As some of us begin cleaning for Pesach, or in some cases begin finishing cleaning, I would like to provide a few helpful safety tips:

Please be sure to remove the electrical cord from the wall socket before disassembling your washing machine to check the motor for Chametz. The same goes for the dryer.

In addition, when performing Hagalah on your couch, make sure there are no batteries hidden beneath the cushions – although some opinions maintain that the resulting current may assist in the cleaning process.

While performing Libun Gamur on the windows of the house which face East, as is customary these days, make sure not to touch the surface of the glass before allowing it to cool. If you notice the glass putting on it’s Oakley Shades and getting on a Harley, that’s usually a clear sign that it’s cool.

Last, but definitely not least, when removing your water pipes to check for the remains of that leftover slice of pizza from last Motzei Pesach, be sure to remember which screws go where – so that you don’t have the same issue you had when you tried to build your Sukkah last year.

I’m sure this has been an invaluable safety tutorial on the dangers of cleaning for Pesach, so just keep this all in mind and you should be good to go. So, nu, go, what are you waiting for? ,

• 25 Grape tomatoes
• 4 TBSPs of Canola oil
• Sprinkles of dried basil
• Salt to taste
• Tablespoon of water

Put it all in the pot. Cook with the lid on for like 5 – 8 minutes on low. Cook on medium, with lid off, while watching and stirring occasionally until desired done-ness is achieved and most of the liquid has evaporated. Eat it, for it is good.

I must admit, this isn’t the first time they had me down as married (and ‘fixed’ it), but it was the first time I got her name.

So, if anyone knows where ‘Batya’ is, let her know I’m looking for her.

I’m on my way to Ammunition Hill, and from there, on to Bakum. From here on, there’s no turning back – B’ezras Havaya Yisboraich, I shall be a soldier.

Here is the results of my first day doing Rambam:

Well, it took a little over 30 minutes, but B”H I read today’s Rambam. It goes into detail describing the 40 generations in which the Oral Law was passed down from Moshe Rabbeinu until Rav Ashi, and then he discusses the teachings after those generations, why he wrote the Sefer and a lot more.

Also, check this footnote out relating to the 248 limbs of the body and 248 Positive Mitzvos, and the 365 days of the year relating to the 365 Negative Mitzvos, it’s pretty interesting: “In Sefer HaMitzvot, the Rambam quotes the Midrash Tanchumah (Ki Tetzei), which states that it is as if each limb of the body is saying, “Do a mitzvah with me.”
Also:
“Thus, it is as if each day of the year is saying, “Do not commit a transgression on me” (ibid.).”

Let’s hope that, B’Ezrat Hashem, I will keep up with my commitment, and that all of us who are studying Rambam will add more than enough light to the world to bring Moshiach right now!

If you would like to start learning Rambam, whether 1 chapter, 3 chapters, or Sefer HaMitzvos, please visit Chabad.org.

When I heard about the terrorist attack in Itamar, Israel in the “West Bank”, as it is called, I got the chills. It is inconceivable to me that a human can kill anyone in cold blood, let alone a defenseless, sleeping family. How heartless do you have to be in order to slit the throat of a three month old baby? To stab a 4 year old in the heart, twice? Is it even possible for a human to do such a thing?

Unfortunately, this past Shabbos night, our muslim arab neighbors proved that the answer is ‘yes’. A currently unknown amount of terrorists entered the Yishuv (‘settlement’, as the media calls it) of Itamar, entered the house of the Fogel family, and killed everyone they saw, may Hashem avenge them.  The terrorists did not see the 2 year old and 6 year old, and their lives were spared B”H. The scene was discovered by the 12 year old daughter, Tamar, when she came home Friday night from a friend’s house and saw her blood-soaked siblings and parents. Can we even begin to imagine the scream that she must have let out when she saw that? Can we even begin to imagine what was going through her mind when she saw her family dead?

Today, Sunday, March 13^th, I attended the funeral of the five Holy Ones that Hashem took from us. The police estimated that approximately 20,000 people attended. There were speeches from the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Speaker of the Knesset, the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivat Itamar and more. Some people were able to control themselves and not burst out into tears during the speeches, but when they mentioned the baby, what those animals did to the baby, there wasn’t anyone there who was not crying, including myself. The siblings of the parents spoke as well, and the pain you could hear in their voices was more than anyone can bear. They talked about the Holiness of the Fogels, one of the many families who were kicked out of Gush Katif, may Hashem avenge their blood. Rabbi Udi Fogel, the father, was an officer in the army in the tanks unit, and he was also a very learned Torah scholar who only brought light into this world. Ruth, his wife, was said to be a true Aishes Chayil. Yoav, the 11 year old, Elad, the 4 year old and Hadas, the 3 MONTH old baby, were all pure souls whose lives ended too soon.

We all cried out the verses of Tehillim (Psalms) in unison, asking Hashem to stop this madness and send us Moshiach already. The cries we hear at such a funeral tear at the very fibers of our souls, and yet we only feel a minute amount of the pain that the survivors of the Fogel family must feel.

It is going to be tough to celebrate Purim after such a horrific incident, as the imprint of this event will still be with us for more than just a week later. The day the Fogel family five were murdered was the day when Moshe Rabbeinu completed the Torah, and they were buried on the day of Moshe Rabbeinu’s day of birth and passing. Such a Holy Sacrifice during such an auspicious time MUST be a message from Hashem that Moshiach is due any moment.

May Hashem avenge the blood of the innocent that was spilled throughout our entire history as One People, and may we merit to see the redemption of Bnei Yisrael immediately, without delay, through the coming of Moshiach, so that we can have an end to our suffering and pain.

Here is a JTA update. [JTA Article]