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Heart and Soul
15-year-old Adin Stanleigh cleans palm branches used to cover a sukkah, or ritual booth, used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in Jerusalem, Israel, Oct. 11, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
JNS.org – Does it always rain on Sukkot, where you live? Here in South Africa, the farmers say as soon as the Jews put up their booths, the rains will come.
Besides the sukkah itself, on this beautiful, joyous festival, we also have the “Four Species”—the lulav, etrog, hadassim and aravot (palm branch, citron, myrtle and willows.) We recite a blessing on them daily, except Shabbat. The etrog is the most expensive by far of these four items. In most communities, you choose and pay for the etrog and the other three come free. Why is this?
There is an interesting teaching that each of the “Four Species” looks like a different part of the body. The tall, straight lulav resembles the spine. The roundish etrog represents the heart. The leaves of the myrtle look like the shape of our eye, and the willow leaves appear like our lips.
Naturally, each of these is very important. We need all four to observe the mitzvah correctly and to recite a blessing on them.
Now, each of these body parts is essential and necessary for our well-being—not only physically but spiritually as well.
A spineless individual is a nobody. Anyone without principles, without the courage of his or her convictions, cannot be a person of worth. “I have my principles,” said one fellow. “But if you don’t like them, no problem. I have others.”
The lips play such a valuable role in our lives. We just observed Yom Kippur, and we recited the “Al Chet” confessional over and over throughout the day. I counted at least nine different sins there all to do with speech. “Lashon hara” (gossiping), bad-mouthing people, speaking foolishly, scoffing, swearing falsely or in vain, and more.
Then there are the eyes. Several of the transgressions in the confessional concern the way we view things and people. Do we have a “begrudging eye?” Do we have a proud, haughty look? Do we look at the wrong things? Do we always look at others critically?
I remember back in my yeshivah days in Montreal, there was an older man in the synagogue, which was in the same building as the school. Somehow, he always complained about the students. So, we gave him a nickname; we called him “Left-Eyed Sam.” Why? Because we were always taught to look at people positively and give them the benefit of the doubt. In Chassidic parlance, this is called to look at another with your “right eye.” So, seeing as this gentleman always saw us negatively, we thought the appellation of “Left-Eyed Sam” was quite appropriate.
But while the spine, lips and eyes are very significant, the heart—represented by the etrog—is indispensable. We can live with back problems, we can survive with speech or vision problems, but without a heart, we’re out of business. No heart means no life.
May I suggest that one significant message from the “Four Species” of Sukkot is that we Jews, in particular, need a heart. A Jewish heart. A heart that pumps, and is vital and full of Jewish vigor. A heart that feels, and is warm and compassionate.
We have been described as “merciful and children of the merciful.” Compassion is in our DNA. If someone behaves sadistically, we might want to check out their Jewish credentials. Before Rosh Hashanah and Passover, I always do a Yom Tov appeal to assist needy families in our community, and a very generous response from the congregation always follows. We are thus able to help dozens of families enjoy a happier holiday. Compassion and charity are in our Jewish blood. And it is the same in every Jewish community around the world.
Let me share a story I told in my shul in Johannesburg before Yizkor on Yom Kippur. I heard it in the name of an eyewitness.
Tragically, one of our brave soldiers lost his life when entering a booby-trapped house in Gaza. After his death, his father was seen frantically searching for his son’s phone.
When they asked him why it was so important, he said he didn’t have any pictures of his son that he could use for the media, who were asking him for a photo. In all the photos he has, his son is bare-chested and full of tattoos. His son was, apparently, quite a wild, rough young man. The father was looking for his son’s phone, hoping to find a photo of him wearing a shirt and looking more respectable.
Later, at the funeral, a religious soldier asked for permission to speak at the service. The family didn’t know him but allowed him to speak out of curiosity.
This religious soldier then stands up at the funeral and tells them the story of how this young man died.
“In Gaza, when the chayalim enter buildings, the Israel Defense Forces policy is that there must always be two soldiers who work together. And they take turns being the first one to enter the building. Because if it is booby-trapped, the first one in will most likely be killed. So, to make it fair, they alternate.
“I was his partner in entering the houses in Gaza. We always took turns going in first, as is the policy. When it came to this particular house the other day, it was my turn to go in first. But my partner here insisted that he should go in first. I said, ‘No. It’s my turn.’
“But he argued with me. He said I have a wife and children, and he is single. And he insisted on going in first. I said it’s my turn, and he said he wanted to go in anyway, and so it went back and forth until he just picked himself up and went in himself.
“And the building was booby-trapped, and that is how he died.”
There at the funeral, with tears streaming down his face, the religious soldier cried out: “He gave his life for me!”
This ruffian, completely tattooed, whose father struggled to find one normal picture of him, became a Kadosh—a holy martyr for his people and his land! This rough and tough young man, who was far from religious and seemingly not all that respectable either, suddenly went from zero to hero! He gave his life for his partner.
Do you understand what a Jewish heart is? What every single Jew is made of? Even the wildest among us is a rough diamond, but a diamond nonetheless.
During the Yom Kippur War, the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson—said that every single soldier in the IDF is a tzaddik gamur, “perfectly righteous.” Anyone who puts on a uniform is putting his life in danger for others, for us. If he or she is prepared to give their lives for our people and our land, how much more righteous can you get? They are the “holy of holies!”
May we all learn from our courageous chayalim, our brave soldiers, whose full-blooded, warm and vital Jewish hearts are there for all to see.
May they be safe, and may we have a heart.
Chag Sameach!
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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza
Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.
The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”
“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.
Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.
Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.
“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.
For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.
In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.
For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.
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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest
Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.
Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.
Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.
Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.
Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.
According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.
“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.
“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.
The post UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US-backed Gaza Relief NGO Vows ‘Legal Action’ Against AP Claim Group Fired on Palestinian Civilians
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed nonprofit operating aid distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, is pushing back forcefully against an Associated Press report alleging that its contractors opened fire on Palestinian civilians.
The GHF is accusing the AP of withholding key evidence and relying on a “disgruntled former contractor” as a central source.
“In response, we are pursuing legal action,” the organization said in a statement released Wednesday.
GHF said it conducted an “immediate investigation” after being contacted by the AP, reviewing time-stamped video footage and sworn witness testimony. The group concluded that the allegations were “categorically false,” stating that no civilians were fired upon at any of their distribution sites and that the gunfire heard in the AP’s video came from Israeli forces operating outside the vicinity.
“What is most troubling is that the AP refused to share the full video with us prior to publication, despite the seriousness of the allegations,” the statement read. “If they believed their own reporting, they should have provided us with the footage so we could take immediate and appropriate action.”
The nonprofit’s public rebuttal raises sharp questions about the AP’s reporting process, suggesting the outlet declined to engage with the organization in good faith and instead leaned on a source GHF describes as having been terminated “for misconduct” weeks prior. The group also claimed the AP’s recent coverage of its activities had begun to “echo narratives advanced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.”
The AP has not yet responded publicly to the GHF’s accusations or provided clarification about its decision not to share the video footage before publication. The original report alleged that American contractors employed by GHF had fired weapons near or toward civilians.
The GHF statement confirmed that a contractor seen shouting in the AP’s video had been removed from operations, though the group insisted this was unrelated to any violence and did not constitute evidence of wrongdoing.
GHF, which describes its mission as delivering food to Gaza “safely, directly, and without interference,” said it remains committed to transparency but would not allow its operations to be “derailed by misinformation.”
The dispute highlights the fraught information environment in Gaza, where limited access and competing narratives frequently complicate the verification of on-the-ground events.
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