Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

WHO sees encouraging signs in Europe amid virus outbreak

COPENHAGEN, Denmark The World Health Organizations European office says it sees encouraging signs as Italy reported a lower rate of infections of the new coronavirus, cautioning it was too soon to say whether the worst had passed.

While the situation remains very serious, we are starting to see some encouraging signs, WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, tells a press conference.

Italy, which has the highest number of cases in the region, has just seen a slightly lower rate of increase, though it is still too early to say that the pandemic is peaking in that country, he adds.

WHO Europe said that to date over 220,000 cases of COVID-19 had been reported on the continent, along with 11,987 deaths.

That means that globally, roughly six out of every 10 cases and seven out of 10 deaths have been reported in Europe, with the number of confirmed infections worldwide now over 400,000.

As the new coronavirus has spread across the continent, many European countries have adopted severe measures to curb the outbreak, including imposing lockdown measures and closing businesses and borders, as well as limiting public gatherings.

AFP

View original post here:

Report: Gantz to be FM, will become PM in 18 months, in unity government; Ashkenazi on defense, Tropper justice - The Times of Israel

Category: Ashkenazi | Comments Off on Report: Gantz to be FM, will become PM in 18 months, in unity government; Ashkenazi on defense, Tropper justice – The Times of Israel
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

(JTA) A London rabbi has died from the coronavirus and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is infected.

Rabbi Uri Ashkenazi was a leader of the Stanislaver Hasidic community, Hamodia reported. He died Thursday at 76.

Johnson made the announcement Friday, saying he was tested because he displayed symptoms. He also said that he would continue to lead the United Kingdom from isolation at his home.

Of the 578 people who have died from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, at least 26, or 4.4%, are Jewish. The U.K.s Jewish minority of about 250,000 accounts for about 0.3% of the countrys population of 66 million.

On Monday, the British government amended a bill granting emergency powers relating to the coronavirus crisis to assure that the bodies of those who die may be handled in accordance with their faith. Judaism and Islam generally forbid cremation, whereas Christianity does not.

Johnson delivered his video statement in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Hi folks, he began. I want to bring you up to speed with something thats happening today, which is that Ive developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus.

Johnson is the first leader of a nuclear power known to have contracted the virus.

Should Johnson become incapacitated, the government said last week, his duties would be taken by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, the son of a Jewish father from what is now the Czech Republic.

The post London rabbi dies of coronavirus and the British prime minister says hes infected appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Visit link:

London rabbi dies of coronavirus and the British prime minister says he's infected - Cleveland Jewish News

Category: Ashkenazi | Comments Off on London rabbi dies of coronavirus and the British prime minister says he’s infected – Cleveland Jewish News
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

Of late we have heard several rabbinic sages offering the reason why, in their very humble opinions, our society is being plagued by the Coronavirus.

Who am I to argue with such sagacity?

Nevertheless, I would like to throw my hat into the ring as well, albeit mine is a washed out olive drab baseball cap rather than the 30 gallon, custombuilt authoritative rabbinic sombrero that might inspire awe in women whose shaitels dip a tefakh (handsbreadth) below their shoulder blades.

The three absolute reasons cited above all have something in common, namely; all of them relate to humrot (stringencies) regarding mitzvot shbein adam lMakom (laws that are between man and G-d) if they even regard any mitzvot to begin with. None of these stringencies have anything to do with mitzvot shbein adam lhaveiro (laws concerning the interaction between people.)

Several years ago, in anticipation of the shnat shmittah (the sabbatical year), I wrote a column suggesting that we take a one-year sabbatical on all humrot regarding mitzvot shbein adam lMakom and spend the year focusing more diligently on mitzvot shbein adam lhaveiro.

More specifically, I argued that for one year we would dispense with such stringencies as halav Yisrael, by drinking ordinary milk; glatt kosher, by eating ordinary kosher meat; foregoing all the Passover insanity of covering every surface, and eschewing matzo balls until the 8th day (for those unfortunate enough to have to endure an 8th day), and the myriad other increasingly onerous stringencies mass produced by an ashkenazi haredi humra industry that never runs out of new ways to make life difficult, if not impossible.

As I saw it, all of these creative attempts to further hamstring our lives were the result of a significant population of men with nothing but time on their hands. These kolel avreichim were attempting to somehow justify their sitting all day in yeshivas with nothing tangible to show for their supposed scholastic efforts.

Indeed, it was the collective effort of such yeshiva men that produced a contemporary body of work regarding the laws of Shabbat. They managed to prove that pretty much every single Jew not tied to a chair for 24 hours is somehow or other violating the laws of the Sabbath. The simple act of opening a can of tuna fish or a container of orange juice on Shabbat suddenly required an intimate knowledge of complex halakhic rulings before one could undertake such a simple task one which our parents, grandparents and great grandparents had no problem doing without worrying about the flames of hell consuming them in the afterlife.

So, yes, during the sabbatical year we would even open cans of tuna fish on Shabbat by using a can opener without first puncturing a hole in the bottom of the can using a sharp object, and only then using the can opener to pry open the lid, but only half way, before teasing the fish out of the leaky mess created by this complex procedure.

At the same time, to honor the sabbatical year, we wouldnt simply be let off easy on the humrot which surely matter so greatly to the A-mighty. Because, during this special year, we would be tightening up our behavior toward our neighbors and friends. We would be scrupulous in our business dealings. We would avoid cheating on taxes, and helping ourselves to government programs to which we are not legitimately entitled. We would not turn a blind eye when someone needs help. Parents and teachers would be careful in how they talk to children. We would invite those who truly need invitations to our Shabbat tables such as single parents and their kids not just social peers, or those who might be useful to help our children get coveted internships. We would give real tzedakah that nobody else knows about. We would recognize people who are not wealthy but who quietly do important work for the community with no expectation of honor.

I imagined that such a sabbatical year would be truly redemptive. But I was wearing the wrong kind of hat, so nobody listened.

Now, lo and behold, we have the Coronavirus and my dream is coming true in real time. Suddenly all of the humrot regarding mitzvot shbein adam lMakom are falling by the wayside while those regarding mitzvot shbein adam lhaveiro are acquiring new urgency.

We are being told to ignore the pre-Passover stringencies of the past as these are impractical when we are in virtual lockdown. The mikvahs visited daily by the most fastidious humra seekers are closed. The shuls they run to three times a day are locked. The kolels where they learn to spin new stringencies are off limits. Products that do not have a kosher for Passover label but which contain no prohibited ingredients are being allowed for consumption. And some (Sefardi) rabbis even went so far as to allow the use of Zoom to connect lonely people during the Seder. Alas, they were steamrolled into retraction by (Ashkenazi) rabbis with even bigger hats and more aggressive fists.

At the same time there is a huge, organic emergence of acts of generosity and compassion. Thousands of young people are volunteering to help the elderly who are shut in. We are inundated with efforts to bring prepared meals to those who cannot go out to shop. Neighbors who did not know each others names, are suddenly introducing themselves and offering to help in any way possible.

This glorious flowering of interpersonal concern and generosity is unprecedented. And it required no rabbis in order to make it happen. It was spontaneous just ordinary people rising to the occasion and doing the right thing.

So I would like to suggest that perhaps the reason the Almighty in his infinite wisdom brought us the Coronavirus was in order to steer us clear of the plague of humrot shbein adam lMakom for which He has very little use, and guide us into a mindset of mitzvot shbein adam lhaveiro, which surely pleases Him greatly.

Science the sort of knowledge not produced in a kolel will surely find a vaccine against Coronavirus. But this will take some time. Meanwhile we have a golden opportunity to make a habit both of eschewing the senseless humrot that make life difficult if not unbearable, while allowing our best impulses to flourish and become a permanent part of our natural behavior toward one another.

Not being blessed with a 30 gallon black hat, I cannot speak with any authority. Unlike the sages cited at the start of this essay, I do not have a direct line to G-d, and for all I know the Coronavirus may, indeed, be our collective punishment for of shaitels that are too long. Somehow I dont think so.

What do you think?

J.J Gross is a veteran creative director and copywriter, who made aliyah in 2007 from New York. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a lifelong student of Bible and Talmud. He is also the son of Holocaust survivors from Hungary and Slovakia.

Read the original:

The real reason G-d gave us the coronavirus! - The Times of Israel

Category: Ashkenazi | Comments Off on The real reason G-d gave us the coronavirus! – The Times of Israel
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

The entertainment industry essentially ground to a halt in mid-March, as coronavirus swept the nation, rendering everything from concerts and movie theaters to publicity events and film shoots unsafe, if not illegal. We have to take our distractions where we can get them in these anxious times, so I for one have never been more grateful for television, which will presumably continue to put shiny new stories in front of our faces until its arsenal of stockpiled programming runs out. Whether youre an established TV fanatic or someone whos been spending a lot more time with the tube now that theres not much else to do for recreation, I humbly recommend these five standout new series from the past monthplus two honorable mentions in case youre running through your to-watch list more quickly than usual. For more suggestions, you can find Februarys edition here.

It makes sense that argument is the primary mode of conversation in The Plot Against America, an incisive six-episode series adapted from the 2004 Philip Roth novel that imagines an alternate history in which legendary aviator and America First mouthpiece Charles Lindbergh defeats Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1940 election. At the center of this saga from The Wire and The Deuce creator David Simon and his frequent collaborator Ed Burns are the Levins, a working-class Jewish family in Newark, NJ. Occupying two floors of a shared house, insurance agent Herman (Homelands Morgan Spector) and his wife Bess (Zoe Kazan) preside over a clan that includes their two sons, artistic teen Sandy (Caleb Malis) and sensitive 10-year-old Philip (Azhy Robertson from Marriage Story); Hermans orphaned, angry-young-man nephew Alvin (Anthony Boyle); and Evelyn (Winona Ryder), Bess older sister, whose life has been stymied by an obligation to care for their sick mother. Though they share blood, culture and heritage, each character reacts in a different way to Lindberghs ascent. And its their passionate debates, more than any sensational turn of events, that give the slow, deliberate show its resonance. [Read TIMEs full review.]

Desperate Housewives, The Stepford Wives, Douglas Sirk melodramas and just about every other pop-cultural depiction of the stultifying lives of women in suburbia are in the DNA of this strange and wonderful short-form series, which premieres March 29 on Adult Swim. But Debras, from Amy Poehlers Paper Kite Productions, does more than remix homemaker tropes la Weeds. Based on the avant-garde comedy creator-stars Sandy Honig, Mitra Jouhari and Alyssa Stonoha have been performing for years, the show is delightfully absurdist. The Debras wear stark white and deliver ridiculous lines (A Debra must be ready to conceive at all times) with mannered deliberateness. Sitcom clichs get stretched to extremes; Stonoha shoves a cop into a closet, exits wearing his uniform . . . and then he struts out in her characters pantsuit. Ingenious sight gags abound, from a woman pruning a hedge with shaving cream and a razor to a board game called Security Questions. [Read the full review.]

From creator Lena Waithe comes this light yet smart, easy-to-binge comedy about three black women in their, yes, 20s trying to carve out careers in Hollywood. Marie (Christina Elmore of The Last Ship) is a studio executive whose on-paper success belies her frustration at the way shes tokenized at work. In the wake of an acting career that peaked early, Nia (Gabrielle Graham) teaches yoga and halfheartedly dispenses wellness bromides. At center stage is Hattie, a suave, struggling would-be screenwriter whom we meet just as shes being evicted from her apartment. Following the last decades explosion of comedies about female friends navigating early adulthood together, from Insecure to Broad City to Girls, its this protagonista 24-year-old lesbian dandy based on Waithes younger self and played by charming newcomer Jonica Jojo Gibbswho makes the show unique. The assistant to a mercurial black, female super-producer whose output she finds mostly corny, Hattie is a mess of relatable post-adolescent contradictions: confident in her own talents but unable to get words on paper, prolific in her flirtations but hung up on the one woman who wont commit. Her insistence on making space amid the current African-American entertainment boom for great art, as opposed to celebrating mere representation, makes both Hattie and Waithe vanguards of that renaissances nascent second wave.

Built on the quiet intensity of a masterly lead performance by Shira Haas (an accomplished young Israeli actor best known in the U.S. for appearing alongside Jessica Chastain in The Zookeepers Wife), Unorthodox traces the transformation her sheltered character, Esty Shapiro, undergoes after fleeing a Hasidic Jewish sect in Brooklyn. Loosely based on a 2012 memoir that Deborah Feldman published just a few years after the aspiring writer took her young son and left both her husband and their isolated Satmar community, the miniseries recasts its hero as a would-be musician. With the help of her secular piano teacher, she hops a plane to Berlin, where her mother, Leah (Alex Reid from Britains Misfits)now disowned by her former neighborshas been living for many years since she left Estys alcoholic father. [Read the full review.]

What becomes of the cool kids when they grow up and all the things they used to love have gone out of fashion? This is a question of existential importance to Vernon Subutex, the antihero of this fascinating French series adapted from an acclaimed trilogy of novels by the author and filmmaker Virginie Despentes (Baise-moi). In the 90s, Vernon (Romain Duris, excellent) was the proprietor of Paris hippest record shop, Revolver, an unofficial clubhouse for the citys music scene. His most impressive friend-slash-customer was Alex Bleach (Athaya Mokonzi), a gravelly voiced rocker who soon ascended to fame. A few decades later, however, record stores are obsolete, a middle-aged Vernon has lost his apartment as well as his business and Alex, who has long struggled with substance abuse, is staging a comeback. But before Vernon can ride his old friends coattails to financial security, Alex dies of an overdoseand Vernon, now homeless, finds himself in possession of his last interview tapes. His quest to put a roof over his head leads our protagonist into a series of encounters with former cohorts, from a cranky screenwriter sponging off his posh wife to a histrionic ex-girlfriend of Alexs. Meanwhile, in a subplot that becomes one of the shows greatest pleasures, an entertainment-industry operative known as the Hyena (Cline Sallette), whose specialty is ruining reputations, and the arguably straight producer (Flora Fischbach) with whom shes infatuated are dispatched in search of the tapes by a mogul bent on adapting them into a docuseries.

Vernon Subutex is a surprisingly empathetic, sometimes-quite-funny show with a killer soundtrack that balances vivid storytelling, unique characters and sharp observations on nostalgia. Is it worth paying the $4.99/month fee for yet another streaming service (in this case, First Look Medias relatively highbrow video channel Topic)? If youre a fan of Despentes (or English-language authors like Kathy Acker and Nell Zink), love stories about music scenes, identify strongly with Gen X or just wish Hulus High Fidelity reboot were more realistic about the fate of record sellers in the 21st century, you owe it to yourself to at least sign up for the free 30-day trial.

Honorable Mentions

Love thinking about fate, free will and whether we live in a computer simulation but frustrated with gimmicky takes on those heady topics by shows like Westworld and Black Mirror? This flawed yet compelling, gorgeously shot and beautifully acted meditation on those subjects from Annihilation and Ex Machina filmmaker Alex Garland takes a more straightforward approach to the intersection of tech and philosophyand marks an auspicious start for FXs new streaming hub. [Read the full review.]

Mae (creator Mae Martin), a self-deprecating Canadian comic living in London, falls for George (Charlotte Ritchie), an upper-crust English rose with a tight group of basic, spoiled, judgmental friends. The couple quickly moves in together, despite the fact that each is hiding something major from the other; while Mae is a recovering addict, Georgewhos never dated a woman beforehas yet to tell her friends shes in a serious same-sex relationship. Short (just six half-hour episodes), sweet and funny, with Lisa Kudrow making delightful appearance as Maes mom, Feel Good does exactly what it says on the tin.

Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Contact us at editors@time.com.

Continue reading here:
The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in March 2020 - TIME

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month | Comments Off on The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in March 2020 – TIME
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

NEW YORK (JTA)-A hand-drawn portrait of a young man in a French internment camp. A photo of a Jewish girl who survived the Holocaust by hiding in a monastery. A letter detailing efforts to improve life for Jews in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp.

These are just a few of the 250 artifacts that the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has collected recently through a drive launched last month-around the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-to collect Holocaust-era artifacts from New Yorkers.

Most of the objects, including photographs, letters, documents, drawings and books, were donated by families of Holocaust survivors.

Fred Wasserman, the acquisitions curator for the museum's New York office, described collecting the materials as "a race against time," since the population of Holocaust survivors is aging and many have already died.

"It really is a matter of rescuing the evidence while we still can so that we can preserve this for future generations," he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Washington, D.C.-based museum decided to focus on New York because the city and surrounding area is home to a large population of Holocaust survivors and their descendants. The artifacts will join the museum's vast collection and many will be digitized.

Here are nine standout artifacts collected through the project:

A hand-drawn portrait of a young man in an internment camp

After the German annexation of Austria in 1938, 19-year-old Annie Windschauer left Vienna and followed her boyfriend, Fred Marot, to France. Marot was interned at Camp Bourg-Lastic in the Puy de Dome region. There he met a talented inmate, Felix Kalischer, who drew his portrait, which Marot sent to his girlfriend. Marot and Windschauer, in the small photo, survived the war and both eventually moved to the United States.

A photo of three Polish young women wearing yellow stars

This photo shows, from right to left, 17-year-old Ruchla Brukner with her friend Mindla Stahl and Brukner's cousin Fajgla Blada in their hometown of Slawkow, Poland, in 1940. The three young women are wearing the yellow stars that Nazis forced Jews to wear. All three survived the war, with Brukner enduring two concentration camps together with her sister Esther.

A photo of the Judenrat in Slawkow, Poland

During World War II, Germany required every Jewish community under its rule to establish a local council. The Judenrat, as it was called, had to ensure that Nazi regulations were implemented and provided basic community services. This photo shows members of the Judenrat in Slawkow posing by a sign that reads "Hunger, cold and illness are our greatest enemies. Fight them successfully with the Jewish Winter Welfare."

A discharge pass for a Polish Jew held in a German POW camp

Pesach Sass was a Jewish soldier in the Polish army who was captured by the Germans and put in a POW camp. But Sass, who can be seen in the photo in his uniform sitting next to his younger brother Shaya, got sick and was granted a pass to return to his hometown of Skalat. He arrived there just as the town was hit by typhoid and contracted the disease. He eventually recovered and survived the war by hiding in the woods with other family members and then fleeing to Italy.

A German refugee's pass to settle in Rhodesia

The only place that agreed to take in Bernhard Rosenthal was the British colony of Rhodesia, which today is Zimbabwe. He left Germany to settle there in 1938 and his wife, Hedwig, and their two children followed soon after. In Rhodesia, Bernhard was considered an enemy alien and had to check in with authorities every two weeks.

A photo of a young Jewish girl who took shelter in a monastery

Morris and Maria Zimmerman decided to hide their young daughter with nuns at a monastery. The couple from Bratislava, which is now part of Slovakia, eventually was deported to Theresienstadt but survived. When they tried to reclaim Hannah after the war, the nuns initially were reluctant to return her but eventually did. The Zimmermans later moved to the U.S. with the help of a cousin in Detroit, who signed an affidavit of support for them, which is shown here in the background.

A letter from an American soldier detailing the conditions in Dachau

Seymour Reiss penned a 10-page letter to his wife, Ethel, detailing the horrific conditions in the Dachau concentration camp, which the Army sergeant had visited two months after its liberation in 1945.

"We then went to the kennels where they left the dogs," wrote Reiss, seen in the small photo. "The dogs were kept hungry + trained to attack these prisoners. I saw the pole + dummy where they would hang the dummy, dressed in the striped suits that the prisoners wore. They would put a raw steak between the legs of the dummy + the dogs would leap for it + tear into it savagely. Paul (the Jewish prisoner) told us that many a stubborn prisoner was tamed by this method."

A photo of a Jewish woman who perished in Treblinka

Joseph Helfgott, a Polish Jew, kept this photo of his wife, Dwora, with him as he went through the Auschwitz, Mauthausen and Ebensee concentration camps. He frequently rubbed it with his thumb, which accounts for why the photo is so worn. Though Helfgott survived, his wife and their daughter Chana did not.

A letter detvailing efforts to improve life for Jews in Bergen-Belsen

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Gift of Mark Grinberg

This letter, written in Yiddish circa 1941 by Holocaust survivors in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp, details their efforts to improve Jewish life there. They wrote that they had organized houses of worship, a special fund for brides, kosher kitchens and slaughterhouses.

The letter goes on to say that much more work is needed and implored the survivors to pitch in for the Jewish community.

It was donated by a niece of Philip Kahan, a U.S. soldier who had emigrated from Romania in the 1930s and lost most of his family in the Holocaust. It is not clear how Kahan got the letter, but he carried it in his wallet until the day he died.

Those who would like to share Holocaust-related artifacts can contact the museum at curator@ushmm.org or 202-488-2649.

More here:
9 incredible donations to the US Holocaust Museum from New York family artifacts - Heritage Florida Jewish News

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month | Comments Off on 9 incredible donations to the US Holocaust Museum from New York family artifacts – Heritage Florida Jewish News
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

Now Showing: A needed dose of optimism.

Alas, with no pending shows to promote, the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank has decided to use its marquee to deliver daily messages of encouragement and support during the coronavirus crisis.

The theater has initiated Optimism Project to give passers-by a boost -- and to thank those who are going above and beyond during this unprecedented moment in history.

Recent messages prominently displayed outside the center at 99 Monmouth St. included:

Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank has started an "Optimism Project" where it graces its marquee each day with a quote from a notable New Jerseyan or a thank you to "local heroes."Courtesy Count Basie Center for the Arts

Heres a rundown of arts and entertainment events that have been canceled or rescheduled throughout the state to date.

STATEWIDE

Rutgers University announced all public events scheduled at the university through the month of May are suspended, including Rutgers Day and commencements at all campuses. Visit rutgers.edu for more information.

ATLANTIC COUNTY

Murphy has ordered the indefinite closing of all Atlantic City casinos.

Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City has postponed events at least until its May 9 Mothers Day concert with Fantasia and Keith Sweat. Visit boardwalkhall.com/events.

The Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival at the Atlantic City Convention Center has been moved from April 3-4 to Aug. 7-8. Visit acbeerfest.com for details.

The Stockton University Performing Arts Center on the Galloway campus has erased its schedule of all events through May. For more information contact 609-652-9000 or visit stocktonpac.org.

The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey has rescheduled the opening reception for its latest exhibit Talking about HERstory, at Noyes Arts Garage in Atlantic City, to April 11. Visit aahmsnj.org or call 609-350-6662.

BERGEN COUNTY

Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood has canceled, postponed or rescheduled shows through April 30, some of which already have secured new dates later this year. Due to the large volume of events that have been postponed or canceled, bergenPAC requests ticket holders wait to be contacted regarding their purchase. The Box Office windows will be temporarily closed but open via phone Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Box Office can be reached at 201-227-1030.

The Hackensack Performing Arts Center in Hackensack is canceling all events through April 16. Tickets purchased for PAC the House, James Maddock, Palisades Virtuosi and Rufus Reid, the Italian Chicks and The Tea Interview with the Stars will be automatically refunded to credit card accounts through Eventbrite. For more information visit hacpac.org.

The Belskie Museum of Art and Science in Closter is closed until further notice. Visit belskiemuseum.com or call 201-768-0286.

The Mahwah Museum in Mahwah is closed through March and aims to resume exhibits and programs in April, though lectures for April 2, April 4 and May 7 already have been postponed. Visit mahwahmuseum.org or call 201-512-0099.

BURLINGTON COUNTY

The Roebling Museum in Florence has suspended all public programming through April 8. Visit roeblingmuseum.org.

CAMDEN COUNTY

The Adventure Aquarium in Camden has suspended operations, but assures proper staffing will be maintained to care of the aquatic life and animals on site. It hopes to reopen in May. Visit adventureaquarium.com or call 844-474-3474.

The Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood has postponed or rescheduled concert dates through at least May 1. For information visit scottishriteauditorium.com or call 856-858-1000.

CAPE MAY COUNTY

The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities in Cape May has canceled or postponed all public programming, including tours of the Physick House Museum, the Cape May Lighthouse, the World War II Lookout Tower, and all Trolley Tours until further notice. Its cooperative event with local nonprofit and business partners, the April 3-5 Negro League Baseball Weekend also has been canceled.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

The Landis Theater in Vineland has opted to to postpone all shows and gatherings of any sort on theater property until further notice. Visit thelandistheater.com for updates.

The Levoy Theatre in Millville has rescheduled or postponed its slate of shows through May 15. Visit levoy.net or call 856-327-6400.

Wheaton Arts and Culture Center and the Museum of American Glass in Millville have suspended public programming until further notice. Keep tabs at wheatonarts.org or call 856-825-6800.

The Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts in Millville has closed until further notice, canceled all workshops and its planned May 30 spring fundraiser. Call 856-327-4500 or visit rrcarts.com.

ESSEX COUNTY

The Prudential Center in Newark has closed its facilities, offices, the Grammy Museum Experience and the RJWBarnabas Health Hockey House. New Jersey Devils games and events scheduled for the month of March and concerts until April 24 have been postponed. For questions, email guestservices@prucenter.com. For the up-to-date information, visit http://www.prucenter.com or http://www.newjerseydevils.com.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark has suspended all performances through June 1. All NJPAC arts education and community engagement programming also is canceled. For information call 888-466-5722 or visit njpac.org.

South Orange Performing Arts Center in South Orange has halted all shows through May 14. For information, call 973-313-2787, email boxoffice@sopacnow.org or visit sopacnow.org.

Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn has postponed its April production of Sister Act to a date yet determined, canceled three March childrens stage productions and suspended classed for eight weeks. It also announced it was putting its May world premiere production of The Wanderer on hold and canceling its May 15 fundraiser. Visit papermill.org or email boxoffice@papermill.org.

Luna Stage in West Orange has postponed its spring productions of Hooray for Ladyland! Gay History for Straight People" and "Shruti Gupta Can Totally Deal until further notice. Visit lunastage.org.

Wellmont Theater in Montclair has postponed all shows on its schedule through May 15. For information visit wellmonttheater.com or call 973-783-9500.

Peak Performances April 2-5 world premiere of Kate Sopers opera The Romance of the Rose at Kasser Theater on the Montclair State University campus in Montclair has been postponed and the May 7-10 staging of Familie Flozs Hotel Paradiso is bumped to next season. For updates, visit peakperfs.org.

Outpost in the Burbs, based at the First Congregational Church in Montclair, has postponed all seven concerts on its bill, rescheduling some of them to fall dates. Visit outpostintheburgs.org.

The Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck has canceled all March events. Visit puffinculturalforum.org or call 201-836-3499 for updates.

The Newark Museum of Art in Newark is closed until May 28. Visit newarkmuseumart.org or call 973-596-6550.

The Montclair Art Museum in Montclair is closed until further notice. For updates, visit montclairartmuseum.org or check social media pages.

The Jewish Museum of New Jersey in Newark has canceled its Reinventing Eve exhibit and is closed to the public. Visit jewishmuseumnj.org.

The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Montclair is shut until further notice. Look for updates at yogiberramuseum.org.

The Nutley Museum in Nutley has canceled all events through April. Call 973-667-1528 or visit nutleyhistoricalsociety.org

GLOUCESTER COUNTY

Broadway Theatre of Pitman has closed its doors through May 15. Call 856-384-8381 or visit thebroadwaytheatre.org.

Rowan University College of Performing Arts has canceled the March 28 Cashore Marionettes performance at Pfleeger Concert Hall on its Glassboro campus. Visit rowan.edu.

The Heritage Glass Museum in Glassboro will be closed until further notice. Contact heritageglassmuseum.com or call 856-881-7468.

HUDSON COUNTY

The Liberty Science Center in Jersey City is closed through March. Those who purchased advance tickets will have the option of a refund or donating the ticket price to the center. Visit lsc.org or call 201-200-1000.

HUNTERDON COUNTY

Music Mountain Theatre in Lambertville has put its productions on hold, aiming to raise its curtain again for the June 12 opening of Anything Goes. The April 11-May 2 young audience production of Disneys the Lions King Experience Kids will move to a date to be determined. Visit musicmountaintheatre.org for more information.

Stangl Stage in Flemington has canceled its March 28 The THE BAND Band concert. It reports it will be in touch with ticket holders to arrange refunds. stanglstate.com.

The Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton is closed until further notice but has posted three Virtual Exhibitions online: Explorations in Felt in collaboration with Fiber Art Network; Yael Eisner -- Member Highlight" and Young Arts Showcase. Visit hunterdonartmuseum.org.

The Red Mill Museum Village will be closed at least through the end of March. Visit theredmill.org.

The ACME Screening Room in Lambertville is closed but has made virtual screening of its bill of films available online. A $12 ticket makes the selected film available for five days. Visit acmescreeningroom.org/upcoming-events.

MERCER COUNTY

McCarter Theatre in Princeton has suspended all performances, classes and other events through June. For information, visit mccarter.org or call 609-258-2787.

Passage Theatre at the Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton has pushed its production of Mother (and Me from March 20-22 to June 19-21. Look online at passagetheatre.org.

The New Jersey State Museum in Trenton is closed until further notice. Visit state.nj.us/state/museum.

The 1719 William Trent House Museum in Trenton has suspended operations until at least April 1. For information visit williamtrenthouse.org or call 609-989-0087.

Old Barracks Museum in Trenton is closed until further notice but has opened a new online exhibit titled When Women Vote: The Old Barracks and the Anti-Suffrage Movement. For more information visit barracks.org/whenwomenvote.

Mercer County has shut down activities at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, forcing the cancellation of Disney on Ice later this month. Next event tentatively scheduled for the venue is the Adam Sandler show on April 23. For information visit cureinsurancearena.com.

The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie is closed until April, postponing the opening of Ellarslie Open 37. Visit ellarslie.org.

The Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market at Roebling Wire Works in Trenton has been moved from April 4-5 to May 30-31. Visit trentonprfm.com or email trentonpunkrockfleamarket@gmail.com

The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton is closed until further evaluation. Programming has been canceled through May 5. For information, visit groundsforsculpture.org or call 609-586-0616.

All Princeton University public events are suspended and the Princeton University Art Museum is closed through March. Visit Princeton.edu for updates.

Kelsey Theatre on the Mercer County Community College campus in West Windsor has canceled Chicken Dance," 33 Variations and Parade." The theater will contact ticket holders to make further arrangements. Visit kelsey.mccc.edu for more.

1867 Sanctuary in Ewing has postponed all events through April 5. For information visit 1867sanctuary.org.

Rider University Arts has canceled on- and off-campus Westminster Choir College and Rider events through April 15. Visit rider.edu/arts.

Morven Museum and Garden in Princeton is closed to April 1. Visit morven.org.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick has canceled or postponed most programming through April. Ticket holders will be notified by email and phone of their options. For more information visit stnj.org or call 732- 246-7469.

Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick has pushed back its opening for Freedom Rider from April to Sept. 10. Visit crossroadstheatrecompany.org or call 732-545-8100.

George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick has suspended the remaining performances of Conscience" and has shifted its April 21-May 17 performances of A Walk on the Moon to next season. Contact 732-246-7717 or georgestplayhouse.org.

The Avenel Performing Arts Center in Avenel has Bodiographys April 3-5 performances to Oct. 2-4. Contact 732-314-0500 or avenelarts.com.

East Jersey Old Town Village and the Cornelius Low House Museum in Piscataway are closed until further notice. Season opening weekend scheduled for April 4- 5 and the Liberty Base Ball Club home opener on April 4 have been canceled. For updates, text CULTURE to 56512.

MONMOUTH COUNTY

Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank has postponed performances through mid-April, with some events already rescheduled for later this year. Ticket holders unable to make any new dates should contact the box office at 732-842-9000 to make alternate arrangements. The April Count Basie Center Teen + College FilmFest screening have been shifted to a free online streaming. Visit thebasie.org for updates.

Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal has suspended all productions through April 20, including Matilda the Musical, Satchmo and Friends in New Orleans and Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater. For information call 732-531-9106 or visit axelrodartscenter.com.

The Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan has postponed shows through May 17. Visit algonquinarts.org for updates.

Monmouth University Center for the Arts in West Long Branch has postponed scheduled events through April 10. Visit monmouth.edu/mca for updates.

The Garden State Film Festival, scheduled for March 25-29, will resort to live streaming of its films for ticket holders through its private servers. Physical festival events such as industry activities, workshops and panels have been canceled. Visit http://www.gsff.org.

The Asbury Park Boardwalk has temporarily closed venues along the Asbury Park waterfront, which include The Stone Pony, Wonder Bar, Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre; it also encompasses the Grand Arcade (the passthrough located between the Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall) and its retailers, restaurants and public restrooms. For all other establishments along the boardwalk, refer to that businesss website and social platforms for their policies and updates. For information, visit apboardwalk.com.

Spring Lake Theatre Company has postponed the planned March 20 opening its production of Monty Pythons Spamalot at the Spring Lake Community House, hoping for a new opening date of April 17. Call 732-449-4530 or visit springlaketheatre.com.

Two River Theater in Red Bank has suspended all performances through May 10. Look online at tworivertheater.org for updated information.

New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch has canceled its remaining March-April dates of The Promotion. Visit njrep.org.

The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County has suspended all programming through April. Visit jhmomc.org.

The Monmouth Museum in Lincroft is closed until further notice. Visit monmouthmuseum.org or call 732-224-1995.

The Monmouth Civic Chorus has canceled its March 29 concert at First Presbyterian Church of Freehold in Freehold. For information contact monmouthcivicchorus.org or 732- 933-9333.

MORRIS COUNTY

Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown has suspended performances through May 7. All ticket holders will be contacted with more details. For information, call 973- 539-8008 or visit mayoarts.org.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey has postponed both its April 18 gala and its April 28 unveiling ceremony honoring Gov. Thomas H. Kean. The companys annual gala, which will honor artistic director Bonnie J. Montes 30 years with the company, is rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, and a new date for the unveiling ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks. Both events will happen at STNJs Kean Theatre Factory, located in Florham Park. In the meantime, the theater is moving forward with plans for its 2020 season, set to kick off on May 20 with Matthew Barbers Enchanted April.

Drew University in Madison has canceled its public events through March. Visit drew.edu for more information.

The Spring CraftMorristown scheduled for March 27-29 at the Morristown National Guard Armory has been postponed to a date to be determined. For information, visit artider.com or call 845-331-7900.

The Morris Museum in Morristown and its Bickford Theater will be closed to the public until further notice. All upcoming ticketed events have been postponed and will be rescheduled for later dates. For information, call 973-971-3700 or visit morrismuseum.org.

Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown has canceled programming and will remain closed until March 31 and has postponed all April programming. Visit macculloughhall.org or call 973-538-2404.

The Museum of Early Trades and Crafts has postponed public programs and plans to issue daily updates at metc.org.

Read more from the original source:
Coronavirus in New Jersey: What concerts, festivals and shows have been rescheduled, canceled. (3/27/20) - NJ.com

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month | Comments Off on Coronavirus in New Jersey: What concerts, festivals and shows have been rescheduled, canceled. (3/27/20) – NJ.com
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 28, 2020

(aka Lois Lane*)

Last year, Jason Mendelsohn (aka SupermanHPV) spoke on Capitol Hill at a Congressional Briefing titled "Let's End HPV-related Cancers." During his talk, in which he shared his human-papillomavirus-related (HPV) cancer-survivor story, he showed a 2-minute video of pictures of his family life, hospital stays for treatment, and ringing the bell in celebration of his recovery. The song accompanying the photos was "If You're Going Through Hell" by Rodney Atkins. Mendelsohn's mom, Toby, recommended this song as it was most appropriate:

"If you're going through hell keep on going/Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it/You might get out before the devil even knows you're there. I've been deep down in that darkness/I've been down to my last match/Felt a hundred different demons breathin' fire down my back..."

Mendelsohn can relate to the words. He was diagnosed with stage-4 HPV-related tonsil cancer in 2014, fought the grueling fight to recovery and the aftermath, and now has been cancer free for five years. But just because he is freed from the cancer demon doesn't mean he put it all behind him. Not this man who earned the nickname "SupermanHPV" while undergoing cancer treatment.

Mendelsohn now uses that persona as a passionate spokesman for several organizations to educate as many people as possible about human-papillomavirus, its relationship to cancer and how it is preventable. He serves on the executive board for the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance and is active with the American Cancer Society's HPV Round Table. He launched http://www.SupermanHPV.com, because he feels responsible for the protection of boys and girls from HPV preventable cancers. His website provides inspiration and information for those diagnosed and/or researching HPV, the HPV vaccine and HPV related cancers.

Like his fictional superhero namesake, Mendelsohn has traveled the world almost "faster than a speeding bullet," trekking from speaking engagements in Dublin, Ireland to Des Moines, Iowa in the same month. In the past few years, Mendelsohn has been on podcasts; TV interviews; radio shows; and featured in several newspaper articles, including a feature article in the Chinese Epoch Times; and writing an article for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (read it here https://nfid.wordpress.com/2018/06/17/supermanhpv-truth-justice-and-cancer-prevention/). He also participated with PRIME CME in their HPV video module titled"The Burden of HPV-Associated Cancers: A Patient Perspective."

Most recently, he spoke at the Moffitt Cancer Center's Florida Leadership Summit to Eliminate HPV-Related Cancers. In June, Mendelsohn will head to Pennsylvania to speak at the Pennsylvania Immunization Conference, and in July he will address the Survivor Symposium in Chicago. He has been asked to share his cancer story at meetings in Michigan, Wyoming and Iowa.

His message is always the same: HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers (cancers of the tonsils, base of tongue and throat) can be prevented by having children (boys and girls), beginning at age 9, vaccinated for HPV. Currently, there are three vaccines approved for the prevention of HPV: Gardasil VIS*, Gardasil9 and Cervarix (exclusively for girls). These vaccines are one of the best ways parents can prevent HPV-related cancer in their children. Mendelsohn also suggests regular dentist or physician visits and ask that they perform an oral, head and neck exam at each visit.

There are two reasons for vaccinating at a young age: once exposed to HPV (which is possible after becoming sexually active) the vaccine could be less effective; and given at a young age, the body can easily absorb the vaccine, according to information from the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance.

"I want people to understand that 3 out of 4 adults by age 30 have HPV, 62 percent of freshmen in college, and men between the ages 40 and 60 are the most highly diagnosed with HPV-related cancers," Mendelsohn told the Heritage. HPV can lay dormant in the body for decades. In Mendelsohn's case, he learned that he probably contracted the virus while in college, 32 years earlier. He wishes the vaccine existed when he was a young boy, so that he would have likely not been diagnosed with HPV related tonsil cancer.

The Atkins' song continued to describe Mendelsohn's mission:

"But the good news is there's angels everywhere out on the street/Holdin' out a hand to pull you back up on your feet..."

In addition to educating people about HPV, Mendelsohn is an angel to those recovering from cancer treatment, their caregivers and other survivors, giving them hope and encouragement. On average, two to four survivors reach out to him every week, from countries all over the world. He is currently speaking with patients in Nigeria, Israel, India, and Canada, as well as throughout the United States. "They feel alone," he said very seriously at the Congressional Briefing. He understands what cancer survivors are going through, telling them that they will get back to their life before cancer. Knowing that others go through these same ordeals helps cancer survivors deal with their own side effects and not feel alone in the struggle.

They always have questions about what he went through-a radical tonsillectomy, neck dissection (42 lymph nodes removed), feeding tube, followed by seven weeks of chemo and radiation.

Many think that once the bell is rung (signifying cancer treatment is over) life will go on as it did before the cancer.

"The treatment was brutal," Mendelsohn said. "The last day of treatment I thought was the best day of my life-but it got much worse."

After five weeks of radiation, he also had third-degree burns in his throat. His saliva was so thick he couldn't swallow and had to spit it out constantly for approximately a month. He suffered gagging and choking 30+ times a day and would go to sleep fully hydrated and wake up two hours later completely dehydrated because of the burns sucking the fluid from the inside out. His new normal is getting Charlie horses in his neck every day and he uses a fluoride toothpaste and gel trays on a daily basis to keep his teeth strong, and his mouth healthy.

His wife of 23 years, Ronni, and their three children (Ryan, Lauren and Adam) continue to be his motivation to protect other families from the hell his family went through in 2014. He loves them more than anything. "No kids should ever have to worry that their father or mother is going to die from an HPV preventable cancer, and no father should ever have to make videos to his wife and kids saying goodbye like I did in 2014," he said.

To learn more about tonsil, tongue and throat HPV-related cancers, visit the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, http://www.headandneck.org as well as http://www.SupermanHPV.com.

*Jason Mendelsohn refers to Christine DeSouza as Lois Lane because she was the first person to share his SupermanHPV story, which has since been picked up in Jewish newspapers all across the country.

Visit link:
SupermanHPV still fighting the good fight against HPV-related cancers - Heritage Florida Jewish News

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month | Comments Off on SupermanHPV still fighting the good fight against HPV-related cancers – Heritage Florida Jewish News
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 27, 2020

Every Passover, I add a little extra discussion to the seder table by serving a few dishes based on international Jewish foodways. This year Im spicing up my gefilte fish (and stuffing it in peppers) and serving a matzah casserole with bitter greens and a lemon-egg sauce.

Many Ashkenazi Jews who settled in Mexico (and in Central and South America) add some spice to traditional Eastern European foods, which inspired me to add salsa to gefilte fish. Since the word gefilte actually means stuffed or filled, I decided to stuff the fish into small, sweet peppers. Serve this dish as you would regular gefilte fish, or use as an appetizer as gefilte fish poppers.

Mina is the name for a dish traditional to Sephardic seders: a layered matzah casserole. My recipe below is vegetarian, stuffed with bitter greens tamed by Swiss chard and chopped fennel. I used dandelion greens (believed by some to be the original bitter herbs). Leeks are a Sephardic Passover food and fennel is an Italian-Jewish seder choice. Shumar (fennel in Hebrew) is said to sound similar to the phrase in Exodus for Pesach night, leil shimurim (the night of watching, or watchfulness). The sauce is adapted from traditional Passover recipes used by Greek Jews.

Each recipe also has a variation. For the mina, add sliced hard boiled eggs and chopped olives to make it a vegetarian entree rather than a side dish. For the gefilte fish, try stuffing in poblano peppers for an even spicer dish.

Passover begins on the night of April 8 this year.

Heat half the oil in a 12-inch saut pan over medium-high heat. Saut onions and leeks until softened. Add 1 Tbs. garlic, saut until golden. Stir in 1 tsp. paprika, half the salt and pepper, 1 Tbs. minced fennel fronds (or parsley) and 1 tsp. lemon zest. Add chopped fennel bulb; saut until fennel is tender. Remove to large bowl. Do not wash the pan.

Add 2 Tbs. oil to pan, saut 1 tsp. garlic until golden. Stir in 1 tsp. paprika and remaining salt and pepper. Add chard and dandelion greens. Saut until wilted. Taste. If bitter, stir in sugar, adding more as needed. Combine greens with fennel. Taste. Adjust seasonings.

Make lemon-egg sauce (see below).

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Place heated stock in rimmed dish large enough to fit matzah. Quickly dip both sides of one matzah so the sheet begins to soften. Place flat in baking dish. Top with half of the vegetables. Spoon a quarter of the lemon sauce over vegetables. Dip a second sheet of matzah in stock, place on top. Spread remaining vegetables on top, spoon another fourth of sauce on top. Dip remaining matzah. Place on top. Cover with another fourth of sauce, sprinkle with remaining paprika. Lightly cover with foil. Bake 25 minutes, remove foil and bake about 20 minutes until sauce is bubbly and top matzah is crisped. Serve hot, warm or room temperature. Just before serving, drizzle with remaining sauce (reheated if necessary) and sprinkle with remaining garlic, fennel fronds and lemon zest.

Lemon-egg sauce: Stir together until well combined (or process until smooth in blender) 4 large, beaten eggs; 1 tsp. lemon zest; 1 cups fresh lemon juice; 2 Tbs. matzah cake meal; and tsp. salt. Place in pot and whisk in 2 cups room-temperature vegetable stock or water. Simmer over low to medium-low heat (do not boil), whisking almost constantly until reduced by half. Taste. Add salt if needed. Strain to remove any bits of cooked egg.

As a main course: Hard boil 6 large eggs. Once cool, thinly slice into rounds. Chop cup pitted, drained olives (green, Kalamata or pimento-stuffed) into -inch pieces. After the first batch of greens is spread on top of the matzah, arrange half the egg slices on top in a single layer. Top with egg lemon sauce as directed. Scatter half of the chopped olives on top of the sauce, then cover with a second matzah. Repeat. Continue as directed in recipe.

Notes: If desired, replace bitter greens with additional chard. To serve 10 to 12 people, use 9-by-14-inch pan. Double filling and sauce (make in batches). Use 8 to 10 matzahs. For each layer, place two side by side and use pieces of others to fill gaps.

Prepare salsa. Oil a rimmed baking sheet. Choose peppers that are about 2 to 3 inches long and lay flat. Leave stems on. Slit peppers horizontally, leaving connected at tip and stem ends. Pull out seeds.

Place fish, lemon juice and eggs in food processor. Process until pured. Scrape into large bowl. Process carrot, onion and celery in food processor (no need to clean the work bowl) until minced but not pured. Combine in bowl with fish and cup salsa. Sprinkle with matzah meal, salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano cayenne. Mix thoroughly. Taste a spoonful of batter. Add salt, cayenne and sugar, as needed.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Firmly pack fish into peppers, mounding an inch above top. Place on prepared sheet, bake 25 to 30 minutes until the peppers are tender and filling is firm and lightly browned. Serve hot, warm or room temperature, topped with cilantro and remaining salsa. Pass horseradish if desired.

Passover salsa: Combine cup fresh diced tomatoes, Tbs. minced garlic, 2 Tbs. finely chopped garlic, 1 Tbs. minced jalapeo (or to taste; remove seeds for milder flavor) and 2 Tbs. finely chopped cilantro or parsley. Mix. Add tsp. salt and 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice. Stir well. Use cup for recipe. Refrigerate remainder and reserve for another use.

Notes: This recipe doubles very easily. Bags of mini sweet peppers are available in the produce section at your supermarket. You can substitute small red, yellow and/or orange bell peppers, if desired. Cut in half top to bottom, lay flat and stuff.

Variation: Choose about 1 to 2 lbs. of poblano peppers that will lay relatively flat on the baking sheet. (For individual servings, choose the smallest possible or use larger peppers and serve in slices.) Prep peppers as above. Make the gefilte fish stuffing and fill peppers as directed above. Bake about 30 to 40 minutes (timing will vary depending on size, see cooking directions as above). Serve whole hot, warm or room temperature. If slicing, allow larger stuffed peppers to cool slightly then cut into rounds or sections before serving. Poblano peppers have a stronger chili taste and will be spicier than the sweet mini or bell peppers. Garnish as above and/or top with small chunks of fresh avocado.

Visit link:

Gefilte fish poppers and matzah casserole add new flavor to seder - The Jewish News of Northern California

Category: Sephardic | Comments Off on Gefilte fish poppers and matzah casserole add new flavor to seder – The Jewish News of Northern California
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 27, 2020

WALTHAM, Mass. (JTA) Like so many others, I am feeling the spiritual loss and pain of our current inability to learn Torah and pray together in person. Many mourners are devoted to the customary recitation of Kaddish for a deceased close relative and struggling with how to do so in the absence of a minyan.

Some rabbis are encouraging internet-based solutions to hold us over until this crisis abates. Im concerned that those solutions come with a significant cost.

The decision to blur virtual reality with actual reality and relax the rules of minyan should not be taken lightly. Well-intentioned rabbis may think they are permitting something on a temporary basis, but the implications could be far-reaching. After we flatten the curve of this pandemic, I wonder if people will still appreciate that, in Rambams formulation, there is a spiritual value of running to the synagogue. Will it not seem more convenient to log in from home?

Here are some of the solutions other rabbis are offering, why I believe they fall short and an alternative suggestion.

While most Orthodox authorities maintain that a minyan consists of 10 adult men gathered together in one place, others argue that the minimum requirement is for them simply to be able to see each other (Pesahim 85b, Rambams Laws of Prayer 8:7 and Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 55:13-14). Since we generally resolve doubts about the rabbinic requirements for a minyan leniently, the argument goes, we can consider videoconferencing as seeing each other as leading Israeli rosh yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Melamed has reportedly argued. Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosefs variation on this is that if 10 adult men are physically in one place, then others can join via the web.

These arguments are a leap of imagination. On a video call, we see images of others, but it is not the same as seeing someone through an open door or window.

Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, a rosh yeshiva, or head of school, in Israel, has taken a different approach by questioning what would be so terrible about saying Kaddish at home without a minyan. Since Kaddish does not mention Gods name, saying the prayer at home privately, though not ideal, would not constitute taking Gods name in vain. In our situation, Rabbi Cherlow correctly says, the greater transgression would be to violate the instructions of the health authorities.

This offers a possibly meaningful option for mourners, but I believe it obscures the uniqueness of Kaddish. While most prayers are a dialogue between God and people, the Kaddish is a conversation between people. Talmudic sources note that the merit of Kaddish is for those who respond (Shabbat 119b and Berakhot 57a). All of this is missed when someone says the words alone.

Students often tell me that friendships and relationships are stronger when they arent conducted through screens and devices, and that they are seeking more personal ways of connecting with one another outside of the classroom. No device can replace the emotional energy of dozens of students singing together on Shabbat afternoon. And while fewer minyan attendees on campus need to say Kaddish than do at a synagogue, the responsibility to physically be at services to support a friend saying Kaddish is a powerful opportunity to shape ones character.

Our ancestors created legitimate substitutions for Kaddish when a minyan wasnt available, or when someone arrived late to shul, by using biblical verses with words similar to Kaddish and we would do well to avail ourselves of those solutions now. According to the 13th-century workSefer Hasidim, a person who lives in a village without a minyan or who arrived late to the communal prayer after they had already said may Gods great name can say a modified version of the traditional prayer privately at home.

A small number of American Orthodox synagogues, including the one I attend in this Boston suburb under the guidance of Rabbi Benjamin Samuels, learn Torah together online and then allow mourners to recite a medieval Kaddish for an individual poem (two versions available here in the original Hebrew and in translation).

This approach allows us to maintain the integrity of communal prayer and locate a solution within the tradition without stretching halacha (Jewish law) beyond its limits.

We have rushed to get our normal lives online prayer services, lectures, music lessons, Torah learning and school. But we may be deluding ourselves by trying to live normal lives during a pandemic. Life right now is drastically different. We need to find ways to nurture strong interpersonal ties and maintain our traditions so that our communities will still be there when we are ready to go back to them.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

Read the original:

You don't need Zoom or Skype to say Kaddish without a minyan. Here's a healthier option for the community. - JTA News

Category: Sephardic | Comments Off on You don’t need Zoom or Skype to say Kaddish without a minyan. Here’s a healthier option for the community. – JTA News
Tags:

Posted By admin on March 27, 2020

REVERB is a new documentary series from CBSN Originals. Watch the episode "Extremists Next Door" in the video player above.

As cities and countries around the world take drastic steps to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus, extremist groups are trying to use the pandemic to radicalize people online.

According to a report released by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, "Supporters of domestic and international extremist groups have encouraged followers to conduct attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic to incite panic, target minorities and immigrants, and celebrate the deaths of their enemies."

Oren Segal, the vice president of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, says the ADL has been monitoring how extremist groups have been weaponizing the outbreak for several months. "Extremists never miss an opportunity to leverage a crisis to amplify their agendas," Segal said. "Whether it's blaming Asians or Jews or others that's just part of their fundamental ideology, is to blame others for world problems."

As the New Jersey report noted, it fits a familiar pattern: "In order to remain relevant, extremists routinely manipulate crises to validate their ideologies and incite potential attackers."

Already, Chinese-Americans and people of other Asian ethnicities have reported a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes and a disturbing rise in anti-Asian rhetoric connected to the virus.

"I think that the ease at which some people are referring to this as the Wuhan flu, Chinese virus or the 'Kung-Flu' is damaging," Segal said. "That is just casting doubt on a whole community and American Chinese and American Asian communities."

Segal says the goal of extremist groups is to feed off of the fear, anxiety and uncertainty that people are experiencing due to the crisis.

"People in desperate times embrace all sorts of ideas maybe they normally wouldn't in order to make themselves feel better," he said. "And that's what extremists are providing: somebody to blame."

Kieren Aris has been tracking how extremist groups have weaponized COVID-19 for Moonshot CVE, a London-based group that aims to disrupt and end violent extremism.

"Looking at the conversations that these people are having in their communities, they definitely are talking about how they use this crisis to draw people into their groups to recruit," Aris said.

Groups like white supremacists use moments of chaos as part of a theory called accelerationism the idea that participating in mass attacks will accelerate the collapse of social structures and enable a rebuilding of society in the form of a racially pure nation.

"They are using this to justify how the liberal democratic order is not right and not working," Aris explained. "They see this crisis as an opportunity to bring about social chaos. That confusion is a fertile ground for people to be exploited and taken advantage of ... and those narratives tend to talk about duty or a call to action or a rallying cry to say we need to go out and spread this virus."

On online message boards known for trafficking in white supremacy, threads about the coronavirus include discussions about using the virus to target non-white communities. Hashtags like #sneezethenshake and #spreadcorona have emerged, as well as memes encouraging people who become infected to go to mosques and temples.

"They're talking about actively spreading the virus," Aris said, adding that "99.9 percent of those people are just sh**posting and taking advantage of the situation, but there are people who will look at that who are experiencing a lot of issues right now, they're facing loneliness, frustration, diminishing mental health, they're isolated, they may have economic concerns they may have lost their job. They could be looking at that and they could be feeling very frustrated and see that as something to give them a bit of purpose right now."

The online message boards have also become flooded with conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus. Aris, who has been monitoring sites like 4chan, 8kun and the messaging platform Telegram, says the conspiracy theories most prevalent on the sites tend to beanti-Semitic.

Segal says the Anti-Defamation League is concerned that this online rhetoric could lead to real-life harm.

"Conspiracy theories are the lifeblood of anti-Semitism," he told CBS News. "One of the key hallmarks of anti-Semitism over the years has been this concept that Jews control and manipulate world events at the expense of non-Jews. And so, whether it's war or it's a financial crisis or whether it's a global pandemic anti-Semitism always pops up."

With businesses and schools largely shut down, Segal fears that more people spending time online will potentially be exposed to propaganda pushed by extremist groups.

"It's on gaming platforms, like Steam and Discord. I mean, it's on TikTok. It's everywhere," he said. "That's the thing we need to remember, as our kids are probably spending even more time on streams now because they are not in school these are the same spaces where extremists operate."

Read the original here:
Extremists are using the coronavirus to radicalize and spread conspiracies online - CBS News

Category: Anti-Defamation League | Comments Off on Extremists are using the coronavirus to radicalize and spread conspiracies online – CBS News
Tags: