Posted By simmons on June 16, 2017
FrontPage Magazine | ADL Co-Signs Pro-Islamist Letter w/BDS, Iran Lobby and Pro ... FrontPage Magazine Not only is the Jonathan Greenblatt era ADL failing to defend Jews, but its pandering to the left has taken it into direct solidarity with anti-Semitic organizations. |
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ADL Co-Signs Pro-Islamist Letter w/BDS, Iran Lobby and Pro ... - FrontPage Magazine
Posted By admin on June 16, 2017
Rabbi Zalman Melamed, dean of the Beit El Yeshiva and a senior and venerable figure in the Religious Zionist community, castigated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday over his refusal to carry out his pledge to build close to 300 new housing units inside Beit El.
In 2013, the government granted preliminary approval for 296 new housing units in Beit El as part of an agreement reached with residents to secure the orderly evacuation of 30 families living in the Ulpana neighborhood, which was later demolished. Leftist NGOs claimed that the land on which the families lived, located within the borders of Beit El, was not state land and their claim was upheld by the Supreme Court.
To compensate Beit El for the evacuation, the Netanyahu government promised - publicly - 10 new homes for each on destroyed.
Despite that promise, however, no progress has been made on the construction of the 296 units in the intervening four years.
Rabbi Melamed, who was a party to the negotiations in 2013, said that it was now apparent that the Prime Minister had deceived him.
The only person who deceived me was the Prime Minister, who on his reneged. He didnt just harm me personally; I was a representative of the public he harmed the residents of Beit El, harmed the 'settler' community, and harmed Religious Zionism. He made a mockery of Religious Zionism.
But Rabbi Melamed said he would pursue the matter, and that supporters of Beit El would not back down.
We wont let this go away quietly until we get the [building] permits.
The Prime Minister must rectify this situation and grant the permits immediately; this is what we are working towards. The Prime Minister knows that our community will learn a lesson and there will be a [political] price to pay.
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'Netanyahu is making a mockery of Religious Zionism' - Arutz Sheva
Posted By admin on June 16, 2017
The circus will not be coming to town, at least not the worlds most famous circus. Thats because Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus recently folded up its tent, literally and figuratively. No more elephants, no more high-wire acts and, worst of all, no more clowns.
Believe it or not, the Talmud actually has a fondness for clowns. In the Babylonian Talmud, at Taanit 22a, there is a story in which a rabbi asks Elijah the Prophet: Is there anyone in this market who has a share in the world to come? The Prophet says yes and points to two men in the market. The rabbi then asks the men what they do for a living. They reply: We are clowns, when we see people depressed we cheer them up; furthermore when we see two people quarreling we strive hard to make peace between them. Based on this story, one could argue that clowns should be revered. (No, the Talmud does not specifically praise or even mention Jewish humor columnists but maybe you now should think twice before using this article to wrap up your Passover dishes. Catch my drift? Capiche?)
So, if the job of a clown is important, the question is: what other jobs in Jewish life bring us joy and therefore should be praised and admired? Are there certain jobs that unfairly and unfortunately are treated like Rodney Dangerfield (No respect)?
One job in Judaism that deserves greater praise belongs to those who shield bar mitzvah boys from celebratory candy throwing. Talk about putting yourself in harms way. Most agents in the U.S. Secret Service spend less time in the line of fire. Anyone who protects children from sugary shrapnel by bravely offering themselves as a human shield should be praised, especially when the congregation is throwing hard candies.
Another underappreciated job in Judaism pertains to the congregational rabbis weekly Shabbat speech. Congregants expect their rabbis to deliver scintillating, riveting and moving lectures, something that can be discussed at the kiddush, lunch, hair salon, golf course, etc. Thus, when it comes to speech-making, rabbis must heed the words sung by red-headed rock legend Bonnie Raitt: Lets give them something to talk about. Of course, a perfect speech is extraordinarily difficult to deliver on a weekly basis. Its almost as stressful and taxing as the U.S. Postal Services pledge to deliver the mail in rain, sleet or snow. (Imagine how insane it would be if the U.S. Postal Service also delivered your email. Yes, that would kind of defeat the purpose of electronic mail and would make about as much sense as (i) sending an Instagram through Western Union, (ii) handing out menus at a hunger strike or (iii) wearing 3D glasses to a Broadway show.)
A job in Judaism that sometimes is taken for granted belongs to those who perform the most lopsided Hagbah (Torah lifting) of the year. This epically uneven endeavor occurs right around the holiday of Simchat Torah, when we complete one annual cycle of Torah reading and begin another. At that time, nearly all of the Torah parchment is wrapped around one of the two scrolls, thus creating an extremely lopsided lifting situation. (Based on degree of difficulty alone, it could be an Olympic sport.) If the bulk of the weight happens to be on the lifters weaker arm, calamity is possible. So, if you are chosen for this off-kilter honor, you would be wise to stretch out, use your legs and assign at least one designated spotter. No matter what, youll have a story to tell and one less squat to do at the gym the next day.
Yet another job in Judaism that deserves extra kudos belongs to the person who sets up a synagogues weekly kiddush. It is a thankless job that the hungry masses tend to overlook. While congregants stuff their faces with herring and crackers, they often fail to consider the tireless efforts and supreme dedication of those working behind the scene. Even worse, the ravenous tend to storm into the kiddush like the Bulls of Pamplona, devouring anything that isnt nailed down and leaving the room in a filthy mess resembling a Jackson Pollock painting. Sadly, too few utter a simple thank you, a phrase that is not used often enough. (Other phrases that also are rarely uttered include (i) Hooray, my in-laws are staying with us for an entire month, (ii) I really need to gain a lot more weight, (iii) Preparing for Passover is fun, and (iv) Wow, the High Holidays are neither late nor early this year.) So, the next time you partake in a kiddush, try making less of a mess, scene or fool of yourself and try showing more love and respect to the Kiddush crew.
Bottom-line: If clowns have a share in the world to come, then one could say that circus clowns go from one Big Top to the next.
By Jon Kranz
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Posted By richards on June 16, 2017
Editors Note: On June 9, the Forwards editor-in-chief Jane Eisner wrote a piece entitled, Why This Renegade Rabbi Says He Can Marry Jews - And The Jew-ish, which discussed the controversy of intermarriage within the Conservative Jewish community. In the coming days and weeks, we will be publishing several responses to her story. The following is one of them.
I am Jewish Litvak descended from a hundred generations. My ancestors were not famous rabbis or illustrious Talmud scholars, but they all stayed alive long enough to procreate and pass on their values, memories and traditions to their children. My people were ordinary Jews on a long journey from Sinai to Israel to Babylon to Ashkenaz to Lithuania to South Africa, where my parents were born, got married and raised four Jewish children. Although my parents never told me explicitly to marry a Jewish man, I believed I was supposed to keep the received tradition going. But I ignored that unspoken expectation and married a German man descended from a long line of Protestants. While my ancestors were married under a chuppah, with prayers in Hebrew and a Ketubah (marriage contract) in Aramaic, I was married in a registry office in Frankfurt in a 20 minute service that was conducted in German and where a clerk in a short-sleeved shirt quoted Thomas Mann poetry. It was recorded in our official marriage certificate that I was Jewish and he was No Religion. It was completely baffling to me linguistically and culturally; Im still trying to figure out what it means.
If you asked me why I married him, I would have said he was handsome, kind, hard-working and intelligent. If you asked him why he married me, he would say its because I was a mystery to him. He was certainly mysterious to me. Compared to my emotional and loud family, he was quiet and had good boundaries. He could also ski, fix cars and was very good with details. I couldnt do any of those things. I hoped he would convert to Judaism after we married, but while he was fully respectful of my traditions, he made it clear they werent for him. As my daughter once said when she was tiny: My Moms Jewish and my Dads workish.
That was the problem really.
What I wished someone had told me was that I wasnt just getting married; I was also starting a family. Before my first child was born, I didnt understand the day-in and day-out effort it takes to raise children and to pass on Jewish values, memories and traditions as you go. On Yom Kippur, my kids saw their father going to work and their mother going to shul synagogue. On Shabbat, I cooked, lit the candles, said Kiddush and blessed them. On Pesach, I cooked the food, set the table and led the Seder. At my sons bris, I was the one obligated by the guests response: just as you brought him into the covenant, so too should you bring him in to Torah, to chuppah, and to good deeds. It was an exhausting job to do alone and I was often angry that he was so absent. He worked long days and relaxed by cycling on the weekends. I started studying Talmud and volunteering for my shul. While studying Masechet Gittin (the tractate of the Talmud dealing with Jewish divorce), I began divorce proceedings.
I tell my children: never marry out. They tell me Im being hypocritical. I say: learn from my experience. My children are now grown up and have mostly left home. I have a new boyfriend. Everyone wants him to be Jewish, but he isnt. Turns out I didnt learn from my experience, either. It doesnt look like I will be married under a chuppah in this lifetime. I hope my children do better than me. I hope they find value in our tradition and that they have the strength and good luck to pass it on to their children. But as Ben Sira says, quoted in Yevamot 63b: Dont worry about tomorrows trouble, because you dont know what the day may beget. Tomorrow may come and you will be no more and so you have worried about a world which is not yours.
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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Against My Best Advice, I Married A Non-Jewish Man The Forward - Forward
Posted By richards on June 16, 2017
By Pat Padua Special To The Washington Post
Set in an Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem, "The Women's Balcony" centers on the literal breakdown of a synagogue. Structural damage to the women's seating section results in a social conflict - one that resonates well beyond its specific milieu.
After a balcony in a moderate synagogue collapses during a bar mitzvah, the congregation's rabbi falls ill. While plans are being made to renovate the house of worship, his replacement, the younger, more conservative Rabbi David (Aviv Alush), comes in with ideas that divide the community along gender lines.
Rabbi David insists that married women cover their hair, a proposal that is largely met with resistance. After the women raise enough money to reconstruct the balcony, he further insists that the money be used for a new bible scroll instead of balcony repairs.
"The Women's Balcony" immerses the viewer in a culture whose rules may seem unusual to outsiders. One example is the debate over whether it's acceptable to employ a "Sabbath Gentile" (that is, a non-Jew who is allowed to use a flashlight when the power goes out).
In the face of this particular orthodoxy, husbands and wives sometimes find themselves at odds. But in society at large, whether secular or religious, such contentious climates are becoming an increasingly unfortunate reality.
The film itself seems divided. While director Emil Ben-Shimon and writer Shlomit Nehama appear to side with the more moderate camp, images of the neglected synagogue - including a broken window that was never repaired - suggest that, just as the structure has been left to decay, so have its traditions.
Although the film ultimately strikes a celebratory tone, the stark divisions it reveals offer an unsettling look at the state of public discourse. Despite that broader message, it may be hard for some outsiders to feel fully invested in the central conflict. In the end, the solution offered by "The Women's Balcony" to end the rancor feels unearned.
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Synagogue is divided when a balcony collapses - Foster's Daily Democrat
Posted By richards on June 16, 2017
(JTA) Anti-Semitic messages were found painted on the wall of a synagogue in Romania.
Holocaust Never Happened and All the Best with a Star of David were painted in black and red on the outside of the Synagogue of Deportees Memorial Temple in Cluj-Napoca, in northwestern Romania.
Police were called about the graffiti on Monday by representatives of the citys Jewish community, though the vandalism may have taken place over the weekend, according to local reports.
Though the synagogue is located on a main thoroughfare in the city, no witnesses have come forward with information about the vandalism.
Built in 1886, the synagogue was destroyed during Allied bombardments in June 1944. It was rebuilt and reinaugurated in 1947, when it was dedicated to the memory of the over 16,000 Jews deported from Cluj in May-June 1944 and exterminated in Auschwitz.
The areas Jewish community of about 400 uses the synagogue.
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Anti-Semitic messages painted on Romanian synagogue | Jewish ... - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Posted By admin on June 16, 2017
Email a copy of "Local Synagogue Offers Aid Following Deadly London Apartment Building Fire" to a friend
Grenfell Tower on Wednesday morning. Photo: Twitter/@LondonFire.
A synagogue in London located mere blocks away from the residential building thatcaught fireearly Wednesday morning has offered to aid rescuers dealing with the deadly blaze, the UKs Jewish Chronicle reported.
The staff at Holland Park Synagogue contacted local officialsto see howthey could be of assistance after hearing about the massive fire at Grenfell Towers in North Kensington, where at least six people died.Laurence Julius, honorary treasurer of the synagogue, wrote tothe Kensington and Chelsea Council, We have just heard of the news and as part of the local community we would like to offer to help. Please let us know what we can do. The synagogue has not been called upon yet to act.
In a separate email to members of the synagogue, Julius wrote: We express our horror at the tragic event. The people who lived in the tower have lost everything. Anything you can do to help will be much appreciated. He added that a collection will take place on Sunday for those who want to donate clothes and toiletries, and members werealso asked to donate via an online fundraising page.
June 15, 2017 4:53 pm
Forty fire engines and around 200 firefighters were called to the scene a little before1 a.m. on Wednesday morning and 50 people arecurrently being treated in hospitals, the Jewish Chronicle reported. Scotland Yard said the death toll was expected to rise exponentiallyand reports suggested the fire at the 27-story structure may have been caused by a faulty refrigerator, according to the Daily Mail.
The New West End Synagogue, which is also located near the site of the fire, forwarded Holland Parks email to itsmembers, and Notting Hill Chabad said it wasdistributing necessary itemsand providing support to those affected by the disaster, the Jewish Chronicle noted. Borehamwood Synagogue will also be collecting clothing, toiletries, bedding and other items to distribute to victims of the fire and their families.
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Local Synagogue Offers Aid Following Deadly London Apartment ... - Algemeiner
Posted By richards on June 16, 2017
A Jewish congregation is divided over repairs that must be made to their Jerusalem synagogue in The Womens Balcony.
A Jewish congregation is divided over repairs that must be made to their Jerusalem synagogue in The Womens Balcony.
The Womens Balcony: a charming tale of a synagogue feud
The Womens Balcony, about a rift within an Orthodox Jewish congregation in Jerusalem, is such an agreeable, crowd-pleasing film that its light touch could be mistaken for being lightweight. But beneath its gentle, comic exterior is a serious look at social and religious tensions not always apparent in the West.
The conflict revolves around a neighborhood synagogue, which is populated by quirky, appealing folks who seem to have known each other for most of their lives. Aside from some comic pratfalls, all is well until the second-floor balcony where the women are segregated during services collapses during a bar mitzvah.
This architectural calamity prompts the men of the synagogue to enlist the assistance of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, who fixes the building but places the women in a drab back room without a new balcony. This slight leads to fissures in many a marriage, and gives director Emil Ben-Shimon an opportunity to illuminate a culture clash between the more modern Orthodox and more traditional ultra-Orthodox branches of Judaism.
This could have become preachy or even precious really fast, but the excellent ensemble cast is there to remind us that this is a story grounded in genuine human emotions. Ben-Shimon also gets a lot of mileage out of his Jerusalem locations, which give his story even more authenticity.
The film falters a tad with its predictability: We can see almost every plot twist coming around the cobblestone corners. But its impossible to resist a film that has such rich characters and makes a complicated subject both enlightening and entertaining.
David Lewis is a Bay Area freelance writer.
The Womens Balcony
Dramedy. Starring Evelin Hagoel, Igal Naor. Directed by Emil Ben-Shimon. In Hebrew with English subtitles. (Not rated. 96 minutes.)
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'The Women's Balcony': a charming tale of a synagogue feud - SFGate
Posted By richards on June 16, 2017
Interior and sand floor of the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad, Curacao
Like an act of moving meditation, the synagogue attendant smooths over a weeks worth of footprints on the sand floor of Mikv Israel-Emanuel in Willemstad, Curaao. He glides a rake in long arcs until the sand resembles freshly poured concrete, occasionally kicking up a swirl of dust that catches the warm light pouring through the windows.
Outside, a ships foghorn sounds in the distance and from the caf across the street, a referees whistle punctuates the morning air as patrons sip coffee and watch a recap of a recent Olympic soccer match. On this fresh August morning, a warm ocean breeze rustles the flowering trees lining the Caribbean capitals picturesque streets; the bustle of the day is just getting underway.
But in the bright-yellow, colonial-era synagogue, there is silence. As the members of the congregation step through the doors for Saturday morning worship, their shoes sink into the sand covering the floor. Each soft step in this sanctuary is a reminder of the trials faced by the congregations ancestors, and of the Caribbean islands that were also sanctuaries of a sort, offering refuge to Jews in an unwelcoming world.
Mikv Israel-Emanuel was built in 1732 by the descendants of Portuguese-speaking Dutch Jews who, in 1651, crossed the Atlantic as the Dutch empire grew, establishing the New Worlds first Jewish communities far from the anti-Semitism of Europe. At the intersection of the Caribbean environment and Jewish identity, these settlers covered the floors of their synagogues with white sand, both to remind congregants of the 40 years the Jews spent wandering the desert in biblical times and also to pay homage to their Portuguese ancestors who, before finding refuge from the Inquisition in Holland, used sand to muffle the sounds of sacred prayers and songs. Today, there are just four synagogues that carry on the distinctly Dutch-Portuguese tradition of sand-covered floors. Willemstads Mikv Israel-Emanuel has the largest congregation, with about 200 members. The others are in Kingston, Jamaica; Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands; and Paramaribo, Suriname (which, while technically being in South America, is considered a Caribbean territory). The sand-floor tradition is one of the last remaining manifestations of Dutch-Portuguese Jewish life in this area, but it is also a tradition that could hold the key to Mikv Israel-Emanuels future.
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We are on our way to extinction, says Ren Levy Maduro, a lifelong member of Curaaos Jewish community. Our numbers are just diminishing to the point of no return.
In his late 70s and walking with a cane, he spent four decades on the board of Mikv Israel-Emanuel15 years as its presidentand has seen the congregation change over the generations. But its the attrition thats most concerning. Younger Jews are leaving the Caribbean in droves as they seek post-secondary education and other opportunities in the United States or Europe. Our numbers will just get smaller."
Maduro is among the last members of the congregation who remember the islands old traditions. Over a snack of egg rolls and orange juice at the Indonesian caf across the street from Mikv Israel-Emanuel, he describes the stories, symbols, and traditions particular to Caribbean Jewry. There are the skull and crossbones carved into dozens of tombstones in the Jewish cemetery, for instance, but they have nothing to do with pirates. The skull and crossbones [may have] its origin in our past, when our ancestors became Christians following the Inquisition, he says. Calledconversos(converts), many Iberian Jews publicly converted to Christianity while secretly practicing Judaism before fleeing to the Netherlands and on to Dutch colonies in the New World, where they could practice their religion openly.
Traditions born of Curaao also include the unique attiretop hats and tuxedos with long coattailsworn by Mikv Israel-Emanuels board and honorees on Yom Kippur. They carry the Torah around the synagogue under the flickering light of hundreds of candles sitting atop four massive colonial-era chandeliers. Its magical, Maduro says. So entrenched is Curaaos Jewish community that the islands local languagePapiamentu, a mix of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and African languagescontains dozens of words of Hebrew origin.
As the communitys patriarch, Maduro is doing all he can to retain the history of the Curaao Jewish community before it is forgotten. While hes recording the traditions he recalls seeing as a child on the island, curator Myrna Moreno cares for the tangible heirlooms at the Jewish Cultural Historical Museum in Willemstad. Separated from the synagogue by a small tiled courtyard, the dimly lit museum holds the communitys rich collection of artifacts, including a 14th-century Torah made out of deerskin that was smuggled out of Iberia during the Inquisition and later taken by ship across the sea to the Caribbean. Its skin is now a dark, dry brown, and the inked Hebrew script is faded, but the distinctive Torah is one of the more popular artifacts in the museum, explains Moreno, particularly with tourists, many who come to Curaao on cruise ships.
Ships built the past of Mikv Israel-Emanuel; perhaps ships will also build its future.
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A resigned shrug is all Moreno can muster when asked about the future of Curaaos Jewish community. But if the stats on the number of visitors to the synagogue and museum are any indication, its tourists who may provide salvationor at least a lifelineto Mikv Israel-Emanuel. Even though the old synagogue holds deep spiritual significance for a number of individuals and families in the Caribbean, tourists now exceed the number of locals who worship there.
As with other synagogues in the Caribbean, Mikv Israel-Emanuel has become a venue for destination weddings, bar mitzvahs, and bat mitzvahs, mainly for wealthy families from the United States. The synagogue hosts about a dozen bar mitzvahs or bat mitzvahs annually, but its the cruise ship visitors who supply the most substantial boost. In 2015, cruise ships brought more than 565,000 people to Curaao and many of them went to see the synagogue that covers its floor with sand, paying a US $10 fee to see its treasures.
Having visitors pay to visit the synagogue could be seen as the commodification of a cultural tradition, but Maduro, Moreno, and the other stewards of Mikv Israel-Emanuel balance the preservation of the building and its rich history with the financial realities of maintaining a centuries-old building with a dwindling congregation. Photos in the sanctuary are not allowed on the Sabbath, and the museum cases are opened when the centuries-old pieces on display need to be used.
By sharing their beloved synagogue with visitors, Curaaos Jews offer a doorway to history, a place to reflect, and a calm sanctuary in a busy world.
Related Stories fromHakai Magazine:
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Why Sand Covers the Floor of One of the Western Hemisphere's Oldest Synagogues - Smithsonian
Posted By admin on June 16, 2017
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism recently partnered with Faircom New York for their annual fundraising
New York, NY (PRWEB) June 16, 2017
Faircom New York is proud to announce their newest client:The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). As their newest partner in fundraising, Faircom New York will work on strategic consultation and production management services for their national direct mail and digital fundraising programs. The work will be fully integrated across all channels.
Founded in 1913, USCJ is a membership organization uniting Conservative synagogues throughout North America and providing them with crucial services to invigorate, sustain, keep relevant, and enrich the Conservative movement. Member synagogues engage in leadership training, participate in a variety of forums to exchange ideas, and have access to a multitude of resources to strengthen their congregations. USCJ is also the governing body of USY, the preeminent Conservative Jewish youth organization, and The Conservative Yeshiva based in Jerusalem.
Corinne Servily, founder of Faircom New York, says: "I am so proud to work with an organization whose longstanding history is characterized by one of outstanding service, and initiatives that unite not only Jews, but a host of pluralistic groups. USCJ was a voice of resistance during the Holocaust; has advocated for freedom for Soviet and Syrian Jewry; and it continues to act on behalf of world Jewry. Its message of inclusion, access, and acceptance resonates for all humanity."
"We intend to deploy every fundraising strategy and tactic in our arsenal to maximize USCJ's private fundraising goals while keeping their ROI in great shape. As a service organization, whose member synagogues are akin to clients, we understand how imperative it is that they deliver upon their promises, and that they do so in a fiscally responsible and sustainable manner."
The USCJ account will be led by BarbraSchulman. Barbra will be supported by Faircom New York's team of dedicated fundraising statisticians and our digital team whose integrated digital campaigns maximize overall revenues and ROI for a roster of over 30 clients.
If you'd like to talk about this newpartnership, please call Sally Frank at 212-727-3876.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/faircomnewyork/partnership/prweb14431522.htm
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United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Partners with Faircom New York - Benzinga
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