), I want you to know that you have quickly distinguished yourself as one of the most useful daily emails I receive. Thank you – and I hope you do continue.”
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Big Question
One of the primary purposes of our fundraising drive is to determine whether you view IsraelAM as a valuable resource or just another email cluttering your inbox that you could do without. Publishing IsraelAM is extremely labor intensive and requires a huge commitment (as you can imagine). Continuing to do so only makes sense if we’re making a real impact. And we’re turning to you to either give us the push to continue or tell us it’s just not worth our effort.
Many of you have already shown us incredible encouragement and support by making donations, and we thank you for doing so. The overwhelming majority of you haven’t yet, which is also a message that we take seriously.
We’ve decided to continue our fundraising drive until the end of Hanukkah and then evaluate whether there’s enough interest in IsraelAM to make sense for us to keep publishing it.
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