Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

No one knows when the final redemption will come, but the only way to be ready is to yearn for that period of peace, harmony, and universal God-consciousness.

The Covid-19 global crisis is a dark tunnel, and humanity is on a train passing through it. According to Judaism, unlike other ancient worldviews, that train does not move in an endless circle. Rather it moves in a line toward a definite destination: The Complete Redemption, also called the Messianic Era.

All of the Biblical prophets described that destination: A world of universal peace, where "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither will they practice war any more." (Isaiah 2:4) That peace will prevail not only among nations, but also among individuals. People of different dispositions will live together in harmony. As Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan pointed out, the famous passage about concord in the animal kingdom is really an allegory for the end of human exploitation and violence. There will be no more predators and victims. "The wolf will dwell with the lamb; the leopard will lie down with the kid; the calf, the young lion, and the fatling together, will be led by a young child. The cow will graze with the bear; their young will lie down together; the lion will eat straw like the ox" (Isaiah 11:6-7).

How will this state of utopia come about? Through the advent of universal God-consciousness. As Isaiah prophesized, "The earth will be full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea" (11:9). All human folly and frailty derive from a lack of God-consciousness. As Judaism has been insisting for three and a half millennia, God is one. This means not just that there is only one God rather than a pantheon of many gods, but also that the underlying Truth of reality is oneness. When God created the physical world, He permitted the illusion of multiplicity and separation to mask the spiritual reality of oneness. During the coming period of the Complete Redemption [Geula Shleima], this mask will fall. All human beings will become cognizant of God and of the essential Godliness of other human beings.

This quantum leap in human consciousness will be brought about through the agency of an exceedingly wise and righteous human being called Moshiach [messiah], who will be a descendent of King David. Religious Jews pray thrice daily, "May the shoot of David sprout." One of the Thirteen Principles of the Faith delineated by Maimonides is, I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach, and even though he tarries, with all that, I await his coming every day. According to the sages of the Talmud, one of the six questions that all Jews will be asked when their souls come to heavenly judgment is, Did you anticipate the Redemption?

Will the Messianic Era come soon, or is it shrouded in the mists of a distant future? According to our sages, the Moshiach must reveal himself by the year 6000. We are currently in the year 5780 of the Jewish calendar. However, certain factors can cause Moshiach to come sooner.

Before discussing those factors and whether the current global crisis feeds into them, we must clarify a crucial issue: Most rabbis are reluctant to talk about Moshiachs coming, and for good reason. There are historical and philosophical reasons for this aversion.

Historically, false messiahs have wrought calamity to the Jewish people. The best (actually, worst) example is Shabbetai Tzvi, who declared himself the Messiah in 1648. The Chmielnicki massacresof that year had decimated the Jewish population of Poland, leaving the Jews of Europe and the Ottoman Empire desperate for salvation. Over the next two decades, large masses of Jews became convinced that Shabbetai Tzvi was Moshiach. They sold all their property and started to journey to the land of Israel. (Return of the Jewish people to Israel is the first stage of the Messianic Era.)

But in 1666, when the Turkish Sultan offered him the choice of conversion to Islam or death, Shabbetai Tzvi became an apostate, crushing the hopes and spirits of all but his most die-hard followers. The resulting trauma left the Jewish people in a post-traumatic wary-of-Moshiach state that lingers to this day.

Rabbis throughout history have argued about whether it is permissible to calculate the date of the coming of Moshiach. The predominant view is that it is forbidden to calculate the date. Rabbi Pinchas Winston explains why. First of all, if one projects a specific date for Moshiachs coming, then one will not expect him on all the days prior to that date. The Talmudic sages, however, established that Moshiach should be expected imminently. Additionally, those who project a specific date for Moshiachs coming may be so deflated if he does not come that day that they will despair of his coming at all.

Nevertheless, the major rabbis of the last several decades have stated that humanity is in the general period of the birthpangs of Moshiach. Just as the birth of a baby is preceded by excruciating labor pains, so the wars and terrorism of this past century are the necessary prelude to Moshiachs emergence.

The main controversy about when the world is ready for the Complete Redemption hinges on whether the pre-condition for Moshiach is that people will be exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. The Torah itself prophesizes a mass return to faith in God and adherence to the mitzvahs: There will come a time when you will experience all the words of blessing and curse that I have presented to you. And you will return to the Lord, your God, and obey Him. Then the Lord your God will return your exiles (Deut. 30:1-3).

According to the Talmudic sages, however, the period of the birthpangs of Moshiach will be a time of decadence and scorn of those who live by Torah. It will be characterized by a predominance of chutzpah. In the final days before the advent of Moshiach, chutzpah will abound. Children will shame the elderly, and the elderly will stand before youth; a son will abuse his father, a daughter will rebel against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A mans enemies will be the members of his own household. Those who fear sin will become repulsive, and truth will disappear. The son of David [Moshiach] will not come until slander proliferates (Sanhedrin 97a).

Viewing the world through the Torahs standards, one could say that the present age has hit a moral nadir. The me-too movement has revealed sexual assault and harassment of women as widespread as the coronavirus. Adultery rates in America indicate that 20 to 40% of married men and 20 to 25% of married women have engaged in marital infidelity. Close to 500,000 imagesof child pornography are posted on the internet every week. Anti-Semitism throughout the world has spiked. In such a world, how can the Complete Redemption occur?

The Chafetz Chaim, the great sage of the 20th century, solved the contradiction by declaring in his little-known work written in 1930, There will be two categories of Jews in the generation of redemption, and both are instrumental in bringing the redemption closer. The first category of those who hasten the redemption consists of those who vigorously intensify their service of God and that of their children, with all their hearts and souls (On Awaiting Moshiach1, p. 23). The Chafetz Chaim goes on to describe the second category of Jews who hasten the redemption:

This generation will be weak in its religious observance, and each person will do as he sees fit. Nevertheless, this should not cause us anguish, for this itself is a sign of the redemption! They rely on their own judgment, which contradicts that of all previous generations. They despise those sages, scholars, and holy men of earlier generations who sacrificed their lives for the sake of each and every law of the Torah.

Thus, no benefit can result from the continuation of this long exile. Israels merits are no longer growing and flourishing, thereby increasing our reward. On the contrary, acceptance of our tradition and compliance therewith continues to decrease and has almost ceased, God forbid.

Therefore, the Holy One, blessed is He, must hasten the redemption and open the eyes of the blind to the true light. The Holy One, blessed is He, will not abandon His dispersed children, God forbid. This is the meaning of the verse, Yet, even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not abhor them or spurn them so as to destroy them and annul My covenant with them, for I am the Lord, their God (Lev. 26:44).

Accordingly, in the final period before the coming of Moshiach, there will be two categories of Jews. Both will hasten the arrival of Moshiach one through their good deeds and suffering, and the other through unworthy deeds. Obviously, it is preferable to be included in the first category of Jews rather than the second [pp. 26-30].

When the coronavirus first hit Europe and America, closing down commerce, schools, universities, entertainment, sports, etc., the pundits referred to it as pressing the pause button on society. But as of this writing, with nearly two and a half million people infected and 170,883 dead, many commentators are opining that the pause button is really a reset button, and that the world will never return to its pre-Covid-19 state.

The Department for Strategic Planning within Israels Foreign Ministry on April 12, 2020 made public a document composed by twenty diplomats and Foreign Ministry experts. Among its dire predictions were an economic depression rivalling the Great Depression of the 1930s, global destabilization with China and the West locking horns, dwindling health supplies, and additional pandemics.

Rather than such predictions leading us to anxiety and despair, Judaisms response is always hope, because we are assured that all roads, however rough, lead to the Complete Redemption. This resolute optimism, based on Biblical guarantees, has enabled the Jewish People to weather all the crises of our long and challenging history.

The current global crisis could be a likely scenario for the advent of Moshiach. Spiritual truth cannot sprout in ground crowded with the weeds of false beliefs and tenaciously-held fealty to false gods. The last few years have seen an unprecedented disillusionment with government. With the malls closed and the stock market in seizures, the bastions of materialism and economic security are crumbling. Confusion abounds. Might humanity now be open to hearing the voice of Moshiach?

Some Talmudic sages predicted that the Complete Redemption will come with miracles greater than the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt. Yet others declared that it will be a time of upheaval, of earthquakes and natural disasters, when no one will have any money in his pocket.

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the speed of humanitys train. We, all of us, are barreling toward the Complete Redemption. Whether we will reach the destination next week, next month, next year, or in a decade, no one knows. But the only way to be ready is to yearn for that period of peace, harmony, and universal God-consciousness, so we will recognize it when it when we arrive.

Photo Credit: Seth Aronstam, http://www.inspitarionalisrael.com

1. The Chofetz Chaim on Awaiting Moshiach rendered into English by Moshe Miller (Targum/Feldheim, 1993)

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Covid-19 and the Messiah - Aish

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that has passed, like a watch of the night. Psalms 90:4

Evangelical Christians from around the world sing and recite prayers for Israels safety. (Photo: Flash 90)

A scientist applied his mind to the Bible and established a 6,000 year framework culminating in the final Redemption. The timeline is based on specific 58 year twilight windows in which major events take place. Surprisingly, these windows include major events for Jews and Christians alike.

6,000 YEARS TIMELINE FOR MESSIAH

Saul Kullok has been granted several USA patents and has submitted many more patents for applications dealing with his innovations in the field of neuroperformance. Recently, one of his inventions for reducing high blood pressure and improve kidneys function without drugs was approved for a clinical trial at a major medical center in Jerusalem.

In addition to being a brilliant scientist, Kullok is a Torah observant Jew who lives in Judea. As such, he applies his analytical abilities to his Bible study. Breaking Israel News recently published his findings based on the well-known Jewish concept of each day being congruent to 1,000 years. This is based on a verse in Psalms.

For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that has passed, like a watch of the night. Psalms 90:4

Kullok cited the Talmud (Tractate Avodah Zarah 9a) which states that the world will last for 6,000 years. This is broken down into three periods: for 2,000 years, the world stood empty, for 2,000 years the world existed in Torah, and the final 2,000 years will be the age when the Messiah may come, depending on mankinds actions. According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah can come earlier and in a gentler manner than prophesied if Israels actions merit this. At the end of the 6,000 years, the Messiah will necessarily come, even if mankind has not prepared itself.

THE TWILIGHTS

Based on Nachmanides, a prominent medieval Jewish scholar, Kullok investigated the possibility that each of these thousand-year days contained two periods of twilight. Twilight is referred to in Jewish literature as (ben hashmashot; literally between the suns). Each day has two twilights: one that contains the sunrise and another that contains the sunset. The twilight has a special status in Torah law. Since the new day begins at sunset, this twilight can be considered as belonging to both the day that is ending at sunset and the new day that is beginning.

Kullok calculated that since two equal twilights in the time curse of a day in Jerusalem, will be of precisely 84 minutes each one, then in the context of one thousand year days, each Jerusalems twilight equals 58 years, one taking place at the end of the first 500 years, and the other at the end of the following 500 years.

Kullok laid out all of world history as described in the Bible based on the twilights within the Talmuds 6,000-years timeline. When doing so, Kulloks calculations place the destruction of the Temple 164 years earlier than in the current Jewish calendar timeline. This revised timeline is not his innovation but is accepted by most experts and is explained in the previous article in Breaking Israel News dealing with Kulloks findings.

His studies have many startling and significant implications, including objective evidence that the history of the Children of Israel is following a predefined historical framework rooted in the Hebrew Bible, wherein the current point in history is placed within the final Twilight before the imminent arrival of the Messiah, which is also discussed in the previous article.

But in addition to this, Kulloks work gives a different perspective on human history, when placing it into the framework of the Talmuds 6,000-year framework for the Jewish Messianic process.

Abram was born in the year 1948 of the Hebrew Bible chronology, in the twilight at the end of the second millennium, meaning at the end of the first 2000 years.

Remarkably, all of the events described in the final four books of the Torah, from the return of Moses to Egypt until the conquering of the Land of Israel under Joshua, took place between the years 2442 and 2500 of the Hebrew Bible chronology, within the 58 years of the first twilight of the third millennium. The Exodus took place, according to the biblical time account and Talmud, exactly in 2448 of the biblical chronology.

Indeed, King Solomon dies and the Kingdom of Israel split into the Kingdom of Judah and the 10 Tribes of the Kingdom of Israel. It should be remembered the biblical information on that construction on the First Temple began 480 years after Exodus and that King Solomon passed away 36 years after that, in the year 2964 (2448 + 480 + 36 =2964). The second twilight for that millennium began in 2942, ending in the year 3000. Remarkably, all of the tribes were together under the First Temple during the few years inside this twilight, splitting after King Solomon died, before the end of this twilight.

According to Jewish tradition, and as described in the Talmud, the year of the First Temple destruction took place in the year 3338 of the Hebrew Bible chronology. For most scholarly studies this destruction took place on the years 586/7 BCE. It means that the beginning of the Common Era took place 586 years after the destruction, meaning in the year 3924 of the Hebrew Bible chronology (3338+586= 3924). Therefore, the beginning of this time window in the year 3942 will be the year 18 CE (3942-3924=18). The end of this time window was in the year 4000, which took place in the year 76 CE (4000-3924=76), meaning six years after the destruction of the Second Temple.

Furthermore, on this last twilight of the fourth millennium, from the years 3942 until the year 4000, the Second Temple was destroyed.

CHRISTIAN HISTORY IN THE JEWISH MESSIAH FRAMEWORK

But, according to Kulloks theory, this framework of history is not limited to a Jewish perspective on Jewish history. Judaism does not accept that Jesus was the Messiah in any manner and each religion is, of course, separate in belief and eschatology. But this timeline, based in Jewish teachings and applicable to Jewish history, also has points that are applicable to the history of Christianity.

When viewed from a Christian perspective, the events described in the Christian Gospel also took place during one of the twilights contained in the 6,000 years for the Jewish Messianic process, within the years 3942-4000. According to Christian tradition, Jesus was born in 4 BCE. Therefore, his preaching and rise to prominence at the age of 22 years falls precisely into a twilight period in the Jewish Messianic framework.

The main formation and the split of Israel took place in these time windows and the genesis and split of Christianity also took place in these twilights, Kullok noted. Indeed, in the first of these time windows of the sixth millennium, from 5442 to 5500 of the Hebrew Bible chronology, between the years 1518 and 1576 CE, Luther and Calvin gave rise to Protestantism, which lead to the establishment of the Church of England in 1534, a split from the Catholic Church, from where the Evangelical movement originated.

We can see from this that the timeline of Christian history, including its major events and transformations, fit into the 6,000 framework of the Jewish process culminating in the Messiah, in the same way that all of Jewish history, from Abram to Moses to the Temples in Jerusalem, adhere to this 6,000-year framework.

Kulloks theory raises the question: Are Evangelicals a part of the 6,000 years redemption process of Israel?

A CHRISTIAN REACTION TO KULLOKS THEORY

John Enarson, who serves as the Christian Relations Director of Cry for Zion, noted that the 6,000 year redemption calendar which is based in Jewish tradition was adopted by early Christianity.

The earliest followers of Jesus passed on the Jewish tradition of the millennial week for redemptive history, Enarson told Breaking Israel News. The New Testament even quotes Psalms 90:4 alluding to this belief. The belief later became called chiliasm, after the Greek word for a thousand years. As far as scholars can tell, chiliasm was the nearly unanimous view of early Christianity, lasting until the religion became more politicized in the Roman Empire of the fourth century. The early church expected the messianic kingdom of peace on earth to arrive at year 6000 and for a sabbath rest of a thousand years to follow.

Chiliasm remains a popular Christian belief today, outside of the historical church traditions (Catholic and Orthodox), and interest in the Jewish calendar is growing exponentially.

I find that counting the big picture can inspire hope if we recognize that our calculations may never be perfect in the details. Christians of the Protestant tradition indeed see the Reformation as a revolutionary shift in world history and Kulloks research into the twilights of the millennial days is amazing, not only in regard to the Reformation.

Enarson noted that theological differences did, of course, divide Judaism and Christianity. But, he noted, the overall redemption timeline can be seen as a unifying factor.

Christians do see a great twilight shift during the time of the Gospels and believe it was indeed a visitation by the Messiah, but that, tragically, the final redemption was not yet. Here, Jews and Christians fundamentally differ, but we agree on a significant historical shift with the destruction of the second Holy Temple and on a redemptive history guided by the Almighty. I believe Kullok is right that this is a redemptive process of 6000 years in which both Jews and Christians are involved.

Continued here:

The Role of Christianity in the 6000 Year Hebrew Calendar of Redemption - Breaking Israel News

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Posted By admin on April 24, 2020

By Rabbi Dr. Tvi Hersh Weinreb

Weve heard the clichs that are used to convey the importance of social groups and realization that people cannot go at it alone No man is an island, It takes a village.

But just as it is vital that each of us learns that we are ultimately limited in what we can accomplish by ourselves, it is equally vital that we learn of the benefits of occasional solitude and of the need to sometimes just be alone.

In this weeks double Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, we read at length and in great detail about an individual who is afflicted by a condition known as tzoraat, often translated as leprosy. It is a condition which is characterized by specific discolorations of the skin and which is understood by our sages to be the consequence of immoral behavior, particularly malicious gossip.

The Torah prescribes that such an individual rend his clothes and let his hair grow. He is considered ritually unclean, and he shall dwell apart, his dwelling shall be outside that camp. (Leviticus 13:46)

Opinions vary as to why he must be removed from society. Some say he is quarantined because his condition is contagious. Others insist that since his misdeeds caused harm to others, he must be punished by living apart from others.

I prefer, however, the view that believes that a period of solitude is imposed upon this individual to afford him an opportunity to think, to reconsider his actions, and to resolve to live a new moral life style. He is afforded the social isolation necessary for thoroughgoing introspection, a chance to think for himself. There is a lesson here about the benefits of solitude that is of renewed relevance in our day and age.

I

n Solitude and Leadership, an essay delivered to the plebe class at the United States Military Academy at West Point by William Deresiewicz, the author conveys to these future military leaders that leadership demands a mindset which can only come about with frequent and sustained periods of solitude.

Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop an idea about it, he writes, emphasizing the importance of concentrating, of gathering yourself together into a single point rather than letting yourself be dispersed everywhere into a cloud of electronic and social input.

Ralph Waldo Emerson made Deresiewiczs point long ago when he said, He who should inspire and lead his race must be defended from traveling with the souls of other men, from living, breathing, reading, and writing in the daily, time-worn yoke of their opinions.

These opinions of a famous 19th century essayist and one of his contemporary counterparts stress and amplify a message implicit in this weeks Torah portion. The message is that time by oneself, reflecting and engaging in serious introspection, is an essential component of self improvement and a prerequisite not only for membership in society, but for leadership of society.

Jewish sources go much further than Emerson and Deresiewicz. The latter restrict their insightful comments to the importance of solitude in everyday, mundane affairs. Our tradition teaches that solitude is necessary for spiritual growth and for religious leadership.

The sages of the Talmud insist upon the necessity of cheshbon hanefesh, self-reckoning. The Jewish ethical treatises of medieval times recommend that one regularly withdraw from society to engage in such self-reckoning. Chassidim, and most particularly the followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, daily engage in periods of hitbodedut, solitary contemplation.

The secular writers quoted above are helpful in that they make it clear that solitude need not entail mystical practices or spiritual techniques. Rather, solitude provides an opportunity for thinking on ones own and for concentrating deeply without the undue influences of ones social surrounding.

I personally am convinced that occasional solitude would be a healthy antidote to the blind conformity which is imposed upon all of us by our contemporary world. Once again, the Torah, in the midst of a passage which seems most out of tune with modernity, gives us a lesson essential for coping with modernity.

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Benefits of everyday solitude, going it alone - The Jewish Star

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Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

Thousands of people lined up in just a few moments notice to donate plasma to possibly save the lives of critically ill COVID-19 patients.

The testing was arranged by Lakewood Bikur Cholim and held at three locations in Flatbush, one site in Boro Park, and one site in Baltimore. The approval for the testing was given to Lakewood Bikur Cholim late Tuesday afternoon, but with tremendous Siyata Dishmaya, and the help of Hatzolah, Yachad and Shomrim volunteers who worked through the night, the multiple testing sites were Bichasdei Hashem set up. YWN had published a request late Tuesday night looking for people trained in drawing blood to help, and Boruch hashem many people responded and greatly assisted.

In Flatbush the testing was done by Flatbush Hatzolah with logistics coordinated by Flatbush Shomrim. Locations in Flatbush were Yeshiva Chaim Berlin on Coney Island Avenue, The Sephardic Community Center on Ocean Parkway & Avenue S, and the Flatbush Hatzolah Garage on Ocean Avenue and Avenue N.

Incredibly, the testing was announced by YWN at 7:00AM, and in just a few hours, more than 2,000 tests had been completed.

The Boro Park testing location was held at Ateres Golda Hall, and was run by Boro Park Hatzolah in conjunction with Yachad and logistics arranged by Boro Park Shomrim. Around 2,000 tests were done in Boro Park.

In Baltimore around 1,000 tests were done on Wednesday as well.

These add to the already 1,000 tests done on Sunday in Lakewood.

The blood of those who had COVID-19 and recovered most likely contains antibodies that are able to attack the COVID-19 virus. Thus, plasma, a component of ones blood that contains antibodies, can be used to treat COVID-19 patients and has been proven to give them a better chance of fighting off the virus.

Lakewood Bikur Cholim Director Rabbi Yehuda Kaszirer tells YWN that the tests will be flown at 2:00M tonight on a private jet to the Mayo Clinic.

The plasma kits were provided by the Mayo Clinic, one of the worlds premier medical institutions and delivered.

Meanwhile, an article in the Forward reports that more than half of the plasma donors at Mount Sinai Hospital are Orthodox Jews.

Sources tell YWN that the response in the Orthodox Community is so significant, that the CDC will be likely be studying the entire batch of testing closely, and using the results to make various determinations and decisions.

Bikur Cholim has devoted many years to building strong relationships with renowned hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, in addition to operating Bikur Cholim houses in many locations. These medical institutions are very grateful to Bikur Cholim for its unparalleled work and are thus eager to partner in this tremendous lifesaving project.

In addition, lead researchers in the plasma program have turned to Bikur Cholim of Lakewood for its assistance in making plasma available to one and all, as Bikur Cholim assists some of the nations largest blood banks and labs in ramping up their systems to support all donors and to streamline the results.

(YWN World Headquarters NYC)

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KIDDUSH HASHEM: Thousands Of Orthodox Jews Line Up To Get Tested For Plasma In Flatbush, Boro Park, Baltimore - Yeshiva World News

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Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

Food coverageis supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky.

Earlier this month, Jesse Bloom was supposed to cook two community seders in one week. Between Walnut Creeks Congregation Bnai Tikvah and Piedmonts Kehilla Community Synagogue, he would have fed around 275 people.

Those were just two of the gigs on his calendar that were canceled within a matter of days.

All of a sudden, I didnt have a business anymore, he said. I had lost four events in the three weeks preceding the seders. I lost 100 percent of my business for the foreseeable future, so Ive been actively trying to re-create myself from a business perspective.

The word pivot has become a catchword in the current moment, as businesses try to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Food businesses have been especially hard-hit.

Bloom makes his living catering and cooking primarily at retreats and festivals, everything from Wilderness Torahs Sukkot on the Farm to the camps at Burning Man, where he is one of several chefs cooking for hundreds of people. He also does smaller dinner party experiences, where participants cook together and have a transformational experience of connecting around the universal language of food, he said.

By March 10, he could see where things were heading. And then he got sick. He doesnt know if it was Covid-19 since he couldnt get tested (he doesnt think it was). But he had a lot of time to be home and think.

He lives in a tiny apartment, where he began to visualize how he could turn his living room into a mini studio to make videos of himself teaching cooking lessons.

On April 7, he taught a class on how to make four Sephardic dishes for the seder.

I began thinking about teaching online classes and putting them on Facebook Live, he said. When I first started doing them, it wasnt as saturated as it is now. I dont know anyone who isnt Zoom-saturated at this point.

Bloom is asking for donations from people who view his online classes, and he is devising new ones on the fly. When someone he knows posted on Facebook that he was having a hard time coming up with healthy meal ideas for himself and his daughter, Bloom responded with a course on kitchen basics. Hes also thinking of offering a team-building exercise for co-workers at home, where they make the same lunch together using the same ingredients theyve bought ahead of time.

I dont know where its going, he admitted about his business. Its not fun to lose all that income, but part of me is enjoying reinventing myself and my career. If Im able to do that in a way that actually reaches and nourishes more people, and its more sustainable for me, well, theres a hope and a prayer embedded in the pivot.

The online cooking idea also appealed to Avital Ungar of Avital Tours. In normal times, she offers culinary tours in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. When all of the restaurants closed for dine-in service, she started offering remote team-building culinary experiences, or chefinars, and workshops taught by mixologists.

Ungar sees it as a win-win: Shes able to pay participating chefs who might otherwise be out of work, and she can still make a profit for her company, which will remain out of service as long as restaurants remain closed.

Frena, San Franciscos kosher bakery, also had to get creative after shutting its doors to walk-in business. Before Passover, the bakery notified customers with messages on Facebook that it was switching to delivery only, then drove its baked goods throughout the Bay Area, making planned stops at synagogues and Chabad houses.

When she was first launching her business, Boichik Bagels owner Emily Winston envisioned a delivery service, maybe even a subscription plan, around the Bay. But when commercial space became available in Oakland at the site of the original Noahs Bagels, she felt she couldnt say no. She put her early ideas on hold because the shop was too small to stage deliveries and do wholesale accounts.

Now that sales are down, she is operating a takeout system where customers come to the parking lot to pick up their orders of bagels and schmears. Delivery in the East Bay started last week, and other Bay Area locations are being added soon, she said.

I have a lot of customers who dont want to leave the house at all, she said.

Also, her bagels and spreads are now available at Berkeley Bowl West.

Its funny how it turned back into my original plan, in a way, Winston said. I had to redesign my whole business model in the past few weeks.

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For local Jewish food businesses, necessity is the mother of reinvention - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

Historians tend to view Kristallnacht as the opening shot in the grand Nazi scheme to exterminate the Jews. During the anti-Semitic pogroms that erupted on November 9, 1938 the first act of organized violence carried out by the Nazis against the Jews as many as half of Germanys synagogues were destroyed

To its great fortune, the synagogue of Lbeck was spared. Though many of its treasures were looted, the redbrick building in the northern port city survived intact. The Nazis had no interest in destroying the stately building, it is believed, because it had recently been handed over to the municipality and no longer functioned as a Jewish house of worship.

Its close proximity to the municipal museum was probably another reason it survived: Had the synagogue been set on fire, the museum would likely have been part of the collateral damage.

A few months before Kristallnacht, David Alexander Winter the last rabbi to serve the Jewish community of Lbeck before World War II fled to Great Britain, taking his wife and four children with him.

He didnt really want to leave, but my grandmother told him that if he remained, it would be hard to persuade the Jewish community that the situation was that dire, says grandson Dr. Ariel Romem, an Israeli pediatrician.

In 2016, the German government allocated 2.5 million euros ($2.7 million) to renovate the synagogues interior. The project included new seating, a holy ark for the Torah scrolls, a stand for the cantor and a bimah. The idea was to recreate the original designs, based on old photographs.

Charged with the task of restoring the Lbeck synagogue to its former glory was a furniture factory on Kibbutz Lavi one of the biggest manufacturers in the world, if not the biggest, of synagogue interiors.

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As fate would have it, four grandchildren of Rabbi Winter, including Romem, 64, live on this religious kibbutz in northern Israel.

A rededication ceremony of the synagogue had been scheduled to take place on March 29, but was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Yehudit Menachem, one of Winters granddaughters, had planned on attending.

For me, there is a sense of closure in all this, says Menachem, 59, who has lived her entire life on Lavi and runs youth activities on the kibbutz.

Last year, Menachem, her sister and their daughters took their first trip to Lbeck, hoping to learn more about their family history.

My father had never wanted to go back to Germany while he was alive, she says. While we were there, we met with members of the Jewish congregation and learned about the synagogue restoration project. While the interiors were being made at our kibbutz factory, I would often visit to see how the work was coming along and compare it with the old photos we had.

According to Aner Amiram, the factorys marketing manager, the architecture firm in charge of the restoration project contacted the kibbutz about two years ago, aware of its specialization. Weve already provided interiors for synagogues in Germany, he says. So we wrote a letter to the Lbeck municipality explaining why it would be in their interest to work with us, and we closed the deal last summer.

The contract, he says, was worth about half a million shekels ($140,000).

Established more than 50 years ago, Lavis furniture factory relies mainly on the Israeli market, although Amiram says about one-third of its orders come from overseas. Since its establishment, the factory has designed and produced interiors for synagogues in more than 5,300 Jewish communities around the world. Its main overseas markets are the United States, Canada, Great Britain and France. According to Amiram, Lavis factory furnishes about 200 synagogues each year some brand new and some restored.

When news of the coronavirus pandemic first broke in January, the factory began working overtime to complete orders and deliver them before any possible lockdowns. It sends specially trained carpenters from Israel to assemble the interiors once they have been shipped to the destination. By the time the shipment for the Lbeck synagogue had reached its destination, however, it was too late to send someone.

Right now, everything is sitting in cartons inside the synagogue, Amiram reports.

Arson attack

The Lbeck synagogue, also known as the Carlebach synagogue, was inaugurated in 1880. The original building was topped by a dome, which was removed during the Nazi period and never replaced. Today, it is the only prewar synagogue still functioning in northern Germany.

In 1994, the synagogue was firebombed the first time a Jewish house of worship had been attacked in Germany since the Nazis were in power. A year later, it was again targeted by arsonists.

The shuls first rabbi was Salomon Carlebach, who was briefly succeeded after his death in 1919 by his son Joseph. Winter, who had served as a chaplain in the German army during World War I, took over in 1921.

According to his granddaughter, all four of Winters children were born in the building that housed the synagogue. The synagogue was on the first floor, and the family lived on the upper floors, Menachem relays. At the time, it was customary to provide the rabbi with housing for his family inside the same building as the synagogue.

The rabbis four children two daughters and two sons all left Britain for Israel in the late 1940s and early 50s. The youngest child, Naftali, is the only one still alive and resides in Jerusalem. Menachem is the daughter of Winters older son, Joe, who was killed in a car accident 10 years ago, and Romem is the son of his younger daughter, Chana. Two of Romems sisters also live on Lavi.

On the eve of Kristallnacht, some 300 Jews lived in Lbeck. About half fled Germany, and most of the remaining Jews were deported to Riga and Theresienstadt. Only 11 of them survived the Holocaust. Today, the citys Jewish population is estimated at about 700, comprised almost exclusively of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

The fact that his kibbutz is involved in the restoration of the synagogue once led by his grandfather gives Romem a special feeling, he says.

The factory is very close to my house on the kibbutz, so whenever I had a chance, Id stop in to see how they were progressing, he recounts. And if he can manage to break away from work, the busy pediatrician says he will attend the inauguration event in Lbeck when it is rescheduled. I would very much like to go, he says. I feel a very strong connection to the place.

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Their grandfather fled the Nazis. Now, their kibbutz is helping restore the German synagogue he led - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

Shelter-in-place has become the standard remedy to slow the spread of COVID-19. But what does shelter-in-place mean for people without a home in which to shelter?

Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, an emergency shelter program for first-time homeless families, is attempting to grapple with social distancing constraints that, in practice, mean that the organization can no longer house families in churches, synagogues and mosques the way it normally does.

Typically, the organizations interfaith partners take turns hosting families for a week at a time. But in March, as the threat of COVID-19 became apparent in other Family Promise locations across the country, Family Promise of Greater Phoenix decided to suspend its rotational system and instead housed families in tents at its Earll offices and apartments at its Bellevue site.

And the changes at Family Promise extend further than just their relationship with interfaith partners. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the organization has had to increase spending across the board, from the cost of Wi-Fi, bunk beds, 32 new mattresses and sanitation services to increased pay for a 24-hour staff. And its staff is maintaining strict social distancing rules, only serving meals to one family at a time and offering virtual case management, even when families are 50 feet away in the same building.

Its just crazy what this has caused, said Ted Taylor, executive director of Family Promise of Greater Phoenix. The change in social distancing, the no more going out in public, working out how families were going to get jobs, how were going to get housing still, how we could still graduate families, how we could get food from the congregations when it was hard to go to the grocery store and find things we have been really managing all these changes on a daily basis.

Still, families at Family Promise are some of the few with access to safe shelter right now: There are 140 families waiting to get into shelters across the valley, Taylor said.

There is a severe shortage and theres no space, and nobodys necessarily freeing up space. So its a real predicament, Taylor said. Were starting to put some of our families who are really close to graduation in hotels, so that we can put more family in.

While families shelter in place at Family Promises facilities, congregations in the rotational system are continuing to provide food for families. Taylor calculates the cost of those donated meals at $500 per night.

Lets just talk about how big that is. This is no small thing, Taylor said. I would argue that is the biggest savior of Family Promise. That $500 a night would have broken us, it would have been brutal, so they have changed the game for us.

Those partners include three synagogues in the Greater Phoenix area: Temple Chai, which started hosting families in 2016, and Temple Solel and Temple Kol Ami, which both joined the Family Promise network within the last few months.

Temple Chai arranged for volunteers to provide meals during its host week April 19-26. Executive Director Debbie Blyn said that Family Promise is one of her favorite volunteer programs at Temple Chai.

You get to help and work with these vulnerable people, but you also get to touch the person. And you really get this beautiful interaction just between human beings, Blyn said. You learn that people have really difficult stories, and the world can be beautiful and cruel at the same time. You also get to meet some pretty incredible people who are a little down on their luck for a period of time.

Blyn said that volunteers try to provide meals that are not only fun and family friendly, but also a good source of nutrition. This week, volunteers deliveries included pizza and salad, barbecue chicken sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and meatloaf.

Organizationally, its a really beautiful way for Temple Chai to be able to help our Phoenix neighbors who happen to be in need. And youre doing such basic things, Blyn said. Youre giving them a safe place to sleep, youre giving them a warm meal at night, theyre really basic things.

April 12-19 would have been Temple Solels second host week. The synagogue began hosting in December, after organizers had a chance to shadow Temple Chai coordinators Kelly and Brad Golner.

Their participation in the Family Promise made it easier for us, said Rae Rader, vice president of social action at Temple Solel. We could just look to them as an example of how well it worked.

During Temple Solels April host week, Rader was impressed by the number of people who volunteered, especially now, when a trip to the grocery store is a possible cause for concern.

I think were just doing the best we can this week with the groceries that are available, or ordering from restaurants to deliver, supporting local businesses, Rader said. I think it may be more difficult for them doing it this way, but were glad to help however we can.

Rader and her husband made one of the weeks meals: barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, rolls and grapes.

It really made me feel like I was doing something important and helping others and not just staying home, Rader said. It took us out of our isolation a little bit. We didnt go in and actually see anybody, we just dropped the meals off outside, but it made me feel good about helping others who were really in need. Theres a lot of need right now.

Temple Kol Ami is planning to have its first host week May 24-31. While Family Promise cant be certain the rotational system will still be suspended by the end of May, TKA volunteer coordinator Andrea Lazar said theyre expecting to provide meals instead of hosting families that week.

Since the synagogues first meeting to discuss a possible partnership with Family Promise in January, the response from our members was really terrific, Lazar said.

Volunteers from TKA are ready to provide meals every night of the week at the end of May. And as for the synagogues next host week, when they get a chance to host families, were really looking forward to it, Lazar said. This is actually bringing families to our congregation and providing them safe shelter and food. It brings giving to a different level.

Community partners like Temple Chai, Temple Solel and Temple Kol Ami have been a critical piece of our formula for the last 20 years, Taylor said. The synagogues are relatively young in our network, but their passion is untouchable. And I believe that is the key behind the future growth of Family Promise, and also the effectiveness of Family Promise.

For now, Family Promise is waiting out the COVID-19 crisis just like everyone else: sheltering in place and making the most of the situation.

The biggest concern right now, Taylor said, is both the continued strain of social distancing on staff and families and the threat of illness spreading among families at the facilities. While Family Promise has room to isolate up to two families at its Glendale facility, he worries that if an outbreak were to happen inside one of the facilities, the cost of paying for hotel rooms would quickly deplete the organizations funds.

Its no small thing if a family gets COVID inside of our shelter. It would be devastating, Taylor said. To protect the other families, we would have to isolate those families. If we had a ripple of illness, and it doesnt have to be COVID, it could be flu-related symptoms, then we are really going to have some struggles. JN

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Synagogues partner with Family Promise to provide meals to homeless families - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

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Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

At the beginning of March, 13-year-old Sam Kaplan and his family watched as events everywhere were canceled because of the coronavirus crisis.

Sam, a student at The Rashi School in Dedham, had planned to have his bar mitzvah at Temple Aliyah in Needham on March 28. When the synagogue closed, his parents decided nothing would stop them from celebrating their sons special day.

This is a big moment in a seventh-graders life, especially at a Jewish day school, said Elissa Kaplan, Sams mom. When it became obvious that it wasnt going to be at the synagogue, we started to explain that we were willing to do it wherever, whenever, however. That we were willing to think outside the box.

The planning required many Zoom sessions to review readings for the ceremony as well as for members of the synagogue and attendees to practice the new technology.

With help from Rabbi Carl Perkins and Cantor Jamie Gloth, Sam celebrated his bar mitzvah virtually from his dining room table in Needham with 177 eager online guests.

Id rather someone be safe and not worried about getting sick than coming and being worried about getting sick and possibly getting sick. It was just a blessing to be able to do it with everybody that I love and that I know," Sam said. "Im grateful for Rashi and Temple Aliyah for making it work.

Attendees ranged from the Kaplans friends and family to members of their synagogue and the town of Needham. Those invited from as far away as Israel and Turkey also were sure to tune in.

To be able to see everybody at once was just incredible and its something I will never forget, said Sam.

Virtual classes were paused at Rashi so that members of the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades could go on Zoom with their families to cheer on Sam. Rabbi Sharon Clevenger of Rashi offered the bar mitzvah boy a blessing.

Jewish life goes on and its incredibly important to celebrate as Jewish girls and boys come of age even in this time of social distancing, Rabbi Perkins said.

Sam said his favorite part of his bar mitzvah was being able to hear the words of encouragement and support from each of the attendees, all of whom spoke to him afterward.

It was a great experience, especially because some of the people who wouldnt have necessarily been able to come were able to be there virtually, said Sam. It felt good to know that people were supporting me even through these hard times.

To other kids who are upset about their ceremonies and important events being delayed or canceled, Sam reminds them that There is always a way.

COVID-19 is having a very big impact on life itself but I think people are doing a really good job finding a way around it and helping other people, he said. Obviously it wasnt something that I was expecting, but it is something I will never forget and Ill have a story to tell when I grow up.

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It is something I will never forget: 177 people attend a Needham boys virtual bar mitzvah - The Boston Globe

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Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

I wasnt expecting HBOs The Plot Against America, David Simons miniseries adaptation of the Philip Roth novel, to scar me the way it has.

I work with news about the rise of anti-Semitism and hate crimes around the world on a daily basis. As an editor focused more on international coverage recently, here are some of the highlights from this past week or so: atorched synagoguein Russia, a Romanian priest who kind ofcomparedJews to the coronavirus anda neo-Nazi group run by a 13-year-oldthat planned to bomb a synagogue.

I have also covered how anti-Semitic and xenophobic attitudes the kind espoused by thePittsburgh synagogue shooterand those at the Charlottesville rally who shouted Jews will not replace us have seeped back into underground discourse across the U.S.

The thing is, most of this stuff is either a world away from my daily life or numbing in its sheer quantity. Its not that I dont know anything about Romania, it just isnt quite suburban New Jersey, which is where Ive holed up with my parents during this quarantine. On the numbers front, weve had many discussions among editors about how to best cover all of the swastikas that are spray-painted on Jewish monuments and institutions around the world in a given week, because many times we cant get to it all.

So in some ways, I almost expected The Plot Against America to feel like old news. Roths novel (which, it may be worth noting, I havent read) is about a Jewish family stuck in an eerie alternate history, in which the infamous anti-Semite Charles Lindbergh has become president of the United States. He keeps the U.S. out of World War II, establishes friendly relations with Nazi Germany and encourages a strain of just-under-the-surface white nationalism were seeing reemerge today.

Swastikas begin to appear on Jewish graves. A liberal political rally turns violent when Nazi supporters crash it with clubs and fists. A Nazi official comes to Washington for an official visit.

For some, seeing this play out on screen in a compelling and well-written TV series would be horrifying but not for me, the editor who has chronicled the growth of this kind of movement in real life for years. Or so I thought.

But I was completely wrong: The show has made everything I work with feel more immediate, close to home and tangible and subsequently more frightening.

Ive had time to reflect on it (the sixth and final episode aired Monday night) and Ive settled on a few reasons why the show has had such a powerful effect on me.

First, the Jewish world that Roth (and by extension Simon, the creator of acclaimed shows such as The Wire and The Deuce and one of the best TV writers of any generation) has created is incredibly real. Theres never been such a thing as a typical American Jewish family the country has always been full of a proud range of religious expressions. But the Levin family that anchors Plot comes close to an American archetype.

In many senses, the Levins feel like the 1940s version of my family. Theyre not very religious, but have strong Jewish cultural ties. They go to their local Jewish bakery more than their synagogue. They can recite memorized lines of Hebrew, but dont know what the words mean.

Other recent shows that have depicted Jews have leaned toward stereotype, not archetype. Hunters, the recent Amazon series about Nazi hunters in New York City, offers an example: Its efforts toward Jewish authenticity rely on matzah ball soup, gefilte fish jokes, prayers and ridiculous Yiddish accents.So when one Hunters character calls another a kike, it didnt feel like an attack on me or anyone like me.

By comparison, every slur in Plot packs a strong punch. When the Levins are told to leave their hotel for no reason other than their Jewishness, and the police ignore their claims of discrimination, I got queasy. When an intimidatingly large anti-Semite comes over to their caf table to tell them to be quiet, I cowered into my couch pillows.

But Simon also captures a feeling thats even more crucial, from an affect point of view, than the characters Jewishness: the feeling of being watched over, manipulated and on ones own. Their government claims to support them, but its only a nominal protection, a state of being that could easily slip into a much darker place.

The tension of being on that dividing line, between safety and a lack of it, fills me with dread as I watch. For me at least, that made the show more powerful than a gut-wrenching Holocaust film that shows Jews being violently abused and murdered.

It shows what I could be dealing with in the future, should the gears of history tilt slightly the wrong way.

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As a Jewish journalist, 'The Plot Against America' is terrifying - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

During the coronavirus pandemic, many bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies in the Bay Area and around the globe are being streamed online, while others have been delayed until its safe for people to gather in a synagogue.

Often, synagogues including Conservative ones will allow bnai mitzvah who have postponed their ceremonies to read the Torah or haftarah portion they studied on a later date.

But neither broadcasting Shabbat services nor reading portions out of date are viable options for Orthodox Jews. So local communities have found other ways to work around the situation presented by the unprecedented.

At Congregation Beth Israel, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Berkeley, the Mahgel-Friedman family spent weeks considering what to do about the bat mitzvah of their daughter Raizel, scheduled for April 25.

For a long time, we were just hoping that the prohibitions were going to be lifted, said Raizels mother, Nell. As it got closer, we just realized we [had] to talk about this more.

Working with the synagogue, the family, which owns the Afikomen Judaica store, decided to hold a Torah reading on Friday, a day before the scheduled ceremony. Because no minyan will be present, it will not be a Torah service. Instead, it will be classified as a Torah learning, Raizels instructor, Maharat Victoria Sutton, told her.

Other Modern Orthodox communities are doing similar things, [such as] moving it to a weekday, said Sutton. They can read some of their Torah portion, but its not a Torah service, per se.

Synagogue leaders gave Nell and her husband, Rabbi Chaim Mahgel-Friedman, the key to the shul, and during the day on Friday, the immediate family of four (including Raizels brother) will go inside and take a Torah scroll out of the ark. Raizel will read a segment one of the four Torah readings she learned. She will also give a shortened dvar Torah, a talk about the weeks Torah portion.

The family planned a dry run on Tuesday to make sure they could find the right starting place in the Torah scroll, which has not been used for weeks.

At first we were surprised that [synagogue leaders] were not even going to be there on Friday, Nell said. But they just didnt want to have too many people. And they trust us a lot.

The entire event will be livestreamed to Raizels classmates at Oakland Hebrew Day School, which will suspend online classes, and to invited guests and synagogue members.

Its really a celebration of her moving into this other realm of life, Nell said. Its wonderful that people are seeing it and welcoming her.

But for many in the Orthodox community, a pared-down bar or bat mitzvah service is nothing new. The milestone is often celebrated with little fanfare. A girl becomes a bat mitzvah on her 12th birthday, and a boy a bar mitzvah on his 13th, whether they have a ceremony or not.

Rabbi Shlomo Zarchi of Congregation Chevra Thilim, a 128-year-old Orthodox synagogue in San Francisco, recalled his own bar mitzvah in a recent phone interview with J. It was held on the night of his 13th birthday at his home in New York.

Family and friends gathered, and I gave a sermon shared some words of Torah I had been preparing, he said. For Zarchi and others raised in religiously observant communities, many of us never had a bar mitzvah on a Saturday in a synagogue.

Zarchi coordinated with a handful of bnai mitzvah whose ceremonies were postponed because of the pandemic. On their birthdays, they were invited to use Zoom to deliver some thoughts on Torah but not Torah readings.

Regardless of whether a ceremony is held on Zoom, or not at all, the spiritual dimension of what happens on your bar mitzvah birthday happens regardless, he said.

A bar or bat mitzvah is a spiritual transition. You receive a new soul, Zarchi said.

Basically, what is a bar mitzvah? Rabbi Moshe Langer asked rhetorically in a recent phone interview. It means the son or daughter of mitzvah. Thats what its all about.

Its all growth from there, added Langer, the son of longtime Chabad of San Francisco Rabbi Yosef Langer. Its not: I reach my bar mitzvah, and now Im moving on to [other things]. Its a continuation of reading in synagogue, helping out in the synagogue and in the community.

For Raizel, her bat mitzvah celebration will look different from what she envisioned. But life in her synagogue community will still change in predictable ways.

Theres just more not work, exactly, she said. Just more. Like fasting. Now Im going to have the obligation to fast, every fast.

And she will be called up for weekly Torah readings at her school. Before I couldnt get [aliyot] because [I was not] bat mitzvah, she said. Now, if were in school, I would have that opportunity.

Because of the scheduling change, her Torah learning will take place on her actual Hebrew birthday, which is fitting.

And as for her three unread portions the ones she wont get the chance to read on Friday she still has plans to still make good use of them.

Next year Im hoping to read the rest, she said, and hopefully in years to come.

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Orthodox Jews find creative workarounds for b'nai mitzvah during Covid-19 - The Jewish News of Northern California

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