Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 26, 2017

Opposing Views

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Aide Is Arrested (Photos) Opposing Views Wasserman Schultz introduced a resolution, which passed the House of Representatives and called on the President to declare an annual Jewish American Heritage Month," notes her webpage on the congressional website. "The President subsequently did ... EXCLUSIVE: FBI Seized Smashed Hard Drives From Wasserman Schultz IT Aide's HomeThe Daily Caller Wasserman Schultz aide arrested trying to leave the countryPolitico Feds arrest IT staffer for Wasserman Schultz trying to leave country | Fox NewsFox News The Daily Caller -Politico all 126 news articles »

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Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Aide Is Arrested (Photos) - Opposing Views

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Posted By richards on July 26, 2017

NEW YORK Families that receive free Jewish children's books from the Massachusetts-based PJ Library say the program has helped them feel more connected to their Jewish communities, with interfaith families especially saying it has spurred them to celebrate Jewish holidays and Shabbat and to learn more about Judaism, a new study found.

The study, released last month by PJ Library and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, found that 69 percent of participating families say the program has helped them feel more connected to their Jewish communities, whether by attending programs run by PJ library itself or activities run by local Jewish institutions.

Respondents also say the program helps them feel "more knowledgeable and confident" about how to engage in Jewish traditions with their children (83 percent), and 91 percent say the program is a valuable parenting tool.

More than half of intermarried couples who subscribe said the program makes their family more likely to observe Shabbat, and 64 percent said it makes them more likely to observe Jewish holidays. Nearly 90 percent of intermarried respondents said the books helped them learn more about Judaism, according to the triennial survey.

More than 25,000 users responded to the survey, which was conducted with the external evaluation firm Informing Change.

The program, launched in 2005 by the Grinspoon Foundation, now sends one book a month and occasional music CDs to 170,000 children ages 6 months to 8 years among 125,000 families in the United States and Canada. A parallel program, Sifriyat Pijama, operates in Israel. PJ Library estimates that its books are read 6.5 million times a year. Local Jewish federations and other institutions partner with the foundation in covering costs.

The findings confirm the goals of the program's founders, who hoped that bringing parents and children together over Jewish-themed books would not just be worthwhile in its own right, but inspire them to connect with other Jewish programs and institutions.

We take seriously that each night parents are inviting us to join their family during one of the days most treasured moments before bedtime, Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, president of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, said in a statement. Parents have told us that the PJ Library books their families receive each month not only help them feel more capable of raising Jewish children, but also make them more excited to pass on the traditions and beliefs they cherished in their own childhoods or have come to cherish as adults.

The survey also found that subscribers' had relatively high Jewish involvement. While the 2013 Pew Research Center's study of American Jews found that 30 percent do not affiliate with a denomination, the number was only 10 percent for PJ Library subscribers.

And while the Pew study found that the intermarriage rate since 2000 is 58 percent, it's less than half that, 28 percent, among PJ Library subscribers.

The study's authors said they were not surprised that PJ Library families are more likely than the general population to be affiliated with Jewish organizations, since families usually hear about the program through synagogues, federations or Jewish community centers.

Among subscribers, satisfaction rates are high. Nearly two-thirds of subscribers, according to the study, read the books at least weekly, and 95 percent read them at least once a month. Virtually all respondents 99 percent said they have been "influenced or supported by PJ Library." A majority of families responded that the books made them more likely to use a charity box or to increase their Jewish involvement in some other way, and 83 percent said it helps them feel more knowledgeable and confident about how to engage in Jewish traditions with their children .

"Books are a natural way to invite people into a global community and to pass values and traditions onto the next generation, ensuring our children and their children grow up connected to their Jewish heritage, said Harold Grinspoon, a real estate developer in western Massachusetts and the founder of PJ Library.

Responses to the study, which was funded by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, were gathered between November 2016 and January 2017. The study had a 1 percent margin of error.

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PJ Library's free books for kids spur Jewish connections, study finds - St. Louis Jewish Light

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Posted By richards on July 26, 2017

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaking at the organizations Never is Now conference in New York City, Nov. 17, 2016. (Courtesy of the ADL)

(JTA) The Anti-Defamation League decried as dangerous sermons by two California imams that included prayers for the annihilation of Jews.

On Friday,Sheikh Ammar Shahin of the Islamic Center of Davis called for the liberation of Jersualems Al-Aqsa mosque and the destruction of the Jews, according to a translation of his sermon published by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Oh Allah, liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews. Oh Allah, destroy those who closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Oh Allah, count them one by one and annihilate them down to the very last one. Do not spare any of them, Shahin said, according to the translation.

Also Friday,Mahmoud Harmoush of the Islamic Center of Riverside said that Jews were planning to take over not only Palestine but also most of the Middle East, and even, as I said, Mecca and Medina, according to MEMRI.

Oh Allah, liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque and all the Muslim lands from the unjust tyrants and the occupiers. Oh Allah, destroy them, they are no match for You. Oh Allah, disperse them, and rend them asunder. Turn them into booty in the hands of the Muslims, Harmoush said according to MEMRI.

The ADLs national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, sharply criticized the sermons in a statement Tuesday.

These statements are anti-Semitic and dangerous, Greenblatt said. We reject attempts to cast the conflict in Jerusalem as a religious war between Jews and Muslims. At this time of heightened tension, it is more important than ever for the Jewish and Muslim communities to come together to condemn the use of stereotypes and conspiracy theories, and to rebuild trust so that people of all faiths can coexist with mutual respect in the Holy Land and around the world.

Also Tuesday, the White House lauded Israel for dismantling metal detectors near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem that had spurred violent clashes between Muslims and Israeli police, but Palestinian officials called for sustained protests.

The metal detectors were removed amid an escalation of violent protests in the West Bank and of anti-Israel rhetoric across the Muslim world. They had been installed two weeks ago earlier following the slaying of two police officers by three Arab-Israeli terrorists.

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ADL condemns sermons by California imams that called for destruction of Jews - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By admin on July 26, 2017

Milo Yianopoulos at Rutgers University

Nadav Salomon

Last week, the Anti-Defamation League released its Alt Right to Alt Lite: Naming the Hate watch list of people it claimed are engaged in the promotion of bigotry and extremism.

The list, which was billed as a whos who of white supremacists and fringe right-wing hate group leaders, included neo-Nazi activists like Andrew Anglin and Andrew Auernheimer of The Daily Stormer, Dillon Irizarry of the Vanguard America organization, Matthew Heimbach and Matthew Parrott of the Traditionalist Worker Party, and white separatist Richard Spencer.

Lumped in with these notorious promoters of racial animus on the ADLs Naming the Hate list, however, were also members of what the report defines as Alt Lite: right-wing activists who refused to publicly embrace white supremacist ideology, but who the ADL claims hate feminists and immigrants, among others.

Among the 10 individuals listed as Alt Lite bigots are pundits, bloggers, amateur filmmakers, and activists with little to no connection to the kind of fringe ideas pushed by those listed in the first half of the ADL report.

Former Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos, for example, is included in the ADL hate list with prominent neo-Nazis because he, the ADL claims, is actually an instigator who specializes in attacking groups he dislikes. He has launched vicious trolling attacks against women, Black Lives Matter activists, transgender people, and Muslims.

While Yiannopoulos has made public attacks on individual women and Muslims and has criticized the progressive narrative on transgender identity, no evidence is provided by the ADL of bigotry or bigoted rhetoric by Yiannopoulos.

But the danger created by the ADLs accusation is very real, Yiannopoulos claims.

The ADL Anti-Defamation League is trying to get me and others like Mike Cernovich hurt or killed by painting targets on our backs and including us in hate lists, Yiannopoulos wrote via Facebook.

Its all very well laughing at how stupid they are for thinking (or pretending to think) that Mike and I are purveyors of hate, but this is why my annual private security bill is over $500,000. The Left wants my life to be dangerous and expensive so I shut up. Well. I will not shot up. But the next time a deranged Bernie fan opens fire on conservatives, remember where he got the idea that we are the same as Neo-Nazi death squads just because we like the Bible and guns and hate taxes and political correctness.

In February, a planned speech by Yiannopoulos at the University of California, Berkeley was cancelled after demonstrations against the address turned violent.

Rebel Media commentator and former Fox News contributor Gavin McInnes was also included on the ADL list, largely because of his satiric 10 things I hate about Jews video released at the end of a Rebel Media tour of Israel.

After the faux rant was lauded by white supremacists online, McInnes was quick to reject their support, writing via Twitter to David Duke F*** you. Youre talking about a clip out of context that includes the words Dont take this out of context.

McInnes later said: No offense, Nazis, I dont want to hurt your feelings, but I dont like you. I like Jews.

Nevertheless, the ADL included McInnes, citing his endorsement of what he calls Western chauvinism and support for Judeo-Christian values.

In a video response released on Monday, McInnes blasted the comparison between himself and other alleged alt liters and neo-Nazis.

"You put us on a hit list. And I have been attacked [because of] these lists."

McInnes accused ADL Director Jonathan Greenblatt of pushing the organization towards the left, and away from its original mission of combating anti-Semitism.

"These guys are conning Jews. I think they're going up to old, scared, rich Jews and getting their money. Their donors have cultural PTSD from World War II, and justifiably so, and they're paranoid."

"Greenblatt is an Obama guy, he's an Obama publicist."

"The ADL is just Obama's campaign; it's not really finding threats to Jews."

Real anti-Semites, added McInnes, were often ignored or whitewashed when they dont fit the ADLs preconceived narrative.

"I can find hundreds of examples of Jews being threatened, being attacked, being hurt, of needing armed bodyguards all around the Western world and in America. I can find an example of a woman who killed two Israelis being glorified by liberals and told she's going to lead the woman's march."

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'The ADL is trying to get us killed' - Arutz Sheva

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Posted By richards on July 26, 2017

The Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday denounced the decision by US President Donald Trump to bar transgender people from serving in the military, calling the new policy deeply objectionable and blatantly discriminatory.

Its a sad day when the President of the United States declares that transgender Americans are unwelcome in the United States military, said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO said in statement. This policy is deeply objectionable it devalues individual Americans and is blatantly discriminatory. Well fight against this unpatriotic ban of transgender troops. We cannot let bigotry stop Americans from serving their country.

Trump on Wednesday announced on Twitter that transgender people may not serve in any capacity in the US military, citing the tremendous medical costs and disruption their presence would cause.

The announcement served as a stunning reversal for the US military, which has spent recent months working with the heads of service branches to implement a plan put in place under Barack Obamas administration to start accepting transgender recruits.

After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military, Trump tweeted.

Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail, he added.

Trumps announcement Wednesday morning did not say what would happen to transgender people already in the military.

At the Pentagon, members of the staff of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appeared to have been caught unaware by Trumps tweets. A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, referred questions to the White House.

Senator John McCain arrives at Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The White House did not immediately respond to questions.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers said this was not the right process for such a policy change.

Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the tweet was another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter.

In a statement, McCain said any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving. There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train and deploy to leave the military_regardless of their gender identity. He said there should be no policy changes until the current review is completed and assessed by the secretary of defense, military leaders and Congress.

Estimates of the number of transgender troops in the military vary widely.

A much-cited study by the Rand Corporation in June 2016 found there are between 1,320 and 6,630 among the 1.3 million active duty service members.

But the Human Rights Campaign civil rights organization said there are currently about 15,000 serving transgender troops.

The RAND study noted that only a small portion of service members would ever seek gender transition that would affect their deployability or health costs, adding between $2.4 million and $8.4 million to the Pentagons vast budget.

The issue of transgender rights in America has been increasingly in the spotlight in recent months, especially over how states regulate the use of public restrooms.

The Trump administration faced protests earlier this year after it reversed Obama-era federal protections that urged schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity, not the gender on their birth certificate.

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ADL slams Trump ban on trans soldiers as 'blatantly discriminatory' - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on July 25, 2017

There are plenty of American Jews who do not support Israels treatment of Palestinians. But recent events have highlighted a troubling fact: In 2017, many people in the US, across the political spectrum, are conflating Judaism with Zionism.

In June, the Dyke March in Chicago banned women carrying Jewish pride flagsrainbow flags that bore the Star of David. Bari Weiss at the New York Times saw the Dyke March controversy as an opportunity to launch a sweeping condemnation of intersectionality and the left. But even people without that particular ax to grind were concerned.

Then last week, as reported in the Forward, Chicagos SlutWalka feminist organizationannounced that it would not allow Zionist displays at its rallies. The Forward took this to mean that the march would ban displays of the Jewish Star of David, which both symbolizes Judaism and appears on the Israeli flag. Via its Twitter account, however, Slut Walk organizers said they would only ban the Star of David when it was part of a Zionist display.

But how is anyone to determine if a Star of David is Zionist or not? Do Jews displaying the Star of David need to be questioned as to their motives, as they were at the Chicago Dyke March? Where does Jewish identity begin, and support for the Jewish state of Israel end?

There are, obviously, many Jews who want justice for Palestinians. Thus the existence of organizations like the Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and J-Street. There are also many Jews, such as myself, who dont feel any particular commitment or connection to Israel. My grandfather was a socialist Zionist, and I donated part of my allowance to Israel as a child, as did everyone who went to my Hebrew school. But even as a kid, I had no particular desire to visit Israel.

As an adult, I believe nationalism, in whatever form, tends to be poisonous. I dont believe in the virtuous exceptionalism of the United States, and I dont believe in the virtuous exceptionalism of Israel. Nations have neither souls nor destinies. For me, Judaism is a family tradition of ethical commitments, and a history that, I hope, places my sympathies with people who are marginalized and persecuted. Being a Jew, in my case, doesnt have anything to do with a connection to a particular piece of land, or to a particular nation.

Jews, after all, come from all over the world. They have different skin colors, come from different socio-economic backgrounds, and have a wide range of religious and secular beliefs. Some Jews, as just one example, come from Arab nationsand they often have a very painful relationship with Israeli nationalism. Given the wide variety of Jewish individuals, it makes sense that Jews would have varied relationships to Zionismranging from enthusiastic identification, to deeply felt rejection, to indifference.

The problem is that in Americaand elsewherethere are a lot of people who have a vested interest in linking Jews as a whole with Israel, no matter what individual Jews say or think about it. Vocal anti-Semites, of course, see all Jews as connected to a global conspiracy; they dont bother with distinctions. But anti-Semitism in less virulent forms leads many people to see Jews as Jews first, and only later as individuals. This leads to a lazy tendency to blur the line between Judaism and Israelwhich can result in demands that Jews displaying Jewish symbols publicly declare their opposition to Zionism.

Finally, Zionists themselves have an interest in equating Israel with Jews everywhere. Zionism is built on the idea that Jews are a coherent people with a historical and spiritual connection to a particular land. Thats why some Zionist Jews will almost certainly react to this essay by claiming that I am a self-hating Jew. Part of the Zionist project is to make the essence of Jewishness Israel, and the essence of Israel, Jewishness. Jews, Zionism says, are the people who live on and own this particular land. From the perspective of ethno-nationalism, the nation is the self, and so to refuse to embrace Israel is to betray ones own biological and spiritual essence. If youre a Jew who doesnt support Zionism, youre rootless and debased. Not coincidentally, this is itself an anti-Semitic stereotype.

Zionism is, in many ways, the mirror image of anti-Semitism. Where anti-Semitism imagines a hook-nosed intruder infiltrating the volk, Zionism imagines a virile soldier standing strong upon his (or her) own ancestral lands. The two stereotypes are perfectly opposedbut they share the assumption that a group of people is healthy only insofar as it shares an ethnicity and a land. Thats why Donald Trump, Americas latest avatar of white nationalism, has received a certain amount of support from both anti-Semites and Zionists. Steve Bannon and Benjamin Netanyahu disagree on many things, but they do have some common ground: Both believe that the borders of a nation determine who you are.

When Zionists conflate Jews and Israel, they aid and abet anti-Semites. And when liberal anti-Zionists conflate Jews and Israel, they aid and abet the Zionists they claim to oppose. For Jews, or for any persecuted people, nationalism can seem like a path to protection and power. But the historical record is pretty clear that the fruits of ethnic determinism do not benefit Jewseither as a group or as individuals.

Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

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The resurgence of anti-Semitism in the US comes down to an obsession with national borders - Quartz

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Posted By simmons on July 25, 2017

An Israeli man waves a rainbow flag bearing the Star of David during a demonstration near the scene of a shooting at a gay youth club in Tel Aviv on Aug. 2, 2009.

Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images

Are you a Jew in Chicago whod like to march for LGBTQ rights and gender equality? Youll have to follow a few rules, helpfully laid out in recent weeks by the Chicago Dyke March and the Chicago SlutWalk.

Mark Joseph Stern is a writer for Slate. He covers the law and LGBTQ issues.

First, you must not carry any Zionist displays. What are Zionist displays? Thats for others to decide. A Star of David might be OK. But if its on a rainbow flag, it probably isnt because its connections to the oppression enacted by Israel is too strong for it to be neutral.

Second, you must express solidarity with Palestine. Marching in a parade with a pro-Palestinian stance is not sufficient, nor is advocating for a Palestinian state. As an openly Jewish person, youll need to satisfy more heightened scrutiny; other marchers may repeatedly demand that you disavow Israel and swear allegiance to the Palestinian cause. You must comply with these demands or else you will be expelled.

Third, you must renounce any previous connections you have had with Israel. Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of a group with ties to Israel? Repudiate and repent. Openly Jewish marchers are presumed to be in league with the Israeli government unless they can prove otherwise.

One final note: If you are a journalist who covers the implementation of these rules, you deserve to lose your job.

Listed all at once, these guidelines may sound too blatantly anti-Semitic to be stated openlyyet they are, at present, the operating principles of two widely celebrated progressive movements in Chicago. Both the Dyke March and the SlutWalk allege that these rules are compelled by intersectionality, the theory that all forms of social oppression are linked. In reality, both groups are using intersectionality as a smokescreen for anti-Semitism, creating a litmus test that Jews must pass to be part of these movements. American progressives should reject this perversion of social justice. No coherent vision of equality can command the maltreatment of Jews.

The anti-Semitism of the Dyke March and SlutWalk is not academic or novel but almost depressingly familiar.

The debate over intersectionality and anti-Semitism jumped into the headlines following last months Dyke March, an LGBTQ demonstration that avoids the corporate sponsorships and bland political undertones of mainstream Pride events. During the march, several organizers approached Jewish demonstrators who were carrying rainbow Star of David flags. The organizers asked whether these women held Zionist sympathies, their suspicions reportedly having been aroused when the flag-carriers allegedly replaced the word Palestine with everywhere in a group chant. (That chant: From Palestine to Mexico, border walls have got to go.) One woman, Laurel Grauer, reportedly responded, I do care about the state of Israel but I also believe in a two-state solution and an independent Palestine. The organizers then ejected the Jewish demonstrators.

During the outcry that followed, the Dyke Marchs organizers scrambled to formulate principles that would justify this action. In a series of statements, they explained that Zionism is an inherently white-supremacist ideology; that many people see the visuals of the flag as a threat, so we dont want anything in the [Dyke March] space that can inadvertently or advertently express Zionism; and that only anti-Zionist Jews are welcome at Dyke March.

Last week, the Chicago SlutWalk, which calls for gender equality and an end to rape culture, endorsed and adopted the Dyke Marchs policy regarding Zionist displays. Once again, the justification was intersectionalitynamely, a belief that Palestinian rights and womens rights are inseparable. The events combative Twitter feed retweeted a declaration that any flag featuring a Star of David is an Israeli flag with imagery invoking imperialism. A later tweet clarified that only individuals using the flag as a symbol of their agenda would be ejected from the event, which is scheduled for Aug. 12. How, exactly, would organizers differentiate between benign and malign flags? Its unclear; the only hint provided is that context matters. Organizers will, it seems, make ad hoc judgments about who is and is not allowed to carry a rainbow Star of David flag.

Critics of intersectionality have jumped at the chance to cite these controversies as proof of the theorys flaws. In a New York Times op-ed, Bari Weiss wrote that in practice, intersectionality functions as a kind of caste system in which people are judged according to how much their particular caste has suffered throughout history. Because of the existence of the Jewish state, Weiss explained, which todays progressives see only as a vehicle for oppression of the Palestinians, Jews are considered the oppressors, never the oppressed.

Weiss critique implies that the organizers of the Dyke March and SlutWalk were lured toward anti-Semitism via intersectionalitythat as they studied the Oppression Olympics, they came to view Jews at the real oppressors. I strongly suspect that this has it exactly backward because the articulation of intersectionality provided by the Dyke March and SlutWalk makes no sense. The organizers allege that, because the oppression of queer women and Palestinians is intertwined, marchers must renounce Israel and not express their Jewishness. But how does that follow? The reasoning makes sense only if expressions of Jewishness are tantamount to endorsements of the Israeli governments policies toward Palestinians. And the belief that all proudly Jewish people support the current subjugation of Palestinians is self-evidently anti-Semitic.

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Criticizing Israel's policies is completely appropriate. Criticizing people for being Jewish is deplorable. This should be a really simple line to understand. More...

On July 13, the Dyke March provided further proof that its intersectionality functioned as a flimsy pretense for anti-Semitism. A tweet from the groups Twitter account used the term Zio, an anti-Jewish slur popularized by David Duke and his neo-Nazi followers. The Dyke March later sent another tweet apologizing for the insultand adding, We meant Zionist/white tears replenish our electrolytes. Indeed, the groups bizarre fixation on Jews frequently manifests itself as alt-rightstyle trolling. This is a mockery of intersectionality, not a defense of it.

It has long been obvious that left-wing anti-Semitism is a problem and that an overwhelming abhorrence of Israel often blurs into a generalized anger toward Jews. Organizers of both the Dyke March and the SlutWalk have not discovered the praxis of intersectionality; they have merely dressed up their bigotry in updated argot. Their anti-Semitism is not academic or novel but almost depressingly familiar, and we do not need to overhaul the progressive worldview to address it. We need only remind ourselves that anyone who would hold Jews to a different, higher standard is anti-Semitic, full stop. Whether it happens at a far-left march or an alt-right convention, the creation of special rules for Jews is irrational and wrong. By creating a stringent litmus test for openly Jewish demonstrators, the Dyke March and SlutWalk did not protect the oppressed. They became the oppressors.

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This Is a Safe Space. No Jews Allowed. - Slate Magazine

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Posted By admin on July 25, 2017

Rabbi Greg Wolfe. Courtesy photo

Talmud On Tap: A Handcrafted Tour of Ancient Rabbinic Teachings, will take place over beers at The Dock at Sudwerk on five successive Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m., beginning Aug. 3.

Rabbi Greg Wolfe of Davis Congregation Bet Haverim will lead the informal gatherings focused upon the Talmud, a central text of mainstream Judaism that provides a collection of civil and religious laws. The Dock is at 2001 Second St. in Davis.

Community members of all faith backgrounds are invited to stop by for one or all five of the meetings, and study materials will be provided weekly.

Swimming in The Sea of Talmud, a book by Michael Katz and Gershon Schwartz, will guide a journey to discover what the Talmud is and how its words still resonate with relevance to modern life. Rabbi Wolfe will encourage a unique and personal understanding of the ancient writings, meant to inspire individual insight.

To capture something that touches our hearts, lifts our spirits and shines a light into our lives takes time and effort, Wolfe said. It takes a willingness to immerse ourselves in a different language, time and context to create new links with the ancient texts of Judaism.

In our busy lives, this can be a challenge. But, a guided exploration with friends, or the opportunity to make new friends, on summer evenings over frothy refreshments, offers an interesting setting for cracking open the secrets of the sacred Jewish texts that have formed the foundation of Judaism, Wolfe said.

There is no fee for the gatherings; beer is offered for purchase by Sudwerk and participants are welcome to bring snacks to share.

RSVPs are appreciated so that sufficient study materials can be provided. To indicate intent to attend one or more gatherings, or to request additional information, contact the Bet Haverim office at [emailprotected], or 530-758-0842. More details can be found at http://www.bethaverim.org/new/news/talmudontap.

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Beer and ancient Jewish texts to pair for August series - Davis Enterprise

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Posted By admin on July 25, 2017

This essay is in memory of the beloved mother of Barbara Hanus

As a nation, we love asking questions; for centuries we have been asking what caused the destruction of the Holy Temple, the Beit Hamikdash. The Gemara in Nedarim states that Jerusalem was destroyed because the Jewish people did not say Birkot HaTorah (blessing said in morning prayers,before learning Torah)

We know that the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed as a result of people violating the three cardinal sins. People are required to give up their lives rather than commit these sins (yehareg vlo yaavor let him be killed rather than transgress) - idol-worship, prohibited illicit relations, bloodshed and in the case of the destruction of the Second Temple, baseless hatred.

Is it possible that neglecting to say Birkot HaTorah is equal to these grave sins?

Let us take a closer look at the origin, nature, and meaning of Birkot HaTorah. To understand further we must explore the inspiration for Birkot HaTorah. G-ds blessing to Avraham, that he will become a great nation (Bereishit 18:18), is followed by a blueprint for how the nation will become great. Avraham will teach the children to behave with tzedek and mishpat, justice and law, spreading what is just and right in the world.

Rabbi Menachem Liebtag identifies this as the start of a mega theme in Tanakh that is revisited in Dvarim 4:5-8. We also see the theme of tzedek and mishpat woven throughout Neviim Achronim (the latter prophets). The common message of the Neviim is that the practice of religion is not enough; Hashem demands that Bnei Yisrael behave as a nation promoting tzedek and mishpat in the world. We see in Yishayahu (Isaiah) chapter one Hashems declaration that religious observance will not be accepted without tzedek and mishpat.

Returning to our Gemara in Nedarim, it is interesting to note the context of this particular statement. Chazal (the Talmudic sages) in their discourse are trying to understand why children of talmidei chachamim (sages) do not always follow in their parents footsteps. The Gemara brings the proof text from Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah)discussing why the people are not able to discern the reason for the desolate land. Only once Hashem answers do they understand. The answer seems redundant but Rav resolves the apparent redundancy, explaining that the pasukim (verses) Why is the land in ruins, Laid waste like a wilderness, With none passing through? Hashem replied: Because they forsook the Teaching I had set before them. They did not obey Me and they did not follow it (Yirmiyahu 9:11-12) is talking about learning Torah and saying Birkot Hatorah.

The children of the talmidei chachamim were missing the point. Their emphasis was on what they were learning, rather than why they were learning. Rabbeinu Nissim, in his commentary on Nedarim 81a, explains that the problem wasnt a lack of Torah study; rather, the issue was, as he explains, when Yirmiyahu says they didnt follow it, it implies that the people were not learning with the proper intentions.

It is interesting to note that the Tur (47) quotes this Gemara as his introduction to Hilkhot Birkot HaTorah. The Tur seemingly diverges from his normal methodology of explaining the halakha, perhaps to emphasize this exact point; hes highlighting the degree of importance Chazal place on Birkot HaTorah.

Now, let us take a look at the words of the first bracha (blessing) in Birkot HaTorah, which ends with the words, laasok (to engage) bdivrei Torah. Notice that this bracha doesnt finish with a blessing over learning Torah, rather over engaging in Torah matters.

Rav Aharon Lichtenstein zl notes in Reflections upon Birkot Ha-Torah, that laasok is the verb generally used in the context of commerce. Rav Lichtenstein writes, What is envisioned is clearly not merely an act, or even a series of acts, but an enterprise. Even for the ordinary individual, belabored by the demands of a secular career, Torah is ideally defined as a calling. For the layman, too, it is, in a very real sense to be a vocation, with all that the concept implies, in terms of aspiration and commitment.

The tone is set from the start of our day, the mitzvah of Talmud Torah is not exclusively intellectual, but it is a commandment to live and to act in the way of learning, with tzedek and mishpat.

This past year I had the tremendous zchut to learn at Matan as a Bellows Eshkolot Scholar. Throughout my year of learning I experienced rigorous intellectual study of Torah which was elevated through the most honest of spiritual pursuits. The beauty of learning at Matan is felt in the freedom to ask questions with the knowledge that whoever is answering the questions is a true Yireh Shamayim (G-d fearing person). I am forever grateful for our remarkable teachers who truly embody what it means to be laasok bdivrei Torah.

And may we approach all Torah study with clear intentions not only to gain intellectually, but also to fulfill G-ds will as a Goy Kadosh , a holy nation. May we bring Birkot HaTorah into the classroom and may our students feel that theyre learning goes far beyond intellectual pursuit. May we continue to consciously say Birkot HaTorah allowing their meaning to enhance our lives and may we see the Beit HaMikdash rebuilt speedily in our day

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Birkot HaTorah and the Churban: Lessons for today's Jewish classrooms - Arutz Sheva

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Posted By simmons on July 25, 2017

Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

10 hours ago

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Wish a sweet Rosh Hashanah to family and friends with a delicious gift of honey. This festive 8-ounce jar of kosher honey arrives at its destination in a gift box with yo...

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Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

4 days ago

WEEKLY DEVAR TORAH

The Women Who "Fix" Sefer Bemidbar (Numbers) Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, Coordinator, Torah Sparks, the Conservative Yeshiva, Jerusalem

Sefer Bemidbar (the Book of Numbers) ends with a little incident, limiting somewhat the right of women to marry. It seems technical at first but indeed is a most fitting close for this difficult book. Last week (but two Parshas ago) the daughters of Zelophehad claim rights to the land in Canaan that would have been their father's, to perpetuate his name and legacy. Moses consulted with God ad hoc, and God responded favorably: "Zelophehad's daughters speak well (ken banot Zelophehad dovrot), give their father's share to them" (Num 27:1-7). A nice victory for the women, who up to now had no hereditary rights.

But as often happens with corrective legislation, solving one problem generates another. The leaders of Zelophehad's tribe, Menasheh, complain to Moshe that should Zelophehad's daughters marry "out of the tribe," literally, that land will be taken from the tribe of Menasheh to the tribe of the husband/s, distorting the distribution of the land to the tribes to be done by lottery.

There are interesting parallels in the two situations. When Zelophehad's daughters raised their claim originally, Moshe, flummoxed, brought the question to God for guidance, as he had with the blasphemer, Pesach Sheni (the Second Passover), and the Shabbat stick-gatherer, whom, coincidentally, the Midrash identifies as Zelophehad. In our parashah Moshe "instructs the [people] at the Lord's bidding (al pi Hashem)." Whether al pi Hashem means a formal consultation, as Moshe had previously had, is not clear, but the result is significant. It is Moshe who speaks here, but the words are familiar: "The Josephites [Menasheh's leaders] speak well (ken...dovrim)." Moshe recognizes their claim in the same language God had used to recognize that of Zelophehad's daughters. A compromise is reached - women inheriting the family land may marry only within their tribe. The daughters of Zelophehad "did as the Lord commanded, marrying cousins, thus keeping their father's land in the tribe of Menasheh" (vs. 10-12). As in our own time, progress on women's rights takes time and has its ups and downs. The removal of this limit on the woman's right to marry and still inherit will come in Rabbinic times and be commemorated in several weeks, on Tu B'Av (the 15th of Av). The Talmud (Taanit 30b) says that on that day, amongst other things, "permission was granted to the tribes to inter-marry." The removal of tribal barriers to marriage is actually a critical moment in Jewish history. The Sages have pushed the "tipping point" towards "Jewish peoplehood," not unlike the transition of the United States from a confederation of relatively independent colonies in 1776 to a more centrally governed union in 1789.

It's fitting that Sefer Bemidbar ends noting that Zelophehad's daughters "did as the Lord commanded Moses" (36:10). It sounds casual but it is not. The trip through Bemidbar, the book and the desert, has been difficult. It began with 10 chapters of getting the tribes in order and the camp arranged to enter the Land and fulfill the Divine plan, but then everything went wrong. Complaints, lack of faith and even rebellion left the children of Israel in the desert 39 years longer than the original Divine plan. Avivah Zornberg says that the turning point, for good, came with the claim of banot Zelophehad. God recognized their courage and integrity, ken banot Zelophehad dovrot, "they are right." And they are right here, too, restoring the order in the camp with which the book had begun. They have enabled tikun, correction. Through them the children of Israel, and indeed the Torah, are back on course. ... See MoreSee Less

Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

4 days ago

SHABBAT SERVICES

SERVICE/CANDLE-LIGHTING SCHEDULE:

Friday, July 21, 2017 7:00 pm-Shabbat B'Yachad Services in the Perez Chapel.

Light Shabbat Candles at 7:54 pm.

Saturday, July 22, 2017 9:30 am-Services for Shabbat in the Perez Chapel.

Shabbat ends at: 8:50 pm. ... See MoreSee Less

Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

1 week ago

DO A MITZVAH TODAY!

Join the Social Action Volunteers as they collect NEW or GENTLY USED backpacks for the students at Gulfstream Academy of Hallandale Beach.

Look for the bins located in the lobby of the Administration Building or in the Lobby outside Perez Chapel to drop off your donations by August 16th.

On behalf of the students, we thank you in advance for your generosity! ... See MoreSee Less

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Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

1 week ago

We are excited to share with you the New Look and New Programs for Beth Torah's Adult Education! Visit the new section for Adult Education at http://www.btbrc.org/adult-education/ to find real-time information on the programs, the calendar of events, etc. We hope you join us! ... See MoreSee Less

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Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus

2 weeks ago

From our Members Reflections On a Visit to Nuremberg Eduardo Comella

The day was cloudy in Nuremberg, as was in the rest of the Bavaria last May. Few people walked the streets, and the ones that did, did so in silence. Some looked at me as if to say... "Don't ask me anything because that must not be spoken of". How ironic (I thought) that the Nazi regime's emblematic places in the city, are still preserved intact. Might it be due to the Nuremberg Germans not wanting to forget their shameful and despicable history?.

Might it be caused by some in the town still harbor the serpent's egg in their wombs?

I have to believe... I want to believe... that it is due to the former.

After a 15 minutes ride from central train station, I arrived at the "Nuremberg Nazi Party Rally Grounds", where one (whose evil name need not be repeated), spewed his hateful propaganda between 1932 and 1936.

I had to visit that somber and heinous place because I had a mission to fulfill.

When I arrived, the nearly 11 square kilometers of the Plaza was empty.

I walked alone until I stood just below the podium where the nameless riled his arduous fanatics. (It seemed to me that the sky became even cloudier)

After a few reflective minutes, I garnered all the collective insults that I had mustered and dedicated them all to him. It was after that when I started to fulfill my self-imposed mission.

I put my hands on my forehead covering my eyes and, with all the strength that I could illicit, and with an angry and excited voice, I yelled and recited:

"Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Ehad"

Suddenly, my prayer bounced off the white walls ahead of me, and an unexpected echo forced me to look back...

It was then that I saw six million Jews praying the Shema with me.

Suddenly it began to rain... I realized then that was humanity crying.

Yes... it was raining in Nuremberg... but inside me, the Sun was shining. ... See MoreSee Less

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BETH TORAH BENNY ROK CAMPUS More than a Synagogue We ...

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