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Trio gets 15 years in federal prison for armed carjacking spree, including of rabbi in Solon cleveland.com
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Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (Shlomo Yitzhaki), known as Rashi (based on an acronym of his Hebrew initials), is one of the most influential Jewish commentators in history. He was born in Troyes, Champagne, in northern France, in 1040.
At age 17, Rashi received an education in the yeshiva of Rabbi Yaakov ben Yakar in Worms, where the Rashi Chapel was built years after his death (this chapel was subsequently destroyed during the German occupation in World War II, and rebuilt in 1950). At age 25, he returned to Troyes, where he became a rabbi. Since rabbis were not yet paid officials at this point in time, Rashi also worked with his family in the local vineyards. In 1070, he founded a yeshiva where he taught many disciples, some of whom would also go on to become prominent Jewish scholars. In 1096, Rashi witnessed the massacre of friends and family members at the hands of Crusaders en route to the Holy Land. He died in 1105 in Troyes.
Rashis best-known works are his comprehensive commentaries on the Bible and the Babylonian Talmud. All editions of the Talmud published since the 1520s have included Rashis commentary in the margins. His commentaries on the Bible have become a foundational element of Jewish education to this day; they are often taught side by side with the Torah when students begin learning in yeshivas and Jewish day schools. Rashis commentaries on the Bible are based on the Masoretic text, a version of the Bible compiled by scholars between the seventh and 10th centuries, in which they clarified pronunciation by establishing a vowel notation system. In preparing the Masoreticversion, the scholars also tallied the number of times particular words appeared, presumably in an effort to determine those words significance.
In addition to his commentaries, Rashi also produced responsa on a range of Jewish legal questions as well as writing devotional poetry.
Rashis commentaries combine an explanatory style that elucidates the simple meaning of the text (known as pshat) and an interpretive style that elaborates further (known as drash). He collects, distills and weaves in classical rabbinic interpretations, while adding his own perspectives. There is some debate about Rashis accessibility to the general reader. Because his language is clear and concise, his work is often characterized as intended for the masses. However, his conciseness assumes that the reader has some foundational knowledge and that he therefore did not have to explain everything in detail.
Rashi is known for his clarity of style, his conciseness, and his ability to shed light on obscure ideas. Writing primarily in Hebrew, he occasionally coined his own terms in his commentaries. He also frequently translated Hebrew terms into French, writing the French in Hebrew script (these terms were known as laazim), as a way to instruct his French-speaking audience, especially on subjects that impacted daily life, such as Shabbat observance, the laws of kashrut and relations with non-Jews.
Rashis writings and his methods of interpreting texts spread rapidly and influenced all successive rabbinic commentaries. Thanks to his many disciples who shared his work, his writings and his approach to text study quickly came into use in Jewish communities all over France, and during his lifetime spread to northern Europe. Within a century his work spread farther to other countries. In fact, the worlds first printed book in Hebrew was Rashis commentary on the Bible, printed in Reggio, Italy, in 1475.
Among Rashis disciples were his family members, who became well-known Talmudists in their own rights. His son-in-law Isaac ben Meir, known as Ribam, along with his grandsons Samuel ben Meir, known as the Rashbam,and Jacob ben Meir, known as Rabbenu Tam, all transmitted and expanded upon Rashis teachings. Building on Rashis approach, Rabbeinu Tams Sefer Ha-Yashar (Book of the Just) introduced a new form of interpretation that became associated with the literature of Tosafot, Hebrew for additions. The literature of the Tosafot analyzes a text from many angles, raises objections to arguments and offers possible solutions. This differs from Rashis style of presenting clear and simple explanations for textual questions.
Much other Jewish scholarship was directly influenced by Rashis work, including the Sefer Ha-Pardes (Book of Paradise), which presents responsa by Rashis contemporaries and disciples; the Sefer Ha-Orah (Book of Light), which was compiled from works in the 12th and 14th centuries; the Sefer Issur Ve-Heter (Book of Things Prohibited and Permitted); and the Mahzor Vitry, which includes legal rules and responsa. In addition, Rashis commentaries spawned over 300 super-commentaries (commentaries on his commentary).
Rashis influence extended beyond the Jewish community. The biblical commentaries of Franciscan monk Nicholas de Lyra, born in 1292, depended heavily on Rashis work; de Lyras work later influenced Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. Rashis commentary on the Bible was translated into Latin by Christian scholars in the 17th and 18th centuries, and was translated into German in 1838.
Though his work is not considered to be philosophically original, unlike the work of someone like Maimonides, Rashi has exerted the widest influence of any other Jewish commentator on subsequent Jewish literature and remains a fixture in Jewish learning to this day.
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During these weeks when autumn turns to winter, the weekly Torah portions relate the story of Jewish genealogy, from Abraham and Sarah to Isaac to Jacob and Esau, twin brothers who part ways leaving Jacob and his sons ostensibly as the exclusive inheritors of the Abrahamic message. It is perhaps serendipitous that we find ourselves at this point in the Torah cycle amid a contemporary controversy over a film claiming that Black Africans are the true Jews and white Jews are imposters.
Setting aside for the moment the disturbing antisemitic tropes deployed in the film, and the fact that there is no shortage of Black Jews that fully and rightfully identify with the Jewish community, there is something here that should attract our attention: How do we who call ourselves Jews authenticate our own Jewishness?
Authenticity is itself a complex phenomenon. James Charme, in his new book Authentically Jewish: Identity, Culture, and the Struggle for Recognition, examines two models among many: historical authenticity and expressive authenticity. The former posits an objective, unchanging core to Jewish identity, while the latter suggests that authentic Jewishness is subjective, manifested in the various ways Jews express themselves as Jews. Expressive authenticity, I would suggest, is a better barometer for defining Judaism today.
Black Israelites and Black Hebrews generally claim that the ancient Israelites were African tribes that inhabited the land of Canaan and they are their mythical descendants. I say mythical because the Jewish claim that we are descendants of tribes that lived on the border of Africa and Asia some 4,000 years ago is also mythic. Can we really believe that a diverse modern community, which has been dispersed for more than two millennia and has come to look very much like the peoples among whom they reside, are all direct descendants of a single group of ancient tribes? In other words, can we really still buy the myth of the historical authenticity of contemporary Jewish identity?
Much has been made of recent efforts to prove historical Jewish authenticity through genetics, but these have had mixed results. And why should we think otherwise? Jews married and had children with non-Jews throughout history. And if we embrace expressive authenticity as our yardstick, this is beside the point. What is powerful about what we are reading now in Genesis is the story of ancestry not the genetics of ancestry. So why are we Jews so disturbed when Black Israelites tell a different version of our biblical story that is rooted in their blackness?
The reason, of course, is that their claim is not neutral. It excludes normative Jews, which some argue is itself antisemitic. But in some sense, pointing this out is a kind of mimicry of the claim it seeks to refute. They cant be real Israelites because only we are true descendants of Israelites. But the truth of our ancestry isnt in genetics, but in the way the story we read in Genesis has carried us through history and continues to do so. What makes us real Jews is that we embody expressive authenticity by carrying the myth of Jewishness. Esau was just as genetically tied to Abraham as Jacob. The difference is that Jacob became the bearer of the Jewish story and Esau abandoned it
What if the standoff between Black Hebrews and Jews could move beyond a zero-sum game and entertain the notion that the Jewish myth has various refractions that, as philosopher Jonathan Webber has said, there are multiple authentic Judaisms. Yes, the ancient Israelites may indeed have been dark-skinned and thus Jewishness can be an iteration of blackness. And yes, todays Jews (white and not) have carried that story and made it their own, whatever their genetic makeup may be. Why should that story be exclusive to one group? If we acknowledge the myth of our own origins, would that create space for the myth of their origins? Can we both carry a version of that story, each refracting our Israelite ancestry in a different manner?
In Radical Judaism, Rabbi Arthur Green offers a framework that may be useful here. Green distinguishes between Israel and Jews. Israel constitutes any group that views itself as God seekers in the biblical sense that is, any group that aspires to embody the biblical story of the sons of Jacob regarding one God. Jew refers to a specific group who came to be identified as the primary bearers of that message. Jews and Israelites can share a tradition that becomes manifest in a variety of ways. Spiritual ancestry is not biology.
Interestingly, Black Hebrews and Israelites do not use the term Jew. Black Jews are those who identify with the Jewish community. So why not create space for Black Hebrews and Israelites to be part of the larger orbit of biblical God seekers and let the Jews welcome them into the tent of Abrahamic monotheism? Once we Jews confront the mythic origins of our own past once we stop appealing to historical authenticity to prove that which cannot be proven it is much easier to be sensitive to the mythic origins of others who claim the mantle of part of our identity. (The same could be said, by the way, about Jewish attitudes towards Samaritans and Karaites.)
For this to work, both sides would need to abandon the zero-sum game which necessitates that Jewishness, or Israelness, or Hebrewness, can only be held by one group. Both groups would need to abandon historical authenticity. But if white Jews can acknowledge that its reasonable to posit that their ancestors may have been dark-skinned, perhaps Black Hebrews can acknowledge that even if most American Jews today are now white, we have carried this story through history. We embody an expressive authenticity that is anything but fake.
The recent controversy provided an opportunity to think through some of this. But instead, both sides became enmeshed in charges of antisemitism and anti-antisemitism that produced nothing but animus, anxiety and misunderstanding. As we read the portions of Genesis that show us how a nomadic tribe took form in the desert, perhaps we can confront our own myth of origins and, in so doing, become more open to the myths and expressive authenticities of others.
This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learnings Shabbat newsletter Recharge on Dec. 10, 2022. To sign up to receive Recharge each week in your inbox,click here.
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Posted By admin on May 30, 2023
How to stay connected to Judaism on campus Cleveland Jewish News
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In a dimly lit conference room on an upper floor of a Chicago mid-rise, an intricately detailed snapshot of American peril is being taken, minute by unsettling minute.
Reports from around the country of gunshots, bomb threats, menacing antisemitic posts flash across more than a dozen screens. A half-dozen analysts with backgrounds in the military or private intelligence are watching them, ready to alert any one of thousands of synagogues, community centers or day schools that appear to be at risk. Often, the analysts are the first to call.
This is the headquarters of the Secure Community Network, the closest thing to an official security agency for American Jewish institutions. There are other organizations that specialize in security for Jewish facilities, but none as broad as this group, which was created by the Jewish Federations of North America after 9/11. It has grown exponentially over the past five years, from a small office with a staff of five to a national organization with 75 employees stationed around the country.
What prompted its rapid expansion was the murder of 11 worshipers from three congregations by a hate-spouting gunman at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.
The trial for the gunman, scheduled to begin on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh, is taking place in a country that will be less shocked by any revelations than it might have been five years ago, given the prevalence now of mass shootings and incidents of antisemitism. The White House last week announced what it called the first-ever national strategy to counter antisemitism, involving multiple agencies and focusing on training and prevention.
But if Jews in America are less surprised by such incidents now, they have become, by grim necessity, far more vigilant.
The mass shooting in Pittsburgh was followed by arguably the most ambitious and comprehensive effort ever taken to protect Jewish life in the United States. In addition to bringing in more than $100 million dollars in federal grants to local Jewish organizations, the Jewish Federations of North America has raised $62 million with the ultimate goal of securing every single Jewish community on the continent.
There are now 93 Jewish Federations with full-time security directors, a more than fourfold increase over the past five years.
Local federations have long discussed security concerns with mayors and police chiefs, and some have paid for guards at schools and other places, said Eric Fingerhut, president of the J.F.N.A. But never, he said, has there been this kind of comprehensive effort to say every institution in every Jewish community needs to be secured and connected to a best-practices operation.
Overseeing much of this operation is the Secure Community Network. The groups senior national security adviser, the man who designed much of the approach that it shares with local federations, is Bradley Orsini, a burly, gregarious former F.B.I. agent. In October 2018, he was the security director for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
The worst day of my professional career, Mr. Orsini said in an interview at the groups headquarters. He had been in charge of preparing the community for calamity, and it happened. But there was another way of looking at it, one that is the foundation of the work he does now: Had they not been taught the basic tactics of active-shooter response, the horror at Tree of Life would have been even worse.
Bad things are going to happen, Mr. Orsini said. But we can give ourselves an edge.
In a report released in March, the Anti-Defamation League counted 3,700 instances of antisemitic harassment, vandalism or assault around the country last year alone, the highest number in 43 years of keeping track. The F.B.I. has also found hate crimes on the rise; of religiously motivated hate crimes, nearly two-thirds were targeted at Jews.
The most terrifying of these have made national news, such as the hostage situation last year at a synagogue in Texas. In January 2022, a British citizen, apparently radicalized by Islamist extremists, took a rabbi and several others hostage. The hostages escaped unharmed due in large part, the rabbi said afterward, to the training they had received from the Secure Community Network.
Its unfortunate that were growing, because the need is unfortunate, Mr. Orsini said. Everybody knows its not a matter of if. Its a matter of when and where.
When Mr. Orsini went to work at the Pittsburgh federation in 2017, Jewish people in the city and elsewhere were noting an ominous turn in the national rhetoric, in the undisguised hostility toward immigrants and dog-whistle warnings about globalist elites. But few saw imminent danger.
When Brad started going out to our organizations, he said, Do you get any threatening phone calls? said Jeff Finkelstein, the president of the Pittsburgh federation. And they said, Yes. So what do you do? We dont do anything.
Mr. Orsini, who is not Jewish but was attuned to the menace of violent bigotry from his years on the civil rights squad in Pittsburghs F.B.I. office, devised a systematic approach to guarding Jewish institutions against attacks, which he called the Pittsburgh model.
He began by closely examining all of the Jewish facilities in the region and recommending security improvements, like planning escape routes or installing bullet-resistant glass. He set about strengthening ties with local law enforcement and encouraging people to report any sign of hate activity.
And he held more than 100 training sessions, including two at Tree of Life, where in 2017 a skeptical congregant named Steven Weiss learned the principles of run, hide, fight.
We were just going through the motions, Mr. Weiss, then a teacher, recalled. What was the point, he thought at the time. Nothing is ever going to happen here.
On a drizzly Saturday morning at the synagogue a year later, as he heard the gunfire in the hallway outside the chapel, Mr. Weiss scrambled to crouch behind a pew. Then he remembered Mr. Orsinis words: Dont hide in plain sight. Youve got to get out. He saw another door and, with the gunshots growing closer, fled the room.
Active-shooter training is no guarantee against the kind of terror that unfolded on that day. But Mr. Weiss credits it with his survival.
The November after the attack, Lloyd Myers, a health care entrepreneur and philanthropist who worshiped for a time at Tree of Life, gathered a few dozen people for a brainstorming session.
I started asking: How could this happen? he said. Id ask my family, Id ask rabbis, Id ask people with the Federation. And everybody said, The reality is nobodys watching our backs.
Mr. Myerss health care technology business had specialized in gathering open-source data and scouring it for patterns or signs of trouble. He wondered if this expertise could be of use. Mr. Orsini told him about the Secure Community Network.
Mr. Myerss epidemiological approach of looking at hate as a virus, as he described it has come to fruition in the conference room full of screens at the networks headquarters.
Much of the analysts days are spent plumbing the sewers of the internet, sifting through posts doxxing prominent Jewish people or extolling violence, a noxious chore that one analyst referred to as proactive threat-hunting.
There are around 1,300 individuals in these channels whom the analysts watch particularly closely, sharing hundreds of disturbing finds with law enforcement which in some cases have led to arrests. But analysts said that antisemitic extremism is more decentralized than it was a few years ago, when the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville in 2017 drew mainstream attention to more organized far-right groups.
White supremacy shows up now in racist fliers tossed into front yards, in small rallies that quickly form and dissipate and in torrents of vile chatter coursing through online forums. In some ways, one analyst said, it makes things even more dangerous, akin to the scattering of small, quasi-independent terror cells.
The network is planning to operate a temporary outpost in Pittsburgh during the shooters trial, which will largely revolve around the question of whether he should be put to death.
The networks director, Michael Masters, a Harvard Law grad who served in the Marines, said that many Jewish communities he spoke with saw the attack in Pittsburgh at first as a tragic anomaly, rather than a sign of a new normal. But the shooting exactly six months later at a synagogue in Poway, Calif., in which the assailant named the Pittsburgh attacker as an inspiration, unraveled that notion.
That was the moment where Brad and I saw a shift, Mr. Masters said. Even if you got that question still Well, I dont know that its going to happen here you could say, Pittsburgh, Poway. Were not going to choose the time and place.
The need for a newfound vigilance has largely been acknowledged, but there are still those who seem resistant. Mr. Weiss learned this when he left Pittsburgh and joined a new congregation in Lebanon, Pa., where he immediately pointed out shortcomings in the synagogues security.
The rabbi there, Sam Yolen, said many members readily understood Mr. Weisss warnings particularly the young, who had seen the hate metastasizing online, and the very old, who had lived at a time when antisemitism was a fact of everyday life.
But some, he said those who had come of age believing that they could live as Jews in America largely unexposed to threats or danger related to their identity had required more convincing. People who might have grown up with Americas promise of a white picket fence, Rabbi Yolen said, are having to learn that that was the exception. Not the hate that we are experiencing now.
The hostage situation in Texas last year was one of the more recent reminders of this new normal. After an 11-hour standoff at the synagogue, the rabbi, who had recently undergone training with the Secure Community Network, threw a chair at the attacker, giving the hostages a chance to escape. That chair now sits on a low platform in the Chicago headquarters.
Beside it is a smaller chair, the vinyl faded and pockmarked with holes. It is from Tree of Life.
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After Pittsburgh Shootings, a Nationwide Network Tracks Antisemitic ...
Posted By admin on May 30, 2023
During his presidency, George W. Bush formally declared May as Jewish American Heritage Month, in 2006. This month recognizes Jewish people who are living in and contributing to the social fabric of the United States.
Originally, there was Jewish Heritage Week, which began in the 1980s under President Carter. Since Bushs proclamation, every president of the United States has followed suit.
There are many fun facts about Jewish culture that not many people know. So, seeing as its May, put your knowledge to the test in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month with these interesting facts. Plus, learn how to uncover more fascinating details about Jewish American life. Maybe youll find information regarding your own ancestors!
World-Renowned Jewish Americans
When people typically think of influential Jewish Americans, they think of people in the entertainment industry or politicians. After all, there were three Jewish Americans who announced their candidacy for the 2020 presidential election, as reported by the Washington Monthly:
While all three men have dropped out of the race, it is still a testament to Jewish Americans liberalism to have multiple candidates running in the Democratic primary election. Keep reading to find out about more powerful Jewish Americans and their life-changing work.
Inventors
Many incredible inventions came to be because of Jewish contributions including, but not limited to, the following innovators:
Other Bright Minds
The descriptions of inventors may have held some fun facts about Jewish culture you didnt know, but chances are, these next two names are going to be very familiar to you. You might not have realized, however, that these two people also have a Jewish background: Albert Einstein, the theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity; and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the feminist icon, lawyer, and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Did you know the woman whose poetry is engraved on the Statue of Liberty was Jewish? Emma Lazaruss sonnet The New Colossus, has these famous lines:
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
Fast Facts
Check out these facts about Jewish American culture:
Celebrate Jewish Heritage
Jewish American Heritage Month is a time to celebrate Jewish heritage and Jewish contributions to American culture. Part of connecting with your heritage includes taking a look at the generations before you, learning about who they were and what their lives were like.
With over two billion genealogy records, GenealogyBank makes it easy to trace your familys history. Theres even a section with specific tools to help you discover your Jewish American ancestry, like searching a massive archive of stories published in Jewish American newspapers. This Jewish American Heritage Month, connect with your past in order to better celebrate your present.
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Fun Facts about Jewish American Heritage Month | GenealogyBank
Posted By admin on May 30, 2023
I was there as an Indian, says the Rabbi-lawyer who recited Torah at the New Parliament Moneycontrol
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Early historyEdit
In July 1911, a charter was drawn up for the formation of an Orthodox synagogue named Congregation Agudath Achim Anshai.[1][2][3][4] Many of the founders had immigrated to the United States from Russia and Poland.[1][2] Raphael Riemer, who immigrated to Freehold from Russia in 1906, was the synagogues first rabbi and cantor.[4] Louis Finegold, a local merchant, was the first President of the synagogue.[1][3] In 1911, the synagogue had a membership of 40 families.[4]
The synagogue was first built at a land and construction cost of approximately $1,000, as a 32 by 50 feet (9.8m 15.2m)[5][6] wooden structure on the corner of First Street and Center Street in Freehold between 1911 and 1916, by the Freehold Hebrew Association, which had been established in 1894.[1][3][7][8] The synagogue's religious school started at that location in September 1914.[6] Dues were $6 ($160 today).[4] The synagogue added a second floor to the building in 1916.[8]
The synagogue formed a sisterhood in 1920, and that year a mikva was constructed below the synagogue.[4][6] The synagogue also established a cemetery on Route 33 in Freehold, which it has maintained for more than 90 years.[9]
In the 1940s, the Ku Klux Klan became active in the Howell Township area, and members of the synagogue regularly patrolled the synagogue grounds armed with shotguns to protect it against Klan members.[4] An old Torah on display in the synagogue was rescued from a ruined synagogue in Italy by World War II veteran Jack Steinberg and later restored.[10][11] Synagogue membership had grown to 100 families by 1943,[4][6] and 184 families by 1950.[6]
During the 1950s and 1960s, synagogue membership in the synagogue reached 400.[4] It changed its name to Freehold Jewish Center in the 1960s.[4] Rabbi Eli Fishman was the synagogue's rabbi from 1970 until his retirement in 1997.[1][3] He was succeeded by Rabbi Kenneth Greene, who retired in 2011. In 2011, the synagogue was led by Rabbi Dr. Tal Sessler.[2]
In 2002, the synagogue commissioned the writing of a new torah scroll, for $30,000.[12][13] The following year, it was one of a number of area synagogues that took part in helping fund the building of a new home for a family, under the auspices of the Freehold Area Habitat for Humanity.[14] In April 2003, the synagogue named its chapel the Oglensky Chapel, after David Oglensky, a synagogue member and soldier who had been a lieutenant and commander in the 740th Tank Battalion of the U.S. First Army killed in the Battle of the Bulge, who for his gallantry was awarded posthumously the Purple Heart and the Silver Star.[4][15] Family members had constructed the synagogue's ark and benches by hand after his death.[4]
In 2006, the synagogue had a membership of 260 families.[4] By 2010, membership had fallen to 175 families.[5]
In 2011, to commemorate its centennial year, the synagogue planned a series of events.[2][5] Past president Jerry Einhorn said: I think its absolutely wonderful we have reached our 100th year. Its a beautiful synagogue, and I look forward to its next 500 years.[5] That year marked Greene's 13th and final year as the congregation's rabbi.[2]
As of 2016 the congregation's Rabbi is Ira Samuel Grussgott, the Cantor is Aron Heller, the Executive Director is Marvin Krakower and the President is Jesse Glick.[16]
Ground was broken in 1947 for a new synagogue, on lots measuring 175 by 250 feet (53 by 76m) that were purchased in 1943 and 1945, responding to the need for a larger facility.[1][4][6] In 1957, the new synagogue was completed on the corner of Broad Street and Stokes Street.[3][7] The synagogue was dedicated on August 25, 1957, with Governor Robert B. Meyner and his wife as guests of honor.[1] David Metz was president of the synagogue at the time.[1] In 1973, an addition was added to the synagogue, containing classrooms and offices, and expanding the sanctuary.[6]
The synagogue's sanctuary and extension are flanked in beautiful stained glass windows.[2] The building also houses 12 classrooms, social halls, a 350-person formal ballroom, a youth lounge, a library, a smaller chapel, and kosher kitchens.[2][4][5]
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I celebrate Jewish American heritage during the month of Mayand you should too
The Jewish calendar is filled with well-known holidaysmost people have heard of Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah and Passover even if they dont celebrate them. But every May, Jewish American Heritage Month invites people of all faiths and observance levels to celebrate in a different way. The holiday is all about acknowledging and celebrating the contributions Jewish Americans have made to this country.
All of this is an antidote to antisemitism, says Emily August, chief public engagement officer for the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, which organizes the monthly holiday. Thats important, because theres been an alarming increase in antisemitism in America (cases rose by 36% from 2021 to 2022) and internationally. With that in mind, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History partnered on a monthlong campaign using the hashtag #StandUpToJewishHate to raise awareness of and stand up to antisemitism.
But the celebration goes beyond that. Jewish American Heritage Month is a way of inviting people to embrace all things Jewish in the most positive ways possible. It centers on our cuisine and our major contributions to science, law, tech, literature and, yes, the movie industry. Jewish Heritage Month is about history, culture and knowledge, says historian Miriam Mora, PhD, director of academic and public programs at the Center for Jewish History.
As for me, I have always been proudly Jewish, if not vocally or visibly Jewish. My faith and observance, though deeply ingrained, were mostly shared with family and friends. But as the child and grandchild of Holocaust survivors in a world tainted by antisemitism, I feel that I must speak up and speak out often about my Jewishness. Where it once felt like a responsibility, it now feels like an honor to share my love and great pride in Judaism. One of my role models in all things Jewish pride, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism for the U.S. Department of State, mentioned something in a Zoom meeting for female chaplains that stuck with me. She said that no matter where she travels in the world, even throughout the Middle East, she proudly wears her Jewish Star (aka the Magen David or Shield of David) necklace. Inspired by Ambassador Lipstadt, I do too.
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Mark your calendar! This holiday is celebrated throughout the month of May each year. It may not have as long a history as some other Jewish holidays, but its far from a new celebration. Jewish American History Month has been celebrated formally since May 2006, following the 2004 events recognizing 350 years of a Jewish presence in America, says Mora.
While we know that President George W. Bush established the national holiday in 2006, were less clear on the significance of the month. No one seems quite sure why May was chosen for the celebration. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that its easier to go to events or lectures during the springtime. Or maybe it was related to the Jewish calendarMay is a relatively quiet time of year in terms of traditional holiday observances.
Jewish American Heritage Month is far from the only monthlong celebration of a culture or faith. In fact, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is also celebrated in May. The United States recognizes several heritage and history months as celebrations of the diversity of the American mosaic, says Mora.
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Jewish Heritage Month acknowledges the distinctive contributions Jewish people have made to this country that welcomed so many of us when we had nowhere else to go, says actress Mayim Bialik. This country is where my grandparents arrived with very little in their possession except the hope for something better.
The Jewish American Heritage Month statement is straightforward: It not only focuses on preserving, celebrating and educating the public about Jewish peoples contributions to broader American culture but also explores how America has shaped the culture and the gratitude of the Jewish community, says August. It plays out in the form of outreach programs, entertainment, food festivals and other events centered on the collective contribution Jews have made to American life.
Our impact on the United States has been far-reaching. Its estimated that Jews make up only 2.5% of society. But while were a small percentage of the population, our contributions have been significant, touching every industry and cultural pursuit.
The Great American Songbook would not exist without Jewish composers Irving Berlin, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. Jewish doctor Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine and changed the face of immunology. Computer science and engineering pioneer Harold Abelson is founding director of Creative Commons and the Free Software Foundation, while Sergey Brin co-founded Google.
Photographers Diane Arbus and Richard Avedon changed the way we look at the world. Scarlett Johansson, Lenny Kravitz, Adam Levine, Natasha Lyonne, Lisa Kudrow, Daveed Diggs and countless other entertainers are all Jewish. Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman) changed the face of American folk music, while my fellow Brooklyn homegirl, the late great Ruth Bader Ginsburg, fought for gender equity and became the second female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
So whats worth celebrating? Anything that raises the profile of the rich and diverse nature of Jewish American culture is valuable, says Malka Z. Simkovich, PhD, the Crown-Ryan chair of Jewish studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
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During Jewish American Heritage Month, we get the opportunity to highlight the way in which Jews have changed the country for the better. The holiday is also a way of fighting antisemitic tropes by reframing the narrative.
Some people use our contributions as a way of fueling antisemitism, says Max Con, the incoming business development lead for the Israeli Ministry of Economys Economic Mission to the East Coast. The truth is that we have had our hands in a lot of things in some ways disproportionate to our size. And people are apologetic about it.
Instead, it should be a great source of pride for everyone. They should believe they can have an effect on culture and science and history, Con says. And being a Jew doesnt limit us. It can be a driving force to inspire others to mimic that success.
Bialik agrees. The Jewish people have added a tremendous amount to our culture in so many fields, and besides the notion that Jews run Hollywood or Jews run the banksneither of which is true!our contributions to many fields are significant and deserving of acknowledgment, she says. I am a proud American and a proud member of the Jewish people, and I wish my grandparents were alive to witness this month in all its enthusiasm. Im grateful my sons are able to experience it, especially in a time in our American and global history when being Jewish is a source of conflict and hatred. There is much to celebrate!
As for me? To be honest, I never thought I needed a month to celebrate my people and history. But in learning more about Jewish American Heritage Month, I see how important it is to commemorate who we are and what weve accomplished and contributed. Jews continue to be the other in spite of our more than 350-year presence, Mora says. Simply by self-identifying as Jews, Jews make a statement: I am here.'
The celebration of Jewish heritage isnt unique to the United States. Its recognized elsewhere in the world, most notably in Canada. The Jewish community in Canada, much like in the United States, has a long history of migration, acculturation and contributions to Canadian history and is all too often left out of the broader American Jewish story, Mora says.
Like their American counterparts, Canadians celebrate this national holiday during the month of May.
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Just as every family puts their own spin on holidaysconsider the various Hanukkah traditions and Rosh Hashanah traditionseveryone celebrates Jewish American Heritage Month differently. If youre looking for some inspiration, I compiled a list to get you started.
If youre curious about your heritage, Mora suggests taking steps to discover your own American migration story. She notes that the Center for Jewish History is home to the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute and the DNA Reunion Project. You can reach out to the staff, make an in-person appointment or attend an online class. Its a great option even if youre not practicing or otherwise involved with your personal Jewish history
There is no single country, culture or origin story when it comes to being Jewish. We come from all over the world and every racial designation. Discover Black Jews, Sephardic food and music, or ways to celebrate that are out of your typical comfort zone.
Im the child and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, and so many of my familys stories have been lost permanently. We dont have medical records, and until earlier this year, I had no remaining photographs of my father as a child. If theres one thing I know, its that personal history is powerful.
Honor your history by visiting a great aunt or other relatives, and really listen to them. Youd be amazed by just how powerful their stories can be.
Thats something neither I nor my family take for granted. My sister Kiki is currently creating a video series of talks with American-based Holocaust survivors about their lives after tragedy. Theres so much emphasis on the suffering these people have faced, but my sister is chronicling the joy and resilience theyve found in America.
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Gather fellow bookworms to read books that are important to the Jewish population, and dont just stick to Holocaust books. Read widely! August recommends choosing books by Jewish authors or on Jewish topics.
Sometimes people who are not living in the Jewish community might think about Jews through the lens of history, says Simkovich. Their minds may turn to the Holocaust, the first century or the Jews of the past. What she asks is that anyone interested in celebrating this month would make a proactive effort to encounter living Judaism, whether sharing a Shabbat or going to a Jewish neighbor or cultivating a friendship that brings you to the current living Judaism. I think thats more effective than reading a history book.
Alan Locher, host of The Locher Room YouTube show, is the child of two Holocaust survivors. But it was only during his late 20s that he started to strongly identify with his Jewish heritage. In 1996, he traveled with his parents to Holland (both of them were born and raised in Amsterdam) to meet the family who hid his mother during World War II.
Still, his heritage didnt intersect with his work until recently. During the pandemic, Locherwho has a long history of working with daytime and prime-time actorsstarted interviewing people via his YouTube channel to cheer them up. But when he noticed the disturbing increase in antisemitism, he started to focus his interviews on people standing up to hate.
My belief is that conversations like this can change hearts and minds, he says. We all must do everything we can to stop hate in all its forms. If you think that you have a unique way of combating hate in this country, consider starting your own channel or recording your personal experiences.
Carlos Huber, a fragrance designer and founder of Arquiste, was born in Mexico but currently considers New York his home. Huber describes his upbringing as including a mix of Sephardic heritage (by way of Istanbul and Greece) and Ashkenazi (by way of Poland and Lithuania). He channeled that mix into LEtrog cologne, which celebrates both his heritage and the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, during which a citron fruit plays a major role.
Thats just one example of the many Jewish-owned businesses in the country. By shopping at one of these stores, youre putting money in the hands of the community instead of giant corporations.
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Make a Jewish recipe, go to a Jewish bakery, listen to some Jewish musicwhatever moves you. There are no rules or ideals to the observation of this holiday. Its just a way to speak up proudly or reclaim a part of yourself that you may have lost.
Whether or not you consider yourself a social media influencer, your posts matter. Talk about Jewish American Heritage Month and the Jewish role models who inspire you most.
I celebrate every single Jewish holidayand Im not kidding! I even celebrate the ones no one has ever heard about. So I initially figured I could take a pass at celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month.
But the fact is that culturally, were combating a loneliness epidemic and still finding our footing after the pandemic. In addition to being a journalist and author, Im also a certified chaplain. And that means Im going to try to find ways to help even unaffiliated or uninterested Jews reclaim some pride in their faith this month, even if it means treating them to some kugel or kokosh cake (a Hungarian chocolate roll loaf). Connecting with others, be they fellow members of the faith or allies, is perhaps the greatest testament to being proudly Jewish.
My late father, David, was a child slave laborer to the Nazis before he was sent to a concentration camp. He was persecuted as a small boy for the crime of being Jewish. I will honor him by finding ways to commemorate my faith this month, and I really hope youll join me.
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What Is Jewish American Heritage Month? A Proud Jew Explains
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