Jerusalem The Plan

Some!3000!years!ago,!King!David!makes!Jerusalem!the!capital!of!Israel.!Passing!from!those!times!
to!the!relatively!present!times,!changes!in!the!Middle!East!were!made!by!countries!that!had!economic!
and! political! interests! there! and! who! under! great! pressure! divided! and! created! new! countries! that!
agreed!with!their!politics.

A! huge! force! of! young! Jews! did! migrate! and! with! their! optimism! and! enthusiasm! made! the!
Kibbutz!work.!These!migrants!believed!in!and!upheld!their!right!to!be!a!part!of!Israel.!In!1948,!Jordan!
invaded!and!occupied!East!Jerusalem!which!divides!the!city!for!the!first!time!and!installed!its!capital!in!
the!eastern!part!of!Jerusalem!while!Israel!moved!its!capital!to!the!western!part!of!Jerusalem.!In!1950,!
Jordan! annexes! all! territory! it! occupied! west! of! the! Jordan! River! (the! West! Bank)! including! East!
Jerusalem.!All!claimed!that!ancient!sacred!buildings!and!monuments!gave!each!a!claim!to!Jerusalem.!
In! 1947,! David! Ben! Gurion! declared! that! Israel! would! not! recognize! or! accept! the! UN!
recommendation!of!internationalization!of!Jerusalem.
Meanwhile,! not! only! was! Israel! confronted! by! foreign! enemies,! but! had! its! own! internal!
problems.!Jews!who!were!Orthodox!opposed!what!was!happening!in!Israel!under!the!influence!of!the!
Jews!who!chose! to!settle! there! from!other!countries.!Many!had! forsaken! the!ancient!ways!of!living!
like!Jews!and!the!Reform!movements!weakened!the!influence!the!Hasidic!Jew!had!on!the!State.!The!
Orthodox!felt!that:

Modern!life!opposed!the!ties!to!ancient!Jewish!custom!and!divided!the!Jews!within!themselves.!
The!growing!population!of!Hasidic!Jews!could!not!simply!be!ignored.!Having!had!4!children,!all!girls,!
the! Bee! family! was! delighted! when! a! son! was! added! to! the! small! but! thriving! family.! Yaacov! was!
always!in!the!presence!of!adult!teachers.!In!a!strange!turn!of!events,!Yaacov!somehow!felt!guilt!for!his!
father’s!death.!Somehow,!Yaacov!was!not!convinced.!Yaacov!decided!that!he!would!find!some!Reform!
Jews!to!go!with.!Often!times,!he!lamented!and!missed!his!Talmudic!training.!It!was!at!this!time!that!
Yaacov!started!to!become!aware!of!Zionism.!Honeylaure!explained!how!the!Chief!Rabbi!of!Palestine,!
Abraham!Isaac!Kook,!had!insisted!that!a!viable!Jewish!return!to!the!land!of!Israel!be!started.!It!would!
mean! that! the! Jew! was! pressing! his! claim! for! a! homeland! populated! with! Jews! willing! to! fight,! if!
necessary! to! defend! that! homeland.!Honeylaure!also! told!Yaacov!about! how! the!Zionist!movement!
was!founded!in!1897!and!how!since!1917!focused!on!finding!a!homeland!in!Palestine!with!its!location!
outlined! by! the! ancient! Kingdom! of! Israel.! Yaacov! is! told! about! the! 1948! Kibbutz! movement! to!
support!and!defend!the!State!of!Israel!and!to!encourage!people!who!were!not!certain!of!the!success!
of!the!movement.!Many!of!the!older!Jews,!established!in!other!countries!and!who!had!formed!lives!
that!were!stable!were!not!comfortable!moving!to!Israel!but!these!same!people!gave!support!in!money!
and!exerted!influence!in!the!politics!of!the!various!countries!by!their!support!of!candidates!who!were!
sympathetic! to! Jewish!goals.!Israel!was!struggling! to!survive!against!Arab!aggression.!Israel! felt! that!
the!Arab!statement!that:
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“___there!shall!no!longer!be!an!international!emergency! force! to!protect!Israel.!The!Arabs!shall!
have!as!their!sole!method!to!have!a!total!war!for!the!elimination!of!Israel!.”
Coupling! that! statement,! we! later! have! Mahmoud! Ahmadinejad! of! Iran! calling! for! the!
elimination!of!Israel!and!for!the!complete!elimination!of!the!Israeli!state.
Honeylaure!Goldberg!pulled!no!punches.!She! filled!an!admiring!young!man!with! the!imminent!
dangers!not!only!to!Israel!but!to!the!practice!of!the!Jewish!religion!itself.!I!spend!all!my!time!studying!
and!if!it!wasn’t!for!the!my!Master!giving!me!his!time!to!study!without!cost,!I!would!be!even!more!of!a!
burden.! The! truth! is,! I! have! decided! to! travel! to! different! parts! of! the! country! and! even! different!
countries!to!talk!to!the!different!Zionist!groups!about!giving!support!to!Israel.”
Yaacov!mentioned!nothing!to!Honeylaure!and!about!what!anguish!his!telling!his!mother!brought!
to!both!of!them.!When!there!were!no!offers!of!food!or!a!place!to!sleep,!Yaacov!and!Honeylaure!found!
an!inexpensive!room!or!hotel.!At!first,!at!the!Zionist!meetings,!Honeylaure!took!the!floor!and!fielded!
questions.! She! explained! what! they! were! trying! to! achieve! for! Israel! and! when! a! question! arose!
concerning! Talmudic! interpretation! came! up,! she! turned! to! Yaacov.! Yaacov! was! amazing.! Secret!
information!had!revealed!that!Iran!was!ready!to!attack!Israel!with!conventional,!biological!and!nuclear!
weapons.!The!time!set!for!the!Israeli!attack!would!be!in!the!Spring!of!2013.
Sometime!in!the!Spring!of!2013!Israel!would!plan!a!five!prong!attack!on!Syria,!Jordan,!Iran,!Egypt!
and!Jerusalem!at!the!same!time.!The!logistics!were!awesome!and!only!the!military!and!some!political!
leaders!of!Israel!were!aware of!“The!Plan”!as!it!was!called.!IRAN
The!plan!to!attack!Iran!was!almost!the!most!crucial!decision!for!Israel.!Other!Arab!countries!had!
called! for!the!annihilation!of!Israel!but!their!voices!were!without!the!backing!of!a!powerful!army!or!
the! possibility! of nuclear! weapons.! What! was! strange! was! that! Israel! and! Iran! enjoyed! peaceful!
relations! up! to! the! removal! of! the! Pahlavi!era.! Khomenini! no!longer!mentioned!Israel! by! name! but!
instead!referred!to!Israel!as!a!Zionist!regime.!Recently,!it!Was!announced!that!Iran!had!developed!a!
nerve!gas!in!which!many!observers!fet!would!be!used!if!Israel!attacked!Iran.!What!better!excuse!for!
Israel!to!utilize!its!nuclear!arsenal!against!Iran?
In! order! to! attack! Iran! from! the! northwest,! Israel! needed! to! send! missles! from! the! Golan!
Heights;!dividing!the!invasion!from!two!points.!Since!Iran!had!a!powerful!air!force!as!well!as!missiles,!
this!would!divide!Iran’s!targets.!However!the!support!of!the!U.!S!for!Israel!was!very!low.!Netanyahu’s!
pronouncement!about!American!politics!appeared!to!many!an!interference!and!many!(non!Jews!were!
opposed!to!the!possible!attack!of!Israel!on!Iran.!
WHY!ISRAEL!FELT!IT!WOULD!GAIN!STRATEGICALLY!WITH!THE!INVASION!OF!IRAN
With! the! growing! threats! of! Iran’s! development! of! strategic! nuclear! weapons! and! its! position!
that!Israel! should!be!wiped! from! the! face!of! the!earth,!Israel! relied!on! the!horror!of!public!opinion!
that!any!nation!should!be!threatened!with!annihilation.!With!the!hoped!for!American!backing!brought!
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about! by! the! American! people! protesting! their! countries! hard! stand! would! force! American! policy!
towards!Israel!to!change.
JORDAN
Colonial!Secretary!Winston!Churchill!wrote!a!white!paper!that!reaffirmed!the!need!for!a!Jewish!
homeland!in!“a!part!of!Palestine”.!England!had!ruled!Palestine! from!1917 to!1923.!In!an!agreement!
with!France,!England!convinced!France!to!deed!the!entire!Golan!Heights!to!Syria.!In!1922!the!League!
of! Nations! empowered! England! to! obtain! the! cooperation! of! all! Jews! willing! to! participate! in! the!
establishing!of!a!“Jewish!National!Homeland”.!The!Jewish!population!increased!in!Israel!from!85,000!
to! 600,000! by! 1948.! Dissention! grew! as! the! Arabs! increased! their! population! and! complained! that!
Jewish! purchases! of! land! were! dispossessing! Arabs.! With! more! protests,! England! limits! Israeli
immigration!to!“0”.!The!UN!agrees!without!informing!the!Security!Council!and!Egypt!closes!the!Straits!
of!Tiran!to!prevent!Israel!shipping!and!the!delivery!of!shipping!of!arms!and!oil.!Egypt!also!calls!upon!
Jordan,!Iraq,!and!Saudi!Arabia!to!move!troops!to!Israeli!borders.
At! the! same! time,! Israel! approves! the! selection! of! Moshe! Dayan! as! the! Israeli! Minister! of!
Defense.!By!evening,!however,!Israeli!has!eliminated!Jordan!and!Syrian!air!forces!and!both!countries!
lose! 2/3! of! their! strength.! Jordan! retaliates! by shelling! West! Jerusalem! and! the! Jews! attempt! to!
reduce!destruction!by!proposing!to!halt!military!action.!Jordan!refuses.
After! the! Israeli! victory,! Israel! offers! Egypt! the! Sinai! and! Syria! the! Golan! Heights! as! part! of! a!
peace! treaty.! Israel! officially! annexes! East! Jerusalem! but! because! of! its! religious! value! to! many!
religions,!agrees!to!offer!access!to!the!holy!places.
The!resolution!was!to!give!three!things!which!Israel!wanted.!NO!to!peace!with!Israel
NO!to!recognition!of!Israel
NO!to!negotiation!with!Israel.
Despite! the! refusal! of! the! above,! the! United! Nations! Security! Council! passes! Resolution! 242!
which!calls!for!withdrawal!of!Israeli!forces!from!occupied!territories!in!exchange!for!Arab!acceptance!
of!Israel.!
WHY!ISRAEL!FELT!IT!WOULD!GAIN!STRATEGICALLY!WITH!THE!INVASION!OF!JORDAN
In!1922!1923,! Jordan!was!created!by!giving! Jordan!some!76%!of! the!Palestinian!lands!by! then!
Colonial!Secretary!Winston!Churchill!was!a! first!blow! to!Israel.!Later,!in!1948,!when! Jordan!invaded!
Israel,! it! annexed! the!West! Bank! of! the! Jordan! River! as! well!East! Jerusalem.! Somewhere! along! the!
line,!there!was!talk!of!Jordan!being!given!the!right!at!some!time!in!the!future!to!buy!water!from!the!
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Sea!of!Galilee!from!Israel.!Looking!toward!the!future,!Israel!knew!that!water!would!be a!key!factor!in!
the!developing!of!Israel.!
JERUSALEM
For! the! Jews,! Jerusalem!is! the!eternal!capital!of!Israel!– undivided.!Along!with!divided!and!un
divided! Jerusalem,! is! the! problem! that! the! Hasidic! Jews! bring! to! the! front.! Conservative! Jews! are!
opposed! to! relinquishing! the! continuance! of! Jewish! orthodoxy! to! the! Reform! constituents.! The!
Hasidic!Jews!feel!that!Judaism!must!continue!in!its!orthodox!ways!and!their!support!for!an!undivided!
Jerusalem! complicates! the! roll! of! Jerusalem! even! further.! The! Hasidim! also! wanted! Jewish!
settlements!by!Conservative!Jews!in!Jerusalem!and!the!relocating!of!Palestinians!either!to!Jordan!or!
the!West!Bank!(which!would!be!under!Israeli!control).!On!June!5th,!during!the!6!day!war,!Israel,!was!
poised! to! recapture! Jerusalem.! Prime! Minister! Levi! Eshkol,! in! an! attempt! to! avoid! destruction! to!
Jerusalem! sends! a! message! to! King! Hussein! of! Jordan! that! Israel! would! not! attack! Jordan! unless!
Jordan! starts! hostilities.! Israeli! planes! returning! from! a! raid! are! mistaken! for! Egyptian! planes! gives!
Jordan! the! courage! to! attack! and! unleashes! Israeli! might! on! Jordan.! The! event! is! considered! a!
highlight! of! the! war! and! Defense! Dayan! and! Chief! of! Staff! Rabin! formally! restore! Jerusalem! as! the!
historic! capital! of! Israel.! To! celebrate! the! event,! the! Shofar,! the! sheep’s! horn! was! sounded! as! a!
religious!ceremony!and!as!a!call!to!the!world!that!Jerusalem!belonged!to!Israel!as!her!capital.
WHY!ISRAEL!FELT!THAT!IT!WOULD!GAIN!POLITICALLY!AS!THE!SINGLE!CAPITAL!OF!ISRAEL
Israel’s!capture!of!Jerusalem!was!for!Israel!a!true!mark!of!her!legitimacy!as!a!modern!state.!Israel!
felt! that! after! some! adjustments! of! time,! the! world! would! acknowledge! her! claim! and! her! right! to!
Jerusalem!as!her!capital!and!that!other!priorities!would!take!place!such!as!population,!water!supply,!
food! production.!Israel!also! felt! that! the! time! for! Jewish! persecution! should! finally! see!an!end!and!
with! Israel! and! her! capital! Jerusalem,! the! Jews! would! no! longer! be! the! wanderers! without! a!
homeland.!SYRIA
Between!Israel!and! Syria,! there! has!always!existed!a! dual! tension.! At! first! it!was!a! position! of!
defense! on!Israel’s! part!with! the!Golan!Heights!always!a!means! of! provocation!with! Syria! breaking!
agreement!after!agreement!by!shelling!Israeli!targets!below.!Some!30%!of!Israeli!water!comes! from!
the! Golan! Heights.! In! 1964,! Israel! built! National!Water! Carrier! to! take! water! from! Jordan! River! to!
supply!Israel.!Meanwhile,!Syria!attempts!to!build!a!Headwater!Diversion!Plan!that!would!have!blocked!
water!going!into!Sea!of!Gallalee!but!is!stopped!by!Israel.
In 1949,!Israel!and!Syria!sign!an!armistice!under!which!an!area!adjacent!to!the!Golan!Heights!os!
to!be!demilitarized.!In!1967,!Israel!launches!a!preemptive!attack!and!regains!the!Golan!Heights.
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In! 1973,! the! Yom! Kippur! war!erupts! with!Israel! repelling! an! attack! by! the! combined! forces! of!
Syria!and!Egypt.
In!2007,!Israel!again!seeks!a!peace!agreement!with!Syria!and!agrees!to!withdraw!from!the!Golan!
Heights!in!exchange!for!Syria’s!cutting!her!ties!with!Iran,!the!Hezbollah!and!Hamas.
Iran!denies!charges!while!U.!S.!officials!show!concern!about!oil!being!supplied!by!Iran!to!Syria.!
Netanyahu!counters! that! the!sanctions!are!ineffective!and!wants!U.!S.!assurances! that! the!U.!S.!will!
come!to!Israeli!aid!with!armed!forces!if!Iran!refuses!to!curtail!its!nuclear!program!or if!it!attacks!Israel.
Differing!with!Netanyahu,!Israeli!President!Shimon!Peres!talks!against!an!Iranian!strike!without!
approval!of!UN!Security!Council.
A)REWRITE)OF:)JERUSALEM)* THE)PLAN)24Nov12
Some!3000!years!ago,!King!David!makes! Jerusalem! the!capital!of!Israel.!During! the!intervening!
years! since! that! time,! Jerusalem! has! been! conquered,! occupied,! and! annexed! by! a! series! of! Arab!
nations!and!other!nations!but!has!always!remained!Jewish.
Passing!from!those!times!to!the!relatively!present!times,!changes!in!the!Middle!East!were!made!
by! countries! that! had!economic!and! political!interests! there!and!who! under!great! pressure! divided!
and!created!new!countries!that!agreed!with!their!politics.
Meanwhile,! in! 1897,! Zionism! was! founded! which! had! as! its! focus,! the! finding! a! homeland! in!
Palestine,!which!was! the!ancient! Kingdom! of!Israel.!This!idea!was! supported! by! the! powerful! Chief!
Rabbi!of!Palestine!Abraham!Isaac!Kook!who!asked! that! Jews!living!in! the!Diaspora,! return! to!live!in!
Israel;!not!as!lawyers!or!as!people!away!from!the!land!but!actually!as!people!who!lived!and!worked!
the!land!itself.!In!1948,!there!was!a!strong,!concerted!effort!to!establish!Jewish!colonies!by!use!of!the!
Kibbutz! and! an! appeal! for! people! to! return! to! the! land.! For! many! of! the! Jews! who! had fled! the!
uncertainties!of!life,!and!many!prospered.!They!gave!support!not!by!settling!in!Israel!but!by!funding!
and!exerting! political! pressure! on! the! legislators! in! the! countries! in!which! they!were! living.!A! huge!
force! of! young! Jews! did! migrate! and! with! their! optimism! and! enthusiasm! made! the! Kibbutz! work.!
These!migrants!believed!in!and!upheld!their!right!to!be!a!part!of!Israel.!This,!of!course,!intensified!the!
attacks!on!the!Israelis!even!more!so.
Prior!to!that!in!l923,!Winston!Churchill!divided!75%!of!Palestinian!land!and!created!Trans!Jordan.!
They!made!Abdullah,!who!was!Emir! to!King! to!legitimatize! the!move.!The!area!was!always!plagued!
with!unrest.
In!1948,!Jordan!invaded!and!occupied!East!Jerusalem!which!divides!the!city!for!the!first!time!and!
installed!its!capital!in!the!eastern!part!of!Jerusalem!while!Israel!moved!its!capital!to!the!western!part!
of!Jerusalem.!The!eastern!part!of!Jerusalem!includes!the!Temple!Wall,!the!cemetery!of!Mount!Olive!
where!Jews!had!been!buried!for!250!years.!The!grave!stones!were!used!by!the!Jordanians!in!building!a!
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new!road!and!the!Ancient!Quarter!was!destroyed!or!used!as!stables!or!latrines!or!chicken!coops.!In!
all,!in!addition!to!the!Ancient!Quarter!being!ravaged,!some!58!Synagogues!were!destroyed.!In!1949,!in!
violation!of!the Armistice,!Jordan!denies!access!to!the!Holy!sites!in!Jerusalem.!In!1950,!Jordan!annexes!
all!territory!it!occupied!west!of!the!Jordan!River!(the!West!Bank)!including!East!Jerusalem.!The!Arabs!
deny!the!Jordanian!claim!and!state!that!the!West!Bank!and!East!Jerusalem!were!to!be!held!in!trust!for!
the!Palestinians.
In!1947,!the!United!Nations!recommended!that!Jerusalem!be!internationalized!since!there!was!
no! solution! for! the! claims! of! Jerusalem! by! the! Israelis,! the! Muslim! nations! and! the! Christians.! All!
claimed!that!ancient!sacred!buildings!and!monuments!gave!each!a!claim!to!Jerusalem.!The!Arabs!and!
the!Israelis!bitterly!opposed!the!call!for!Internationalization,!both!feeling!that!Jerusalem!belonged!to!
them.! In! 1947,! David! Ben! Gurion! declared! that! Israel! would! not! recognize! or! accept! the! UN!
recommendation!of!internationalization!of!Jerusalem.

Meanwhile,! not! only! was! Israel! confronted! by! foreign! enemies,! but! had! its! own! internal!
problems.!Jews!who!were!Orthodox!opposed!what!was!happening!in!Israel!under!the!influence!of!the!
Jews!who!chose! to!settle! there! from!other!countries.!Many!had! forsaken! the!ancient!ways!of!living!
like!Jews!and!the!Reform!movements!weakened!the!influence!the!Hasidic!Jew!had!on!the!State.!The!
Orthodox!felt!that:
“!One!is!born!a!Jew;!must!lead!the!life!of!a!Jew;!must!follow!the!laws!of!a!Jew!including!diet!and!
study!of!the!Talmud!and!finally!die!a!Jew.”
Modern!life!opposed!the!ties!to!ancient!Jewish!custom!and!divided!the!Jews!within!themselves.!
The!growing!population!of!Hasidic! Jews!could!not!simply!be!ignored.!The!new!use!of!Hebrew!being!
taught! to! the! incoming! Jew! was! not! in! consonance! with! the! Yiddish! of! the! Orthodox! Jew! and!
communication!became! troublesome!and!another!point!of!dissention!between! the!Reform! Jew,! the!
Reconstructionists!and!the!Orthodox!Jew.
Let! us! now!move! to! July! 6th,! 1967.! In! that! year,! a! child! was! born! to! Irving! Bee! and! his! wife,!
Frieda.!Having! had! 4! children,!all!girls,! the! Bee! family!was! delighted!when!a! son!was!added! to! the!
small!but!thriving!family.!Irving!Bee,!had!migrated!to!America!some!20!years!before!when!he!felt!that!
his! family!would! have! the!advantages! of!a! safe!life!away! from! the! turmoil! that!was! taking! place!in!
Israel.!It!was!also!felt!that!with!his!work!as!a!Kosher!butcher,!he!would!have!chance!enough!to!create!
a!small!business.!The!place! they!chose! to!settle!was! the!lower!East!side!of!Manhattan!where! there!
was! a! large! contingent! of!Orthodox! Jews! into! which! they! would! fit! easily.! In! this! place,! Jews! were!
even!more!Orthodox.!The!family!moved!and!this!fifth!child,!who!they!named!Yaacov,!their!first!son,!
was!revealed!to!have!the!hand!of!fate!proclaim!him!a!genius.!The!child,!starting!at!the!age!of!three,!
attended! shule! and! started! to! learn! the! Talmudic! books.! Although! only! three! when! he! started,! he!
startled!his!teachers!when!they!discovered!that!he!could!recite!large!portions!of!the!Talmud!by!rote.!
By! the! time! he! was! eleven! years! old,! he! supplemented! his! normal! lessons! with! special,! advanced!
lessons!given!by!one!of!the!few!Talmudists!who!spent!all!his!time!studying!and!interpreting!the!many!
meanings! of! the! Talmud.! He! studied! so! seriously! that! his! father,! while! proud! of! his! son’s!
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achievements!also!evinced!concern!that!Yaacov!did!not!seem!to!have!friends!to!pass!time!with.!“What!
has! happened! to! his! childhood,”! he!wanted! to know?! “!When!will! he!learn! those! necessary!graces!
each! obtains! as! he! passes! from! one! age! to! another?”! Yaacov! was! always! in! the! presence! of! adult!
teachers.!His!worries!for!his!son!lessoned!when!he!received!the!praise!of!his!community!who!always!
congratulated!him!on!the!learning!of!Yaacov,!telling!him!with!such!a!gift!his!son!would!receive!respect!
from!the!entire!Jewish!community.
Fate,! however,! is! not! kind! in! all! ways.!While! Yaacov! was! a! brilliant! child,! he! was! sadly! a! very!
homely! child.! Born!with! hair! the! color! of! bright! orange,! his! unusually!white! skin!was! covered!after!
puberty!with!an!acne! that!no!doctor!could!seem! to!cure.!In!his!early! teens,!he!would! try! to!grow!a!
beard!which!did!not! really!hide!his!acne!and!which!in! fact!made!him!look!worse.!He!was!unusually!
small!for!his!age!and!one!could!see!that!he!would!eventually!be!a!squat,!heavy!man!whose!thick!legs!
kept!widely!apart!for!balance!not!unlike!the!Rodin!sculpture!of!Honore!de!Balzac.
In!dress,!they!kept!him!in!a!bekishe!(long!coat!worn!by!men),!a!tzitzit!(sleevless!white!shirt)!and!
to! top! it! all,! a! shtreimel! (a! sable! hat! which! was! the! gift! of! his! Talmudic! teacher.)! One! suit! was!
sufficient!since! the! Jews!proclaimed! that!one!cloth!weight!was!sufficient!and! that!being!hot!or!cold!
was!all!in!the!mind.!Short!and!dumpy,!with!his!carrot!colored!payos!moving!in!the!wind!made!many!of!
the!community!members!call!him!the!“Little!Rabbi.!While!they!all!respected!his!knowledge,!many!of!
the!mothers!and!fathers,!were!a!little!envious!that!this!boy!was!so!acknowledged!and!not!their!sons.!
Yet,!inner!feelings!aside,!all!knew!that!there!were!great!hopes!for!this!boy!and!that!it!would!reflect!on!
their!neighborhood!and!somehow!themselves.!If!there!were!few!boys!to!play!with,!there!were!fewer!
girls!who,!not!withstanding!his!Talmudic!talents!saw!him!as!the!ugly!boy!and!were!loathe!to!even!talk!
to!him.!No!girl!wanted!to!be!associated!with!him,!especially!not!with!her!girlfriends!knowledge.
Yaakov!worked!without!ceasing!until!he!became!13!1⁄2!years!of!age;!the!age!at!which!he!was!to!
have!his!Bar!Mitzvah.!Then!tragedy!struck!in!the!form!of!the!death!of!his!father!from!an!acute!stroke.!
When! he! was! discovered,! he! had! already! been! dead! for! 4! hours.! Customers! buying! at! his! butcher!
shop!informed!Frieda!that!her!husband!was!not!in!the!shop!and!that!anybody!could!just!walk!off!with!
whatever!they!wanted.!Frieda!hurried!to!the!shop!and!they!discovered!him!in!the!large!refrigerator,!
dead.
In! a! strange! turn! of! events,! Yaacov! somehow! felt! guilt! for! his! father’s! death.! Somehow,! he,!
unlike! other! boys! never! had! to! work! or! help! out! whether! it! be! learning! to! be! a! butcher! or! by!
delivering!orders!to!customers.!He!thought,”!Perhaps!if!had!not!been!studying!so!much,!I!would!have!
been!working!with!him!in!the!butcher!shop!and!this!might!not!have!happened.”!Expressing!his!fears!
to!his!Talmudic!master,!he!was!told!that!his!father’s!passing!was!the!will!of!God.!In!reality,!the!many!
years!put!in!by!the!Talmudic!master!were!more!important.!Every!father!dies!eventually!but!a!genius!
comes! by! only! once! in! several! lifetimes.! Somehow,! Yaacov! was! not! convinced.! At! first,! he! willfully!
missed!his!learning!sessions!on!occasions!and!always!had!an!excuse!to!give!his!Master.!But!later,!he!
told!his!mother!that!he!needed!time!to!think!about!his!continuance!with!his!Master.!His!mother!felt!
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mortally!wounded! by! these! pronouncements! but!was! powerless! since! she!and! her! oldest! daughter!
decided!to!run!the!butcher!shop!and!was!busy!trying!to!learn!the!business.
But!it!was!not!only! the!changes! that!were! taking!place!in!his!life! that!affected!him,!it!was!also!
due! to! a! strong! secretion! of! testosterone! that! confused! him! even! more.! He! had! always! enjoyed!
looking!at!girls!but!now,!there!was!an!urgency!accompanied!by!an!unusual!feeling!in!his!groin!that!had!
taken!over!his!awareness.!Now,!he!ventured!outside!the!Jewish!community!where!he!could!observe!
the!shiksa!girls!in!their!skirts!worn!at!mid!thigh!length!and!their!tee!shirts!which!showed!the!shape!of!
their!breasts.!The!girls!in!his!community!wore!their!skirts!mid!calf!or!lower!in!unshapely!coverings!of!
dull! cloth.! Nighttimes! were! his! dilemma;! he! could! not! sleep! thinking! of! these! young,! beautiful!
creatures!and!his!conflict!with!Talmudic!law!that!forbids!masturbation!created!even!more!confusion.!
Sometimes,!when!he!saw!a!small!group!of!shiksa!girls,!he!would!observe!that!they!often!whispered!to!
each! other! behind! their! hands! and! seemed! to! be! ridiculing! him.! “Look! at! him,! they! seemed! to! be!
saying,!he!is!still!living!in!the!18th!century.!He!probably!doesn’t!even!know!who!Bono!is”.
Yaacov!decided! that!he!would! find!some!Reform! Jews! to!go!with.!They!never!had! to!wear! the!
clothes! he!wore;! they! never!grew!a! payos,!and! they! could!go!with!whomever! they!wanted:! Jew! or!
Gentile.!He!started!to!make!friends!(a!difficult!thing!for!him)!with!a!group!of!Reform!Jews!that!he!saw!
in!the!Synagogue!on!the!Shabbat.!Eventually,!he!did!make!some!friends!who!gave!him!some!jeans!and!
tee!shirts.!His!payos!he!wore!pinned!to!his!hair!and!covered!over!with!a!cap.!And!thus!arrayed,!he!met!
his!friends!each!evening.!But!what!did!a!14 or!15!year!old!boy!do.!His!adventures!were!all!fantasy!and!
all!the!young!boys!did!was!to!talk!about!the!girls!– there!was!no!action.!For!more!than!4!years,!Yaacov!
kept! up! his! nightly! visits! with! his! friends,! with! no! positive! results.! Yes,! he! heard! of! the! exploits! of!
some!of!the!more!egregious!members!but!they!too!probably!talked!from!hope!and!fantasy!more!than!
from! actual! happenings.! Often! times,! he! lamented! and! missed! his! Talmudic! training.! The!
conversations!with!his!new!friends!was!not!only!mundane!but!meaningless!as!well.!There!were!times!
that! he!would! put! on! his! father’s! shtremel! (his! sable! hat)!and! feel!a! sense! of! real! belonging! to! his!
religion.! After! thinking! a! great! deal! and! also! seeing! his! lack! of! results! with! his! Reform! friends,! he!
approached!his!mother!and!mentioned!that!he!felt!he!wanted!to!continue!his!studies!of!the!Talmud.!
His!mother!was!overjoyed!as!was!his!former!Master.!He!was!told,!“you!have!strayed!from!your!true!
path!and!it!will!take!a!great!deal!of!work!to!make!up!what!you!have!missed”.

It!was!at! this! time! that!Yaacov!started! to!become!aware!of!Zionism.!He!attended!a!number!of!
meetings!and!became!convinced!that!he!would!be!able!to!contribute!to!the!movement.!In!the!group!
of! permanent! members! there! was! a! woman! about! 10! years! his! senior.! Her! name! was! Honeylaure!
Goldberg.!She!had!been!an!activist!Jew!since!her!girlhood!and!was!happy!to!find!a!young!man!who!it!
appeared,!was!not!only!receptive!but!more!than!that,!someone!who!was!a!real!intellect.!Honeylaure!
had! always! been! interested! in! the! theory! and! the! background! of! the! movement! and! was! a!
determined! member! and! activist! as! well.! Honeylaure! explained! how! the! Chief! Rabbi! of! Palestine,!
Abraham!Isaac!Kook,!had!insisted!that!a!viable!Jewish!return!to!the!land!of!Israel!be!started.!It!would!
mean! that! the! Jew! was! pressing! his! claim! for! a! homeland! populated! with! Jews! willing! to! fight,