Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

JERUSALEM (JTA) Israel held its unprecedented third election in less than a year on Monday and, yet again, the results raised more questions than answers.

At first it seemed as if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had finally garnered the votes he needed to break the longstanding impasse and consolidate his power. The final tally, however, paints a less than clear picture.

But the numbers arent the only issue creating news. In fact, Monday was only the start of a new round of negotiating, debating and, if youre an Israeli, dreading the possibility of a record fourth election.

Here are the developments to watch as Israeli politics descends further into untested waters.

First, the results

Overall, it was a good election for Netanyahus Likud party, which ended up with 36 seats (or 29.5 percent of the vote), its best showing in the past three elections. But the right-wing bloc that Netanyahu was counting on to form a ruling government coalition has finished at 58 seats, still three shy of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. (Exit polls announced on Monday night had the right-wing bloc at 60, spitting distance from a majority.)

His centrist challengers, Blue and White, headed by former Israeli army chief of staff Benny Gantz, finished with 33 seats (or 26.6 percent of the vote), its total from the last election, in September.

The Joint List of mostly Arab parties won 15 seats (or 12.6 percent of the vote), its strongest showing ever. That will send a hijab-wearing lawmaker Iman Khatib-Yassin of the Raam party to the Knesset for the first time.

Also headed to the new parliament are a record number of women, 30, and Arab lawmakers, 17. Two of the new lawmakers are American, and 21 were not born in Israel, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.

Among the smaller parties, the Sephardic Orthodox Shas picked up nine seats; the haredi Orthodox United Torah Judaism, Avigdor Libermans Yisrael Beiteinu and the left-wing Labor-Gesher-Meretz alliance each won seven; and the right-wing Yamina had six.

(The results are minus the votes from six small polling stations where voting irregularities are alleged. But they amount to a total of 5,000 votes, which is not seen as enough to change the results.)

Then comes the drama over who gets to form a government

The results will be made official on Monday, when the chairman of the Central Elections Committee hands the results to President Reuven Rivlin. Rivlin then has seven days to consult with all the party heads and hear their recommendations on the best candidate to form a governing coalition.

Based on the numbers, Rivlin will likely tap Netanyahu, as he did following the elections in April and September.

Ironically, that decision could fall on March 17 the day that Netanyahus corruption trial begins in Jerusalem. Thats when things get even more complicated (more on that below).

The kingmaker is still the kingmaker, if he wants to be

We have written several times about how Avigdor Liberman, a secular right-wing hawk who has served as Netanyahus defense minister, held the key to forming a large enough coalition for both Netanyahu and Gantz, the prime ministers chief rival. For instance, with Yisrael Beiteinus seven seats, combined with other center and left parties including the mostly Arab Joint List Gantz could break through with a majority.

But Liberman, a staunch nationalist, still refuses to sit in a government with Arab lawmakers. So the mathematical dilemma persists for Gantz and for Netanyahu. Liberman balks at joining a government with the religious and haredi Orthodox parties, plus he despises the prime minister and has no desire to help him. (The two had a bad break in 2018, when Liberman resigned over a cease-fire that Netanyahu called with Palestinian terrorist groups).

For the record, Liberman supports giving Gantz a chance to form a coalition and desperately wants to avoid forcing a fourth election. Without the Arab contingent, however, that backing doesnt do Gantz much good.

In any case, the head of the Joint List, Ayman Odeh, says he wont back either Netanyahu nor Gantz as head of a potential government, so Liberman apparently doesnt have much to worry about.

Gantz has another trick up his sleeve

Reports on Wednesday said that as soon as the Knesset is sworn in, Gantz would propose a bill that would prohibit any lawmaker under indictment from forming a government a direct shot at Netanyahu, who was indicted last fall in three corruption cases (read more about those here). The Joint List lawmakers and Liberman support the idea.

But Gantz is considering having the law apply after the formation of the next Knesset, and that wouldnt take effect quick enough to hamper Netanyahu. Liberman would like to see it apply immediately, and his party also supports term limit legislation, restricting a prime minister to two terms. (Netanyahu has already served four terms and is vying for a fifth.)

Netanyahu responded in a public address on Wednesday evening, sharply criticizing Gantz about the bill and for the possibility of forming a coalition with the largely Arab parties.

The move Gantz is leading undermines the foundations of democracy, he said. He is trying to cancel out what the people determined.

Gantz responded with this tweet: Bibi, have a drink of water, wait for the final results and promise to respect them.

How coronavirus plays into this

As many as 80,000 Israelis have been quarantined in the wake of the virus spread.

The March 16 Knesset swearing-in ceremony will be limited to the elected lawmakers and their significant others thats a first. There will probably be Purell instead of champagne, and we dont imagine well see much in the way of handshaking.

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All the drama that has happened in Israeli politics since this week's election - JTA News

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

The Forward invited the 15 parties contending for the World Zionist Congress elections, which end March 11, to write an article about why readers should support them. Eight responded by our deadline (well happily publish the others; contact kunza@forward.com). The parties are presented in alphabetical order.

The American delegates to the Congress help allocate nearly $5 billion to Jewish organizations and programs in Israel and around the world. Read more about the election process here.

The first Zionist congress took place over 120 years ago in Basle, Switzerland presided over by Theodor Herzl. Some called his idea of reestablishing a Jewish State an illusion. Yet today, the State of Israel thrives, and Herzls vision continues. The World Zionist Congress is now holding its 38th election.

In 1897, a diverse collection of Jewish groups gathered at this historic conference which continues to this day. Among them was a newly established group called the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). As the only American group to be present at Herzls First Zionist Congress, the ZOA is proud of its history.

As it did in the past, the ZOA continues to promote the importance of Aliyah, the defense of Jewish rights worldwide and the promotion of a proud Zionist and Jewish identity. The fight against Antisemitism and the importance of building in Israel are as important today as they were then.

Today, the ZOA has revolutionized Zionist activism. While maintaining Herzls historic vision, this activism has been upgraded for the internet age.

The new battleground for young Jewish-Americans is the narrative war. We must stand proud and not be ashamed to use the terms Judea and Samaria for the heartland of Israel. The ZOA was in the forefront of pushing for the US embassy to be relocated to Israels capital and continues to advocate for a united Jerusalem. The dangers of an Iranian-funded terrorist entity along Israels borders need to be exposed.

This is why over 20 like-minded Jewish group have joined together to form the ZOA Coalition slate #11. A diverse mix of American-Jews sharing the common ideology that Israel has a right to build, plant trees and develop in all areas of the Jewish homeland. Boycotts are unjustified, and Jewish college students should not have to face thinly-veiled Antisemitism on college campuses.

Jewish worshipers have the right to pray in their synagogues without the fear of brainwashed Antisemitic attackers. Jewish students who travel to Israel on various programs offered by the national institutions should be able to visit cities like Hebron, the hometown of the Biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs, as freely as they visit Tel Aviv. Historical sites in Judea and Samaria like Shilo and Beit El should be on the official itinerary the same as Eilat or Herzliya.

The ZOA Coalition includes Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Russian, Persian, secular, religious, and a wide mix of Jewish groups who care about the continuity of Zionism and the integrity of the land of Israel.

Although diverse, each of these groups strive to follow in the footsteps of great Zionist leaders such as Zev Jabotinsky who instilled in the Jewish people a passion for Zionism.

The ZOA Coalition is endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a variety of Israels government ministers, Members of Knesset, mayors, and elected officials.

It is our privilege and obligation to help shape the future of the Jewish people and the Zionist world in the right direction and vote now for the ZOA Coalition slate #11.

American4israelAssociation of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA)HatikvahIsrael ShelanuKol YisraelMERCAZOrthodox Israel CoalitionZionist Organization of America

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.

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World Zionist Congress elections: Zionist Organization of America - Forward

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

Israel just completed its third national election in two years, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears poised to claim victory and keep his right-wing coalition in power. With 99 percent of the votes counted as of press time, it is highly likely that he will be invited to form the next government.

Whether that thrills or enrages Bay Area Jews, one thing is certain. We had no say in the outcome. Even the tens of thousands of Israeli citizens living here, other than consular staff, couldnt vote unless they flew back home to cast a ballot on March 2.

But theres another, lesser known but vitally important way that Jewish adults around the world can vote right now to impact the future of Israel and the Jewish people. And thats by taking part in the World Zionist Congress election.

The Congress convenes every five years in Jerusalem to, among other tasks, determine the leadership and influence the policies of such institutions as the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Jewish National Fund and Keren Hayesod (United Israel Appeal) which together allocate nearly $1 billion annually in funding for Israel and Jewish communities around the world.

Making those decisions are 500 delegates representing 15 slates that span the Zionist ideological spectrum, as our story this week explains.

On the liberal end are slates such as ARZA, representing the Reform and Reconstructionist movements, as well as Hatikvah, made up of members of left-wing groups such as J Street, New Israel Fund and Truah. Their platforms call for the expanded embrace of religious diversity in Israel, equal rights for women and a return to serious negotiations with the Palestinians.

On the right, Herut and the Zionist Organization of America have slates, with platforms that stress security issues and the rights of Jews to settle in the West Bank. In addition, the Conservative movement has a slate, as do several Orthodox and Torah-based interests, among them two separate Sephardic slates. Even Israelis living abroad have formed two separate slates.

The politics among these slates diverge wildly. But delegates and WZC voters alike have one thing in common: all have sworn their acceptance of the Jerusalem Program, which is the official platform of the World Zionist Organization. Among its tenets, that document calls for recognizing the centrality of Israel to the Jewish people, encouraging aliyah and strengthening Israel as a democratic Zionist state.

So between now and March 11, go to zionistelection.org and vote for your favorite slate. It costs just $7.50 and will make a world of difference.

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Make a difference vote for the World Zionist Congress delegates who represent us in Israel J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

(JNS) DALLAS-Seventeen-year-old Swedish climate-change activist Greta Thunberg was not at BBYO's International Convention here last week, but when her name was mentioned, throngs of teenagers applauded and screamed as if she was.

That's because climate-change activism was as much of a theme of the four-day conference as the official one "Tomorrow Happens Here."

Avi Garbow, environmental advocate for the sportswear line Patagonia who received the annual STAND UP Award on behalf of the company, said Greta may be a rock star to them, but there are more just like her.

"You are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last to do anything about it. Before Greta there were others, and after Greta there will be others," he told the crowd of nearly 3,500 teenagers.

Organizers estimate drew the convention drew a 5,500 people from 45 countries, including Cuba and Norway, for leadership-building workshops, community-service projects, meeting fellow activists and even to play the latest video games on cutting-edge technology. During that period, they heard from a roster of renowned activists, journalists, celebrities and, in one somber moment, watched Holocaust survivors embrace for the first time liberation soldiers.

Themes and issues change every year, which the organization's staff remains aware of, said CEO Matt Grossman. "This generation has lived through an era of school shootings," he said, noting that the convention was held in Orlando, Fla., only a few days after the two-year anniversary of the deadly shooting at Marjorie Stoneman High School in Parkland, outside Miami. That year, the issue became safe schools, resulting in a global initiative related to school safety.

But climate change, he said, "is the issue of the time."

'We have a voice'

Claudia Sachs of eastern Virginia has been involved with climate-change activism, participating in school strikes, a worldwide series of strikes and walkouts advocated by Thunberg in 2019. Students walked out of school, demanding political movement on combating climate change.

"We have to ensure that our only home is safe for future generations. This has become a very personal passion for me, like it has for so many of us," she said.

Her passion led her to steer the BBYO Climate Crisis Task Force, which will soon join the International Leadership Network, an alliance of organizations for youth. The membership, she noted, "will position BBYO on the forefront of combating global change."

Andrew Goldberg, publicist for his BBYO's Connecticut Valley Region chapter, is energized by the chance to expand BBYO's already broad set of issues.

"In a society plagued by an onslaught of issues across a wide spectrum, the environment is one area that failure will wreak havoc on.If we fail to take action, the future generations of all species will be faced with a threat to their survival," he said. "In BBYO, we are granted the opportunity-time and time again-to collaborate with one another, debate vital issues we face and seek solutions.BBYO is there to remind us that we have a voice, and that our voices matter-not just to each other, but to everyone in the world in which we live."

Sachs and Goldberg's willingness to confront with confidence a complex issue involving the scientific, political, governmental and other communities is the core of the BBYO experience, said CEO Matt Grossman.

"The workshops are rooted in confidence and growth of young people; the programming is tied to social issues. Groups serving Jewish teens are progressive, but the meaning of inclusivity has expanded. We explore this with teens, all in a safe environment," he said.

Each presentation is presented in a way to stimulate curiosity. The plenaries-a cross between a TED talk and a concert-use digital graphics, sound and theatrical devices to amplify the voices of activists, who included Cornell Brooks, director of the Social Justice Collaborative at Harvard University and former CEO of the NAACP; Zach Barack, a transgender actor; and Sakena Yacoobi, CEO of Afghan Institute of Learning.

"That roster is telling of what we've become," said Grossman, noting the diversity of speakers.

'Engaging with other teenage activists'

In the past five years, the programming has become more globally focused, too. The planning committee is made up of 300 teenagers, not all of whom speak the same language. To organize across time zones, they had to creatively use smartphone applications like WhatsApp, which offers translation services. Working across time zones required keen awareness of customs, traditions and the time of day that could best work for the large committee.

Emily Kolodney of Austin enjoyed the challenge. Granted, she could not avoid the responsibility. She is the 75th Anita M. Perlman International N'siah of BBYO's B'nai B'rith Girls sorority, a leader during a milestone year for the organization. She serves alongside Ethan Golde, the 95th Grand Aleph Godol of the boys' fraternity Aleph Zadik Aleph. The duo is responsible for working with the organization's 730 chapters in 53 countries, and also collaborates with chapter and council operations.

"But they're still teenagers," noted Debbie Shemony, vice president for marketing and communications. And alongside civil-rights figures and journalists are celebrities and YouTube stars, who have become increasingly popular among this demographic.

Adding they don't bring in just any YouTube star, Shemony said "we see they really like engaging with other teenage activists who also have big dreams."

The programming is also more inclusive than in years' past, with country-specific meet-ups, and, in the case of this year, Russian and Spanish speakers, and specific workshops, said Grossman.

As part of the 75th anniversary recognizing the sorority, numerous programs celebrated women's local and global impact. Breakout sessions focused on women's leadership, gender equality and women's rights in the 21st century.

The convention is also an opportunity for allied groups to recruit participants in their programs.

Miri Kornfeld is director of high school programs with StandWithUs, a Los Angeles-based, pro-Israel education nonprofit dedicated to teaching students, teachers and parents about the Jewish state, as well as fighting anti-Semitism. The organization has a major presence at the international convention And like BBYO, StandWithUs offers leadership development and teenage-focused programming, but using Israel as a case study.

"BBYO is a natural part of our teen leadership work. Both organizations' programming streams together," she said.

Last year, they reached 90,000 students, including through BBYO's annual convention, through presentations and educating the masses. "But from there we get our passionate students, including some of whom are interning with them this year," she said.

Every year about 20 BBYO participants intern with StandWithUs.

The kids she finds from BBYO are passionate and Zionist-the sort of leaders they cultivate.

A 2011 BBYO Impact Study funded by theCharles and Lynn SchustermanFamily Foundation found that alumni are more likely to engage in leadership roles as adults because of their emphasis on education, training and community-building.

"The great thing about teenagers is they are better than older generations," said Grossman. "They can argue different perspectives then play with each other later."

They can also march in streets.

"In Germany, I participate in the international Fridays for future strikes, which is a grassroots movement about environmental justice. Like BBYO, it gives teens like me a platform to raise our voices which would otherwise be unheard without the power of unity," Naomi Tamir of Germany. "Undertikkun olam, we are able to run programs at our chapters or on regional level that work on the issues our community, city, country and the entire world faces, like climate change. Although right now we aren't eligible to vote, we have already built up the movement of BBYO, and it shows us that we can be-and we are-strong enough for change."

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For the 3500 teens at the annual BBYO convention, the world needs their help - Heritage Florida Jewish News

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

Rabbi Menachem Even-Israel, the son of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, presents the first volume of the Steinsaltz Talmud to Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.). Photo: The Aleph Society.

JNS.org The worlds largest librarythe Library of Congress in Washington, DCis scheduled to house a version of the Talmud this week.

Translated from Hebrew to English by world-renowned scholar Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, the religious tome will enter the library in a ceremony on Thursday, when Steinsaltzs family is slated to receive a certificate of honor.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) notedthat Steinsaltz has authored more than 60 books and hundreds of articles on Jewish mysticism, religious thought and philosophy.

He isthe first person since medieval times to have completed a full translation and commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, he said.

Engel added, As the nations preeminent library, it is truly an honor for Rabbi Steinsaltzs work to be housed in the Library of Congress.

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Library of Congress in Washington to House English-Translated Talmud - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

Sorry, Rabbis of the Talmud,

I didnt dress up in a costume

Like I was supposed to,

Didnt get so drunk

I couldnt differentiateblessandcurse

Like you said we should,

Didnt hear anyone chant

How Esther saved our people

From the evil Haman.

Though the week before I took the kids

To Tamars hamantashen party

Fed the tray of sweet triangles to the oven,

Scraped dough off the tablelike a good guest

On the holiday itself I went out,

Drank two overpriced gin and tonics

And thought about kissing

Someone Id just met.

And it was there, in the bar, that I realized

What you meant, Rabbis

Of the Talmud, when you say

ThatPurimis even holier

Than Yom Kippur. Nothing happened,

In that bar, just the idea

Of living someone elses life.

But that tiny glimpse was enough

To finally teach me (I think) what you meant:

Fasting and penanceare sacred

In an ordinary sort of way.

But to forget yourself so thoroughly

You cant tell the difference

Between who you are,

And who youd never be?

Thats as holy as you can get.

Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, musician and Torah teacher. Her most recent book of poetry isFruit Geode(Augury Books).

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On Not Observing Purim This Year - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

This letter has been reposted with the permission of Rabbi Reuven Fink.

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (JTA) As so many of us are now contemplating going into a Shabbos of seclusion, I want to share a few thoughts with you.

We all woke up Tuesday morning prepared for our usual schedules of work or school or whatever we usually do. By late afternoon we learned that the state and the county health departments ordered a voluntary quarantine of those who were in a number of venues where the Coronavirus might have been. I said to myself, but at all of those places we were performing mitzvot. To be davening in shul, attending a funeral, attending bar and bat mitzvah celebrations all are good deeds, mitzvot!

And yet, we were about to commence an unpleasant course of action: Isolation and quarantine are words that evoke fear. I must confess I was frightened that we might have an epidemic, a pandemic in our community. Our lay leadership and I met with the health officials and tried to explain that quarantine of almost an entire congregation was an overarching edict. They quickly disavowed us of any such thinking and announced the shutdown of the Shul before we could even announce it to our own members.

We were locked in our homes. What would we do? This Shabbos is Parshat Zachor!

We all know it is incumbent upon Jews to hear Zachor being read from the Torah. Additionally, a young mans bar mitzvah was scheduled for Shabbos. He had studied his parsha so long and hard. What would be? And then, a young womans bat mitzvah was on Sunday. She would be so disappointed! Our friend and member lost her dear father and is sitting shiva. We who are in quarantine are not able to visit her in her time of need.

Peoples lives are so disrupted. And certainly our minds never diverted from thinking about and praying for our good friend who lay in the hospital in such serious condition. We thought of his wife and the kids and what they were going through in comparison to what our situation was.

I told myself we would work things out. The people of New Rochelle are resourceful people.

And we prayed. Everyone was emailing for our friends Hebrew name and wanted to know which Tehillim should be recited. People who were not in quarantine were calling to arrange to help people in need, particularly those who were elderly or sick. Neighboring communities volunteered to help. Our neighbors in Scarsdale and White Plains shopped and made deliveries to many. Seasons and Chickies tried to make ordering easy. UJA-Federation offered to send our members food from a canceled dinner. So many good people did so much good. And it continues.

Over the past day or two, other members of our congregation were tested and found to be positive for the Coronavirus. I as well found out an hour ago that I am infected with the virus. I can now reassure you that it is possible, Thank G-d, to get through this virus without a special vaccine. I have the virus and am doing reasonably well. But I must caution all of you who have had personal contact with me to seek counsel from your health practitioner as to how to proceed.

As a Shul we must worry about religion. We tried to address in writing what people could do for the observance of yahrzeit and recitation of kaddish. We worked out a plan to read Zachor on Purim. Daf Yomi was taught online via Zoom. We had two shiurim today given by me and by Rabbi Axelrod about Purim topics.

A crisis can bring out the best in people. It is bringing out the best in us.

Admittedly, it is hard to comply with the burden the state has placed on us. But as we see, despite all these measures, the amount of people testing positive is increasing. We all have to be careful to comply.

There are some positive elements that can be found in looking at our predicament. It slows down the pace of our frenetic lives. That can be positive. It can give us more time with our families. Maybe that book that we never got around to reading can be read now. Maybe we always wanted to find time to learn Torah. We now have that opportunity. I cant remember the last time I davened without a minyan for Shacharis. But my davening this morning was much slower than usual.

This circumstance certainly gives us the opportunity to think. Our attention turns to mortality and our vulnerability. We sometimes find ourselves victims of lifes fragility and tentativeness. This is one of those times. It can help us to reorient our ultimate goals in life. Contemplation is good for the soul.

I cant help but wonder if perhaps I discovered a fantastic insight into current events in this mornings Daf Yomi.

The Talmud is in the midst of discussing various seminal events in the life of King David. It tells of an error he made. He decided to conduct a census of his kingdom. He wanted to have an accurate count of Israels population. According to the Torah, a census can only take place by counting tokens that represent a person but not by counting the people themselves. The Torah says: Count half-shekels so there will not be a pestilence when you count them. King David ignored this rule and counted people. The Navi tells us that a plague commenced as a result. The strange occurrence that guided that plague was that exactly 100 people died per day. The prophets and sages of that era ascertained from heaven that if they would institute a new mitzvah, the plague would end. They legislated a rabbinic mitzvah to recite 100 brachot each day. This is among the seven rabbinic mitzvot, along with lighting candles before Shabbat and the recitation of Hallel. But somehow this particular mitzvah has been lost to us during our bitter history.

Could it be only a coincidence that we learn this portion in the Talmud specifically today during this crisis of a possible pandemic? Perhaps. But perhaps we can take a lesson from it. Maybe we can accept upon ourselves to be more mindful and meticulous in reciting brachot. A bracha, a blessing, is our way of acknowledging the profound awareness that we have of G-d in our lives. A blessing can elevate the most mundane activity into something lofty and holy. It takes seconds but launches us into eternity.

We still have a way to go in handling our communal situation. Together we can persevere and triumph over these challenges. With our ever-abiding faith in G-d who is the healer, we pray that we, as well as our fellow Americans and the peoples of the world will conquer this disease .

Wishing all a Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Reuven Fink

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.

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I'm a rabbi with the coronavirus whose congregation is quarantined. It's bringing out the best in us. - JTA News

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

Like Eddie Jacobson, God is calling on each of us, saying there is something only we can do.

Our Sages asked a strange question in the Talmud: Where do we find a hint in the Torah to the Book of Esther? The Talmud (Chullin 39b) answers with the words, vanochi haster astir panai, I will hide my face on that day. God's most fearful warning had always been that there would come a time when there would be hester panim, the concealed face of God, when it would look as if, God forbid, He has stopped communicating with us.

That is how the Sages found a hint of Esther. We know that Esther is one of the only two books in Tanach which dont contain the name of God, the other one being The Song of Songs. But where The Song of Songs is a book about God's love for us, Esther is a fearful book because it records the moment when it was resolved to destroy, to slay, and to exterminate all Jews, young and old, children and women, in a single day, when the first warrant for genocide against the Jewish people was issued.

Purim is the only festival in the Jewish year set entirely in Exile. Every other festival is either based on an event that happened in Israel or on the journey toward Israel. Purim alone is set in the place of hester panim, when we are out of Israel and where it is harder to feel the presence of God.

Yet there is one line in the Megillat Esther that cuts through me like a knife and represents the most powerful statement in Judaism I know that God has not abandoned us.

Towards the end of the fourth chapter, we find Esther telling her uncle Mordechai about all the problems there might be in interceding with King Achashverosh regarding the fate of the Jewish people. Mordechai listens and then responds to her with the famous words, If you are silent and you do nothing at this time somebody else will save the Jewish people. But who knows, was it not for just this moment that you became a Queen, with access to King Achashverosh in the royal palace?

This, for me, is the ultimate statement of hashgacha pratit, Divine providence, that wherever we are, God is asking us to realize why He put us here, with these gifts, at this time, with these dangers, in this place. Hashgacha pratit is our fundamental belief that God never abandons us, that He puts us here with something to do. Even in the worst hiding of God, if you listen hard enough, you can hear Him calling to us as individuals, saying Was is not for this very challenge that you are here in this place at this time?

That is the essence of the first word of the third book of Torah Vayikra, "And God called". When you look in a Torah you will notice the word is written with a very small Aleph at the end. Commenting on this, Rashi draws a distinction between the phrases Vayikra el Moshe, And He [God] called to Moses and Vayikar el Bilam And He [God] appeared to Bilam. The Hebrew language, says Rashi, has two words that sound the same, but are in fact completely different, even opposite, mikra and mikreh. Mikreh is used to describe something that happens accidentally, that involves no Divine providence. Mikra, on the other hand, is used to describe a calling from God, specific to you with a particular task involved.

Why, then, is the Aleph a letter which makes no sound written small? To teach us that sometimes it can be very hard to hear God's call. It might even be a silent call. In Hebrew, this is a known as kol demama daka, a voice you can only hear if you are listening. Even in the worst times of darkness, God is always calling on us to do something.

One of my great heroes was a man called Victor Frankl. He was a psychotherapist actually working with university students in Vienna and was taken to Auschwitz during the Second World War. There never was in all history greater time of God being hidden than in the Holocaust. Yet Victor Frankl was a man of faith, and he knew God was calling on him to do something even there, even at the gates of Hell itself.

He asked himself, what does God want of me, a psychotherapist, in the middle of Auschwitz? He came to the answer, God wants me to give my fellow prisoners, my fellow Jews, a will to live, because only if they have that will, will they have the strength to survive. So he went around to each prisoner that he thought was about to fall into despair, and gave them a role in life, one they had yet to fulfil. This sense of renewed purpose helped force these men, women and children to stay alive, survive Auschwitz, be liberated and then go and do their calling. That is what Victor Frankl heard, even in Auschwitz, a Vayikra, a call, with a tiny Aleph.

There is another story of a man named Eddie Jacobson. Eddie was an ordinary Jewish guy from the Lower East Side of New York. When Eddie was a child, his parents moved to Kansas City and there he met a child his own age. Soon they became close school friends, did military service together during the First World War, and decided that when the war was over they would go into business together. They set up a clothing store in Kansas City, but the business was not a great success and soon they drifted apart. Eddie Jacobson went on being a travelling salesman selling clothes. His friend, Harry S. Truman, took a slightly different route and landed up as president of the United States.

In 1947-48, the Jews of the world needed the support of the United States of America for the state of Israel to be proclaimed and recognized. The State Department was against it and advised the president not to support the creation of the state of Israel. Jews and Jewish organizations tried their utmost to see the president in the White House, and every single attempt was refused. Even the leader of the Zionist movement, Chaim Weizmann, the man who would become the first president of the State of Israel, was refused a meeting.

As time became desperate, somebody remembered that Harry S. Truman had a childhood friend called Eddie Jacobson. So they reached out to Eddie and asked if he could get the president of the United States to meet with Chaim Weizmann. Eddie phoned up President Truman and said he had to come and see him. Trumans officials tried to block the meeting, but Truman said, This is my old friend, Eddie, from school, Eddie, from the Army, Eddie, from our shop together! How can I not see this man?

When Eddie arrived at the White House, Truman said, Eddie, you can talk to me about anything, except Israel.

Okay, said Eddie and he stood in the Oval Office, in front of the president of the United States, and began to cry.

Eddie, why are you crying? asked the president.

Eddie pointed to a marble statue in the room and said. Who is that, Harry?

Thats my hero, Andrew Jackson, Truman replied.

You really admire this man? asked Eddie.

Yes.

And he had an influence over you?

Yes said Truman.

Then, said Eddie, I have a hero. His name is Chaim Weizmann. Harry, for my sake, see this man.

Harry looked at Eddie and he knew that he couldnt say no to his old friend. That is how Chaim Weizmann got to see president Harry S. Truman, and that is how America voted in favor of the creation of the State of Israel. If they had notvoted, Israel would not have been brought into being. Whats more, Harry S. Truman made the United States the first country in the world to recognize this State when David Ben Gurion pronounced it.

I dont know how God writes the script of history, but if it can happen to Eddie Jacobson it can happen to any one of us. "Who knows, was it not for just this moment that you became a Queen, with access to the royal palace? God is calling on each of us, saying there is a reason why we are here, because He has something for us to do, something that only we can do.

We can hear God's voice even when He appears hidden, even when the call, Vayikra, is written with a very small Aleph that you can hardly see and hardly hear.

We never know when an act of ours will have consequences. Did Esther, growing up with Mordechai, know that one day, the entire future of the Jewish people will rest with her? You never know what significance one friendship or one little moment might have for you and for somebody else that might just change the world.

We must always ask ourselves, what does God want of me in this place, at this time? Because there is always something God wants of us, and we dont have to be anyone special to have a sacred task. We can just be a Jewish woman called Esther, or a Jewish man called Eddie, and yet, somehow or another, our acts might have consequences that we cannot even begin to imagine. Even though you may feel sometimes that this is a world and an age in which there is hester panim, where you look for God and you cant find him, He is still saying to us Was it not for this moment that I placed you here on Earth?

When God calls, may each of us have the courage to say to "Hineini, here I am, God, tell me what to do and I will do it." May we go out into the world, walking tall as Jews, walking unafraid as Jews, and may we be true to our faith and a blessing to others regardless of their faith. May we hear the call of God and answer it. May we all bring blessing to the world.

Chag Purim Sameach!

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Why Harry S. Truman Recognized the State of Israel - Aish

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

IfNotNow members posing with 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the campaign trail. Photo: IfNotNow via Facebook.

The rise of Bernie Sanders presents American Jews with a terrible conundrum.

On the one hand, he is the first American Jew with a reasonable chance of gaining the presidential nomination of a major party, and thus a reasonable chance of becoming the first Jewish president.

For American Jews, this ought to be a cause for celebration. But thus far, it has not been, with Sanders Jewish support in the primaries remaining miniscule in contrast to non-Jewish candidates like Joe Biden.

This paradox is likely because of the incontrovertible fact that Sanders has done more to legitimize antisemitism than any Democratic presidential candidate in recent memory. Indeed, he has surrounded himself with antisemitic surrogates, allies and advisers, including Linda Sarsour, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Cornel West, James Zogby and others, using his Jewish identity as a shield for their racism and echoing their insidious ideology and accompanying rhetorical defamation.

March 6, 2020 10:26 am

Nowhere is this clearer than on the issue of Israel. Sanders has attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a racist, failed completely to abandon or condemn his allies who are openly anti-Zionist and oppose the existence of a Jewish state and slandered Israel and Zionisms American supporters, such as AIPAC. Despite vague references to supporting Israels right to exist, Sanders has shown himself at best obtuse and at worst collaborative with those who reject precisely that.

This in and of itself alienates Sanders from the American Jewish community. Notwithstanding the constant claims by Sanders supporters like the Jewish anti-Zionist group IfNotNow, Sanders views remain marginal among American Jews. Surveys have shown that the overwhelming majority of them possibly as high as 90% are at least nominally Zionist, with very positive views of Israel, the belief that Israel is important to their Jewish identity and unambiguous support for the existence and security of a Jewish state.

At first, then, Sanders seems to be something of an inexplicable phenomenon. But one regrets to say that this is not at all the case. Unfortunately, the phenomenon of the antisemitic Jew or the Jewish collaborator with antisemitism is not unusual in Jewish history. From the dawn of the diaspora, there have been people of Jewish ancestry who have been involved in and even instigated horrendous incidents of antisemitism.

In the first century, the Jewish Roman general Tiberius Julius Alexander brutally crushed the Jews of Alexandria. In the Middle Ages, Jewish convert to Christianity Nicholas Donin used his knowledge of the Talmud to convince Christian authorities to engage in mass burnings of the supposedly offending document. In the early modern era, Jewish heretic Jacob Frank led his followers into mass conversion to Catholicism and then provided assistance in a blood libel case, helping to legitimize a ruthless persecution of Polish Jews.

The 20th century was hardly an exception to this phenomenon. After the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, Jewish communists led the suppression of Jewish life and religion in the Soviet Union, a policy that remained in effect until the fall of the communist regime. In its early stages, even the Nazi movement had a handful of Jewish supporters. And, of course, there have been Jewish apologists for even the most unspeakable acts of Palestinian and Arab anti-Jewish violence, including the linguist Noam Chomsky, who Sanders openly admires.

What then drives Sanders? Where does his seemingly obtuse combination of professions of pride in being Jewish and collaboration with antisemitism and antisemites come from?

The answer might be found in Sanders most explicit description thus far of what being Jewish means to him. During a recent appearance, he was directly asked this question, and replied, I can remember very vividly, as a kid, looking at picture books about what happened in the Holocaust. As it happens, my fathers family was wiped out by Hitler.

My brother and I, and our wives, went to Poland to the town he was born in, he recounted. He fled terrible poverty and antisemitism. The people in town, very nice people, took us to a place where the Nazis had the Jewish people dig a grave and shot them all. Three hundred people in there.

In the neighborhood where I grew up, the people had tattoos on their arms from having been in concentration camps, Sanders said. I learned at a very early age what, if you like, white nationalism which is what Nazism is in the extreme is about. I think at a very early age I learned that it is absolutely imperative not just me that all of us do everything we can to stop racism and white nationalism.

This statement is quite striking for a simple reason: It has almost nothing to do with Judaism and Jewish identity.

Indeed, it makes clear that to Sanders Jewish identity means only one thing the Holocaust. The Holocaust and the memory of the Holocaust are, no doubt, essential aspects of modern Jewish identity, but for Sanders they appear to be the entirety of his Jewish identity. There is essentially nothing else.

And this, one regrets to say, is, more than anything, extremely sad. For Sanders, Jewish identity is nothing but a half-decade of the worst slaughter ever undergone by the Jewish people. For him, in other words, there is no Jewish life, only Jewish death.

And this goes beyond mere tragedy. It essentially denudes his Jewish identity of almost any Jewish content. For Sanders, there is no Torah, no commentary to go and learn, no revolts against tyranny, no centuries of thought and contemplation, no great poetry and music, no extraordinary intellectual and scientific accomplishments, no resurrection of statehood and self-defense, none of the extraordinary vitality secular and religious in the face of the most terrible circumstances, no vast epic of defiance and redemption crossing centuries and millennia.

For Sanders, all of this means nothing. In effect, it does not exist. In his reduction of what it is to be Jewish to nothing but destruction, he defies what may be Judaisms most essential admonition: Therefore, choose life. Presented with life and death, the blessing and the curse, Sanders chooses death and the curse.

And this may be why, in the end, Sanders derives only the universal from specific Jewish suffering. To him, Judaism is merely the struggle against white supremacy. This struggle is admirable in and of itself, but it admits no other possibilities. It refuses to acknowledge that the Jews in particular face other threats. That antisemitism can come from almost anywhere, even from Sanders own allies and supporters. It blinds him to an essential truth: The Jews are more than being for others, they must also be for themselves. If they are not, who will be for them? This is something, it appears, that Sanders either cannot or will not comprehend.

In this, we may extend to Sanders some measure of sympathy, because it means that, ultimately, he has nothing. In embracing Jewish death, he denies himself Jewish life, Jewish creativity, Jewish solidarity and even, for lack of a better word, Jewish destiny.

This makes him, in the end, a tragic figure. But unfortunately, it also makes him dangerous, because in his ignorance he has empowered the very forces to which he believes himself implacably opposed. In his blinkered sense of Jewish pride lies an essential Jewish degradation, and it makes him blind to the fact that, in his empowerment of those who would degrade the Jews, he ultimately degrades himself as well.

In this, however, lies the possibility that Sanders may be redeemable. There ought to be an effort to educate him, to bring him back into the fold. This is, unfortunately, likely to be futile, but the attempt must be made. If it is successful, it may help arrest what now appears to be the possible takeover of a major political party by antisemitism.

If it fails, then American Jews will know with absolute certainty that they must take a stand, and Sanders must be fought with the vigor and determination that the Jewish people have always displayed in their long and heroic struggle to remain who they are. To be that which, sadly, Bernie Sanders appears to have chosen not to be.

Benjamin Kerstein is the The Algemeiners Israel correspondent.

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2020

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I recently watched a documentary on the Gambino crime family. Mafia members in this group operated by ironclad rules accompanied by a blood oath that necessitated swearing allegiance to La Cosa Nostra This thing of ours. The worst thing a family member could do was become a rat and help the Feds.

And yet, when the federal government enacted RICO to combat organized crime, people were suddenly willing to talk. Why? Because sitting in jail for 7-10 years is one thing, but 30 years to life without parole is another matter entirely. And so, all the talk of blood oaths and honor fell by the wayside.

But mafia members are not the only people who sacrifice their values when the going gets tough. How many people are strictly kosher until theyre traveling and find it simply too difficult to pack food or make arrangements? How many of us keep Shabbos properly except when we must lower that thermostat, hit the light, or text on Shabbos?

It takes true resolve to resist the temptation to do what you want rather than what you know G-d wants. I witnessed such resolve this past Shabbos when I saw a friend wearing a tie. Normally, he wears a suit with a plain white shirt, so I asked him Why the tie?

He explained that it was the yahrzeit of his father, and I then recalled seeing him in shul, saying Kaddish diligently and fervently this past year. Under normal circumstances, such behavior is to be expected. Only these were not normal circumstances. This mans father was very abusive and caused him unyielding pain so much so that one could reasonably argue that he had every good reason not to say Kaddish.

I asked him where he got the strength to treat his father with such respect. He whispered in my ear, Avi, in the Ten Commandments it says, Honor thy father and thy mother. Notice that it doesnt end with the word if meaning, you have to honor your parents no matter what. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Its not up for a discussion or contingent on anything. In fact, Im so glad that G-d put that law in the Torah because it helps me, it will help him, and I know it helps my mother, so its a win all across the board.

I stood mesmerized by his wisdom, not to mention his strength. And perhaps his words can serve as a message to so many of us who struggle with various challenges. When we encounter a mitzvah that seems challenging, a mitzvah we dont feel up to doing, we should embrace it as it might be a unique chance to elevate ourselves.

The Talmud says, The reward is proportionate to the exertion. When we work harder for something, the payout is greater. After all, a son can easily say Kaddish for a dad who was loving, supportive, kind, and generous, but try saying it for a parent who was anything but.

The behavior of this man reinforced a critical principle for me: Its not our choice to do certain mitzvot; its our obligation. When G-d gave us His holy Torah, he knew circumstances could easily prevent us from fulfilling mitzvot. We can rationalize anything. Why shouldnt I steal from him? Hes a thief and, besides, Ill give 10 percent to charity

This bona fide superstar of a man who had every reason in the world to skip wearing a tie on his fathers yahrzeit chose to do the exact opposite. The mafia operates by flippant codes of honor and blood oaths. Ultimately, its all talk. The oath the Jew makes to observe Hashems Torah should be different.

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