Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

Shoshana Nambiis a rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. A native of Eastern Uganda, she grew up in the small but powerful Abayudaya Jewish community. She recently authored a childrens book, The Very Best Sukkah, about the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and the joyful way it is celebrated in her community. The story is based on Nambis own life, features a spirited young girl. Vibrant illustrations by Ethiopian Israeli artist Moran Yogev capture the look and feel of Ugandan Judaism.

Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder of the San Francisco-based think tank Bechol Lashon sat down with Nambi to learn more about the author and the book.

Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder: What made you want to write this book?

Shoshana Nambi:When I get invited to speak to different communities around the world, I always tell stories of growing up in the Abayudaya Jewish community of Uganda. I talk about the love I had from my grandparents and the role that my community played in my upbringing.

One of my favorite childhood memories is of the big walk that I would take with my brothers, friends, and the entire community to view other peoples sukkot. Everyone tried, within their means, to decorate their sukkah to be the best for the community walk. We were all so so happy that we had visitors in our sukkah. There was a little bit of quiet informal discussion of whose sukkah won. But usually, there was no official winner, just the sukkah to which people came. So when Lili Rosenstreich fromKalaniot Booksapproached me to see if I could write a childrens storybook from the stories that I tell on my tours, this was the story that was on the top of my mind. Also, I love Sukkot.

Is there really a contest in your community for the most beautiful sukkah?

There was not an official contest. I added that to the story. But for many years, there used to be a big walk after services where we all went around to see other community members sukkot. Some were more brightly colored than others, some had foods likeground nutswe could sample, some sukkot were small, and some sukkot were big. There was a little bit of quiet informal discussion of whose sukkah was the best. But usually, there was no official winner. We eventually settle and had kiddush in one of the sukkot. The singing was always my favorite part. And, of course, I loved eating some of the hanging fruits that were used to decorate the sukkot.

Who is the audience for this book?

I wrote this book for two audiences. First, I wrote this book for Jewish children and families in the United States. I want people in America, Jews, and non-Jews, and around the world to learn about the history of the Abayudaya Jewish community, the foods, and the music of our community. I want them to see the ways in which our celebrations and Jewishness are similar to and different from theirs.

I also wrote this book for children in Uganda. I want them to see their foods, trees, and customs celebrated in a book. I wish I had read about my Jewish experience in a book when I was younger. I am glad to be able to be making that change happen.

You have been studying, first in Israel and now in New York, to become a rabbi. What do you miss about Uganda?

Everything! My family and friends, the food, the way we sing and pray, and how life is less structured than in the big city of New York, though Uganda has its own challenges of course. I am so grateful for all the opportunities I am having while far away from home, learning Torah, and studying with amazing Jewish leaders. But I miss home, and I cant wait to bring all these experiences with me home at some point.

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Book takes Jewish children to 'The Very Best Sukkah' in Uganda J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

When Hurricane Ians path veered into southwest Florida instead of the Tampa Bay area, the local Jewish community reacted with compassion and generosity.

Images of massive destruction and flooding emerged as the storm passed and it was clear there was a huge need to help. Within days, folks from the Tampa area gathered up thousands of pounds of supplies, from batteries and water to clothing, toiletries, cleaning supplies, canned goods and prepared meals supplies and made trips to hard-hit areas to render aid and supplies.

At the same time, members of the Jewish community were urged by both the Jewish Federation of Floridas Gulf Coast and the Tampa JCCs and Federation to donate to the Jewish Federations of North America emergency relief fund at jfeds.org/2022HurricaneRelief. All funds raised will be used for the victims of Ian throughout

Florida.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, the Tampa JCCs and Federation along with Chabad Chai of South Tampa and USF Chabad loaded up a large bus full of supplies and about 40 volunteers. Other vehicles also traveled in the caravan, toting more volunteers and more supplies.

The volunteers stopped at the Chabad of Venice, which served as a staging center for relief efforts and realistically, as far south as we could go so soon after the storm, said Mark Segel, director of Strategic Planning for the Tampa JCCs and Federation.

We had four doctors, chainsaws, power saws; we did not know what to expect, but we tried to bring what would be helpful, said Rabbi Mendy Dubrowski, leader of Chabad Chai of South Tampa.

Once supplies were unloaded, the volunteers broke up into 15 groups, with each group assigned addresses of members of the Jewish community who had not been heard from since Ian crashed ashore. They went to homes in Venice, North Port, Englewood Warm Mineral Springs and Rotonda.

Rabbi Dubrowski explained that the rabbi at Chabad of Venice had an extensive database of Jews in the area. Since many areas were still without power and cellphone service was down for much of the area, family members from all over the world had been calling to find out if their relatives were all right. The rabbi made a list of 140 homes to be checked on and most got a visit from a volunteer group, though in some areas flooding or police restrictions prevented home visits.

In one case, volunteers visited an elderly couple, Semyon and Zina Gubich, to check on their welfare. The lady began crying when we approached the home and told me in Russian now that a rabbi is here were going to be OK, said Rabbi Dubrowski.

The womans husband had had a stroke the week before the hurricane and volunteers were not sure what to expect whether he had his medications or needed medical aid, said Alissa Fischel, chief development officer of the Tampa JCCs and Federation. There was a sense of urgency to get to them because we were not sure what help was needed, but once we arrived we found he not only had all the medications he needed and was recovering from the stroke, but they also had a caregiver at the house for him.

The couple recalled the harrowing time during the hurricane. They barricaded themselves in their home and tried to place whatever they could be the doors to stop the flooding, and then they watched the waters rise and prayed, Rabbi Dubrowski said. In the aftermath of Ian, their home was surrounded by downed power lines. No one could come in for three days. The morning we got there the power lines were removed so we were the first to enter the home and bring hot food.

In some areas only trucks high off the ground could reach homes and sometimes there was no direct route due to flooding or debris, but taking side streets had its own risks, such as blockage by debris or being so covered with water that a driver could not tell exactly where the pavement was.

In one case there was a home surrounded by water, looking like it was in the middle of a lake, Fischel said, explaining the water was too deep to drive through or wade through. Luckily there appeared to be nobody there.

In addition to checking on the Jews on the list, if the volunteers encountered any others along the way who needed supplies or aid, or wanted to get a message out that they were ok, the volunteers provided it, Fischel said.

Those who went to Rotunda found total devastation, said Rabbi Dubrowski. He said volunteers visited a home that looked like it was flipped upside down.

The problems encountered were different in different neighborhoods. For many there was still no power, in some, no water, and in others, severe flooding added to the mix of miseries. Only one recently built neighborhood, with buried power lines, did not lose power.

Fischel said one elderly woman was staying in her home with no power, thus no air conditioning. Despite the heat, she was reluctant to leave. Fischel said volunteers urged her to go stay with a friend who has air conditioning, and the woman said she would, but was not convincing.

Because the destruction and flooding is widespread and because not just power lines, but power poles were also downed, it will likely take a very long time for the communities to be rebuilt.

People were just frightened. They did not know how long it would be before things got back to normal, or how they would get what they needed for the next several weeks or months; it was very unsettling. Fischel said, One man said I am moving. He said the storm shook my house and I am moving out of here. He was very traumatized.

In spite of the trauma, Fischel said people visited expressed gratitude they lived through the storm.

In a separate recovery effort, Rabbi Lazer Rivkin, regional director of Chabad of Central Florida, and Rabbi Moshe Hezroney of Chabad in New Jersey helped direct food relief to be distributed from Chabad centers of Southwest Florida to the needy victims of the hurricane before Yom Kippur. Trucks loaded with supplies from their organizations were sent to the hard-hit area.

Meanwhile, collection of goods to be sent to victims of the hurricane is still ongoing.

The Tampa JCCs and Federation, Tampa Jewish Family Services and area synagogues and organizations are collecting water, nonperishable food, hygiene items and garbage bags.

These items can be brought to the Bryan Glazer Family JCC (522 N. Howard Avenue, Tampa), the JCC on the Cohn Campus (13009 Community Campus Drive, Tampa) or Congregation Rodeph Sholom (2913 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa) Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Fischel said more trucks of supplies will be sent to hurricane stricken areas soon and the relief efforts will likely continue.

This is what the Federation is here for, she said.

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Local Jews render aid to those hit by Hurricane Ian - jewishpresspinellas

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

Something remarkable perhaps even miraculous is happening halfway around the world. For over 43 years, post-revolutionary Iran has been forbidden to millions who escaped from the country. But today, due to the unbelievable courage and sacrifice of thousands of Iranian protestors, the prospect of the regime actually crumbling has Iranians in the diaspora bursting with anxious anticipation, wondering if theyll be able to return to a free Iran.

Theres so much at stake. In the words of one Iranian American friend: Im afraid to let myself think it [regime change] could actually happen, because weve been waiting and praying for it for so long.

The unprecedented rage of citizens against the regimes oppression renders todays protests uniquely historic, because this time, there may be no turning back. Theres so much on the line a free Iran and a more stable Middle East that the consequences are nearly heart-pounding. And if youre an Iranian in the diaspora, you get it.

Still, there are those who scratch their heads at the concept of never being able to return to a place that once was called home. I love Americans, but in my experience many of them believe that an immigrant (or even a refugee) arrives in the United States seeking a better life, but is free to visit his or her former country from time to time.

This probably explains why, over the course of 16 years since I first began speaking about Iran and the Middle East, Americans have asked me dozens of times if Ive ever been back to Iran or have any plans to visit the country again.

The answer is always the same: No, I havent been back because after my escape, Iran became forbidden to me (and millions of others). And what happens to those of us, the simultaneously blessed and pained, for whom there is no going back to our former homelands?

Were blessed because we were redeemed in new countries that are compassionate democracies; were pained because were outcasts from our former homelands, where our ancestors lived for millennia, still haunted by the traumas from a land that was supposed to nurture us, but cast us out, leaving us to connect to it from the loneliness of the periphery, or to abandon any semblance of connection altogether.

Today, were witnessing an all-or-nothing moment for Iranians inside Iran and in the diaspora. And if youre an Iranian Jew, its complicated.

Today, were witnessing an all-or-nothing moment for Iranians inside Iran and in the diaspora. And if youre an Iranian Jew, its complicated.

A few months ago, it was easier for me to believe that moshiach would arrive this year than to think there might be regime change in Iran. Thats how powerful the regime is, and how hard it would be to untie its stranglehold over the Middle East and beyond.

Iranian Jews outside of Iran live in two diasporas: one Jewish and the other Iranian. Many of us live by the words of the 12th-century Spanish-Jewish philosopher, Yehuda Halevi, who wrote, My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west. Yet for us, this poem signals a cry of the heart toward Jerusalem and Israel, but also toward Iran. Isnt that complicated?

I once met a Jew who escaped the former USSR and now lives in Los Angeles. We soon realized that as child refugees, we had both lived in an Italian refugee processing city at the same time in the late eighties. After the fall of Communism, she was able to visit Kyiv, her former city, and even say hello to old neighbors. Ill admit I was overtaken with envy. My friend was able to drink tea with old neighbors in a newly-free country, but I still wasnt able to visit the graves of my paternal grandparents, whom I never saw again after escaping Iran, because Irans Iron Curtain, or Irans hijab, if you will, still hadnt fallen.

Ive met young writers whove taken advantage of powerful Jewish heritage trips to countries such as Poland, and young professionals whove enjoyed charming tours titled Inside Jewish Morocco and Inside Jewish Cuba (both hosted by JDC Entwine). When will it be time to sign up for Inside Jewish Iran? After all, the country is home to the second-largest population of Jews in the Middle East after Israel.

I know regime change is still a dream, and at this time Im concerned exclusively about the safety of innocent Iranians (nearly 200 have been killed and thousands arrested during recent protests). But the thought of regime change is such a deep yearning that Iranians in the diaspora need to hold space for both the pain of protestors sacrifices and the joy of a potentially free Iran.

So in the spirit of optimism and daring to dream, I approached elderly Jews in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles and asked what they would do if they were able to return to a free Iran this year, if only for a temporary visit. Their generation is one that has especially strong ties to Iran (and lost everything when they escaped).

One mans words humbled me: Do you really want to hear my answer? he asked in Persian. Its a modest wish, but I would walk down the street and read every sign, and speak with everyone fluently in my mother tongue. Id feel like a king.

One elderly woman declared, I would kiss the earth [of Iran]. I really would. I kissed the earth of Israel when I first visited during the time of the Shah, and I would kiss the ground of my original land now.

Another man indulged in two fantasies: I would go to my old synagogue and complete the minyan, because I hear they have so few attendees these days. But first, I would hug my brother for days, because I havent seen him in 41 years.

And then, there was the simple wish of one elderly woman: I would just go back to my old house, she said. I still have the keys. I know its someone elses home now, but I would knock on the door and ask if they would let me stand in my old kitchen and sit with a cup of tea in my old living room.

In truth, if any exiled Iranians in the diaspora are ever able to visit a free Iran, itll be due to the incredible courage and unspeakable sacrifices of protestors who are being killed, injured, tortured or arrested today, as well the thousands whove risen against the regime for decades. I hope they know and feel the support and gratitude of millions worldwide, beginning in the greater Middle East, where every single Israeli, Saudi and Afghan (especially Afghan women) would owe these protestors an enormous debt of gratitude. Hezbollah and Hamas, on the other hand, would be utterly horrified (and bankrupt) if the mullahs lose power.

Of course, even if there was regime change, no one would expect Iran to morph into a secular democracy overnight.

Of course, even if there was regime change, no one would expect Iran to morph into a secular democracy overnight. But still, isnt it wonderful to imagine a free, stable Iran, an Iran in which there are dozens of flights to America at Tehrans airport each day? Or delegations of Israeli water management experts working with Iranian scientists and farmers to tackle devastating droughts? Or my ultimate fantasy for a free Iran: a female president who eradicates compulsory hijab and legislates compulsory education.

Ive repeatedly read that only months before the Berlin Wall fell, few in East Berlin thought they would ever gain freedom again. Maybe its too painful to imagine something so beautiful and so fragile.

Yes, its the regime that has the weapons, but even if these protests end today, I dont see how the mullahs could keep demanding that Iranians citizens continue to agree to their own oppression. And even if the regime abolishes the hated modesty police (who killed 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and so many others), but keeps other forms of oppression intact, the whole tyrannical system would quickly unravel. Simply put, itll be impossible to ask Iranians to now compromise and agree to 50% oppression.

Will these incredible protests lead to historic regime change? Ill answer that with another critical question: At this point, is there any going back?

Tabby Refael is an award-winning LA-based writer, speaker and civic action activist. Follow her on Twitter @TabbyRefael

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For Iranians in the Diaspora, This Is the Most Important Moment of Our Lives - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

14 Oct 2022 | 07:20 AM UTC

transportation

security

GEO

Members of the Ukrainian diaspora and their supporters will demonstrate in Tbilisi on Oct. 14 to mark Ukraine's Day of the Defender and denounce the Russian invasion of that country. Participants will gather in Freedom Square from 20:00. Attendance will likely not exceed the low thousands.

Police will deploy to monitor and facilitate the gathering. Related security measures could prompt localized transport disruptions. The event is likely to pass peacefully, though isolated clashes between police and protesters cannot be ruled out.

Avoid the protest as a routine security precaution and to mitigate associated disruptions. Heed instructions from security services and leave the area at the first sign of a confrontation. Check for disruptions and allow extra time for travel in the affected area on the evening of Oct. 14.

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Georgia: Ukrainian diaspora to rally in Tbilisi Oct. 14 to denounce Russian invasion of Ukraine - Crisis24

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

Within the framework of his visit, the chairman of the Committee is scheduled to hold meetings with members of Azerbaijani community living in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Ballarat, Brisbane and Gold Coast. The establishment of Coordinating Council of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations will also be discussed in detail during the meetings.

The program of the visit includes meetings with members of the communities, having friendly attitude towards Azerbaijan, as well as with a number of officials of the country.

It should be pointed out that the number of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations functioning in Australia has reached five, and thousands of Azerbaijanis unite closely around these organizations. Our compatriots living in Australia are interested in working in an effective and successful way in accordance with the recommendations of Mr. President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev and take an active role in bringing the true voice of Azerbaijan to the community where they live.

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The chairman of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora is on a visit to Australia Aze.Media - Aze Media

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

By Ere-ebi Agedah

The newly decorated national honouree, Hon. (Dr.) Abike Dabiri-Erewa OON, and the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has called on more national recognitions to deserving Nigerians in the Diaspora to fast track national growth and development.

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa stated this in Abuja at the occasion of her 60th birthday celebration and conferment of a National Medal of Honour, OON.

The Chairman of NiDCOM expressed her joy that two Nigerians in the Diaspora made the honours list.

She maintained that such gesture is a welcome idea that will encourage Nigerians abroad to invest more in their homeland.

Dabiri-Erewa (OON), thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and said that being named one of the awardees is a collective achievement of the Commission as well as her many years of previous service as a media practitioner

She equally expressed her gratitude to her family and friends who have been her strongest support systems through the years.

Meanwhile, in celebration of the Day of the Girl-child, the NiDCOM Boss upheld her promise to support the girl-child through her Foundation.

According to her, empowering the girl-child in the society, will create self-sufficiency among young girls and women, to bring about positive and impactful movement for nation-building, especially for Nigeria.

Hon. (Dr.) Abike Dabiri-Erewa is among the 500 recipients of the National Honours Award, under the category of Officer of the Order of the Niger, (OON), awarded by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

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More Nigerians In The Diaspora Should Be Awarded- Dabiri-Erewa - Heritage Times - The Heritage Times

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

Weve just celebrated our High Holidays, when Jews come together in community to ask how we can be the best we can be. We ask as individuals, and we ask as a community indeed, all of our High Holiday prayers are worded in the plural to denote that our responsibility to be our best selves is communal.

One way were living up to our best selves as a community is the growing number of synagogues offering free High Holiday services, as evidenced in J.s list of local free and low-cost services, as well as in this recent Forward story. Perhaps expensive Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur tickets are finally on their way out.

High-priced High Holiday tickets exclude many and turn off many more. Many Jews cant afford them, and many more are perplexed that a worship service would charge an admission price well into the three digits.

Some synagogues have taken a substantial step by charging moderate two-digit prices for High Holiday services. Thats progress. But lets eliminate prices altogether. If the rest of the years services are not priced, High Holiday services, of all things, should not be.

Weve all heard of High Holiday Jews: people who are marginally committed whose main link to Jewish practice is Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For Jews whose Jewish commitment is on life support, asking them to pay for High Holiday tickets is like stepping on the oxygen tube. Why would we do that to ourselves?

Increasingly, Jewish communities are answering that question by discontinuing this detrimental practice. Id like to invite our Bay Area community to take that step fully, and end all priced High Holiday ticketing.

I think, in our hearts, most of us would prefer not to charge high admission prices for a worship service. In an economy as bifurcated as ours into haves and have-nots, charging a high admission fee for a worship service is wrong. All Jews should be able to worship without worrying about the impact on making ends meet that month, and without the shame of having to call the synagogues office to plead poverty. The availability of worship to all is a key duty of an affluent Jewish community to its people.

The conventional wisdom about High Holiday tickets is that they pay for the additional expenses incurred by conducting larger-than-usual services. But why think of these costs as an additional burden to a synagogue rather than as an important part of a Jewish communitys mission or of the greater Bay Area Jewish communitys mission?

I was on the board of a large Reform synagogue outside the Bay Area some years ago, and I imagine that synagogues experience was broadly representative. With a $2 million operating budget, we made about $21,000 in High Holiday tickets each year. Those numbers have certainly increased since 2007, but revenues from tickets still represent very small fractions of existing operating budgets. If we welcome people in the door, they might stay if they have a good experience. Thats a mission-driven consideration if anything is.

To those who worry that High Holiday attendance will swell even further if tickets were free: We should have such problems! Lets figure out how to accommodate our people so that our community can survive and be strong. By all means, require registration for these services if security or logistical concerns demand it. But lets not sell tickets.

In the grand scheme of Jewish philanthropy, chipping in to help synagogues provide beautiful services to people who arent members is not such a heavy lift. For a fraction of the cost of a synagogue capital campaign, we could end High Holiday ticketing in the Bay Area once and for all. We can do this if we make it a priority. It would remove a psychological barrier, and for some an economic barrier, to Jewish affiliation and commitment.

So lets get rid of High Holiday ticketing for good, and lets do it now. We could be the first major metropolitan area that ends this practice. As 5784 dawns a year from now, we could look back knowing that we as a community have improved on this issue. What are we waiting for?

If youd like to be part of a project to try to end High Holiday ticketing in the Bay Area, please write to me at [emailprotected]. If we organize as a group, we could get the attention of the philanthropic community for this game-changing value proposition that isnt very costly in relation to its impact. We can end High Holiday ticketing if we come together and try.

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OPINION: Let's make this the year we end paid High Holiday tickets J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

In the days of ancient Rome, philosopher Seneca the Younger said that every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end. And thats exactly what Valley Stream Presbyterian Church is facing as it says goodbye to its longtime pastor, the Rev. Kymberley Clemons-Jones.Its not that its simply a time to move on for the good pastor. Instead, she feels she has no other choice.My salary, you know, is a hit to the congregation, Clemons-Jones said. Its just something that we have to worry about every two weeks.Eliminating her salary would give the South Central Avenue church a little room to breathe financially, but it also means losing a pastor who, over the course of nearly 15 years, increased the size of the congregation four times over. Yet, the Presbyterian churchs woes are hardly unique. While Covid-19 has exacerbated a lot of these issues, religious institutions have been under significant financial strain in recent years. Churches and synagogues have been sold, congregations scattered or merged with other communities, staff cut.While there are a number of factors involved in all of this, the one that stands out the most is also the one that might be the hardest to fix: Many just arent joining their faithful brethren seeking to visit houses of worship.Last year, for the first time in its 80-year history, Gallup found that more people didnt belong to a church, synagogue or mosque than did. Just 47 percent of those polled frequented a religious institution in 2020, according to researchers, compared with 50 percent in 2018 and a whopping 70 percent in 1999 a number that had remained mostly consistent since 1937. Church membership has dropped because the number of people expressing no religious preference has been on the rise, Gallup found. The portion of Americans who didnt identify with any specific religion grew from 8 percent in the late 1990s to 1 in 5 today.Yet waning faith isnt the only culprit here. That same Gallup poll also revealed a significant drop in church membership even among those who did identify with a faith. Between 1998 and 2000, three-quarters of religious Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque. In the years leading up to the pandemic, that number had fallen to 60 percent.That ultimately leaves churches like Valley Stream Presbyterian in the lurch. People are still afraid to come out, Clemons-Jones said. Our tithes and offerings have taken such a huge hit.Valley Stream Presbyterian has served parishioners for nearly a century. Church leaders are scrambling to make the transition from having a pastor to not having one as smooth as possible, but it wont be easy. While religious institutions offer their communities a range of services and activities from youth outreach to food pantries to other charitable work the spiritual leader still remains the central focus of each of them. Without that leader, an already struggling institution inches that much closer to non-existence.The beauty of America is that its a country where all of us are free to believe, or not believe, what we want. But for those who do still believe a segment of our population that is still in the majority lets not forget the very institutions that are the bedrock of our faith. Valley Stream Presbyterian may very well pull through this, just as it has past challenges. So many houses of worship arent so fortunate, yet we can create a new beginning from some other beginnings end simply by showing up.

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Churches need to see more of the faithful - liherald.com

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

By Rabbi Alicia Magal

Sedona News Shalom and greetings from the Rabbi, Board of Directors, and congregation of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley for the New Year 5783 which began on the Hebrew calendar last week

All the services, classes, and programs are listed on the synagogue website. Visitors are welcome to attend services.

On Friday, October 14 a Friday evening Erev Shabbat service, led by Rabbi Alicia Magal, begins at 5:30 pm both in person and on Zoom, and live-streamed for members and their invitees. Congregants participate by lighting candles, doing a reading, or having an Aliyah for the Torah service. Verses from the Torah portion will be chanted: the special readings for the week of Sukkot. Blessings for those who are ill, and a Mazal Tov for those celebrating a birthday or anniversary will be offered at the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Kaddish, the Mourners prayer, will be recited in memory of those who passed away either recently or at this time in past years. Shabbat offers a time out from work and worry, an opportunity to be grateful for our lives and the bounty with which we are blessed.

The High Holy Day services continue with Sukkot, the Harvest Holiday when people build a temporary structure called a sukkah in their synagogues around the world as well as in their backyards or on balconies. The huts are decorated with fruits, vegetables, autumn leaves and posters of the Land of Israel or calligraphed quotes from the Sages. It is a time of joy and gratitude for our bounty. American Founders patterned Thanksgiving after this biblical holiday. It is a mitzvah, commandment, to wave the lulav and etrog and say a blessing over these very different kinds of plants a palm frond, myrtle and willow branches, and a citron. Put together they represent unity of diverse characteristics in our body and in our community. People are welcome to visit the Sukkah behind the synagogue during the week of Sukkot, October 10 16.

Erev Simchat Torah will be observed on Monday, October 17 at 5:30 pm beginning with a brief Yizkor memorial service. This is the holiday when the congregation sings and dances around the sanctuary with the Torah scrolls, the very last verses of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, are read, after which the first verses of Genesis are chanted, and a blessing is offered to the congregation.

Meditation class resumes on Wednesday, October 19 at 4:00 on zoom.

On Thursday, October 20, at 4:00 pm, Torah study will focus on the very first verses of the Torah, recounting Creation in parshat Bereishit.

The Social Action Committee is continuing to collect food for the local Sedona food pantry. Please drop off cans or boxes of non-perishable foods in the bin provided for collections at the stairs leading to the synagogue sanctuary.

The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadow Lark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. Messages to the office telephone at 928 204-1286 will be answered during the week. Updated information is available on the synagogue website http://www.jcsvv.org.

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Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley: October 14-20, 2022 - Sedona.biz

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Posted By admin on October 15, 2022

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Late on Saturday, Ye (formerly Kanye West) tweeted to his 31 million followers that he planned to go death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. On its surface, this story is both sad and saddening, Atlantic contributor Yair Rosenberg wrote in his newsletter, Deep Shtetl, the next day, calling the tweet the the unmoored musings of an unwell man. But Yes story also holds lessons about what anti-Semitism is and why it endures today. I called Yair to discuss what makes anti-Semitism different from other prejudices.

But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

Isabel Fattal: In your newsletter post, you wrote that anti-Semitism is not just a personal prejudiceits a conspiracy theory. Can you explain this concept?

Yair Rosenberg: When people think about anti-Semitism, they often think about it through the prism of other prejudices they encounter, which typically take the form of people saying, I dont like people like that. Like that could be Jewish, Black, Muslim. And that is certainly a component of anti-Semitism, but it's not the only component. Anti-Semitism shares things with other prejudices, but it also has things that distinguish it from other prejudices. One of these distinctions is that anti-Semitism can take the form of a conspiracy theory about how the world works. It blames societys problems on some sinister, string-pulling Jewish cabal behind the scenes.

This conspiracy theory is infinitely malleable. Whatever the problems you perceive in the world, you can blame them on the same invisible culprit. So you end up with people who have entirely opposite worldviews who somehow land on the Jews as their enemies. You can have an Islamic extremist who takes a synagogue hostage in Texas, and you can have a white supremacist who [allegedly] shoots up a synagogue in Pittsburgh because he sees the synagogue as facilitating the entry of Muslims into the United States as refugees. [Robert Bowers pleaded not guilty; his trial is set for April 2023.] These are people who have completely disparate ways of seeing the world, but somehow, theyve ended up in the same place, because theyre both conspiracy theorists.

Isabel: You write that because anti-Jewish bigotry is a conspiracy, it becomes a self-sustaining cycle. How does that cycle work?

Yair: In Kanye Wests anti-Semitic tweets, he [implies] that hes going to attack Jewish people, and his rationale is that they blackball and silence those who act against them. This is a very clever little paradox, because if you, as a Jewish person, then say, I think this is anti-Semitic, and as a result of that, Kanye or anyone else who voices anti-Semitic sentiments suffers any consequences at all, then the anti-Semite can turn around and say, Ha, you see? That proves that the Jews do control the things I said they control. Because when I tried to say anything about it, people tried to shut me up. Its a self-fulfilling conspiracy theory that provides its own evidence and can never be falsified in the mind of the anti-Semite.

Isabel: Those are some of the strongest conspiracy theories in general, right? The ones that feed into their own evidence in that way.

Yair: Exactly. A big question about anti-Semitism has always been how it has managed to persist for so long. You would think that at a certain point, a lot of these crazy ideas about Jewish people would be exposed as untrue, and that would lead people to reject them. And of course, many people do. But when you have a conspiracy theory that feeds on itself, its a perpetual-motion machine that will continue to sustain itself for quite some time.

Isabel: Twitter locked Wests account over the weekend, a step it hasnt taken for other prominent anti-Semites on the platform. What do you make of that?

Yair: Twitter is an example of how society relates to anti-Semitismits able to condemn anti-Semitism when its extremely obvious, blatant, and embarrassing. But when anti-Semitism becomes more coded, when it gives itself a veneer of plausible deniabilityeven a very thin veneerall of a sudden, people start having trouble identifying it and condemning it.

When you have West saying hes going to go after Jewish people, its really hard for Twitter and anyone else reading that to escape that he is in fact assailing Jewish people. But had Kanye used one of the many popular euphemisms for Jews that exist both online and offline, and have for some timewhether thats globalists or Zionists or bankers or Rothschildshis tweets would likely still be up, and there would be people defending his comments.

There are many euphemisms that exist for Jews. Those terms can be tricky to identify, because they all have legitimate uses, but theyre often used illegitimately to imply an anti-Semitic conspiracy. Its not that you cant criticize those things or use those terms. Its that they have to be used honestly, and theyre often used dishonestly.

Isabel: Were living in a moment where conspiracy theories abound on the American right. How does the conspiracy of anti-Semitism fit in with other conspiracies, such as QAnon?

Yair: The more conspiratorial discourse your society has, the more likely people will become anti-Semites. You might start out as a freelance, equal-opportunity conspiracy theorist, but youre just one Google search away from somebody telling you that the people behind the problems that you perceive are Jewish people. And thats why you see a phenomenon where QAnon becomes Jew-Anon. Its how you see someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is just your garden-variety conspiracy theorist, suddenly liking a tweet about how the Mossad, Israels security service, was behind the assassination of JFK.

And thats why I think combatting conspiracy theories is a key component to combatting anti-Semitism. A lot of times, people parse anti-Semitism in political termsleft wing, right wing. But those are just ways people express their anti-Semitism. Fundamentally, anti-Semitism predates the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, communism, capitalismall these categories that we use now. But the human propensity for conspiracy theories, for attributing simple, single explanations to complex phenomena, is old. And were all susceptible to it.

Isabel: Where does a person like Tucker Carlson fit into this conspiracy ecosystem?

Yair: Some people are conspiracy theorists, like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Kanye West, as expressed in his interview with Tucker Carlson and in his tweets. And then there are people who know better but find conspiracy theories useful. Someone like Tucker Carlson sees West as a convenient tool with which to make certain political arguments.

Related:

The Most Important Amicus Brief in the History of the World

By Mike Gillis

Tu stultus es. You are dumb. Last week, The Onion filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court beginning with those three Latin words. The case of Anthony Novak v. City of Parma, Ohio involves a man who was arrested and forced to spend four days in jail for creating a parody Facebook account satirizing the local police department. Novak sued, claiming that the city had violated his constitutional right to free speech. A federal appellate court ruled in favor of the police, and Novak is now seeking to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.

Why did we file? Partially, because our livelihoods depend on putting parody out into the world and not being arrested for it. But more broadly, we filed because parody holds a powerful capacity thats especially worth defending in the present moment.

Read the full article.

More From The Atlantic

Read. Happening, a memoir by the new Nobel Prize laureate Annie Ernaux, which tells the story of an abortion Ernaux had in 1963, when it was illegal in France.

Watch. The Novice, on Showtime, a sports drama that ratchets up the tension to nightmare levels.

Or check out the other picks on our list of scary movies for people who dont like horror.

Play our daily crossword.

I asked Yair what keeps him sane amidst his coverage of some pretty disquieting topics.Well, I try to spend more time writing about what fascinates me than what frightens me, he said. But also, I sing and compose music. My grandfather was a Hasidic composer, and for some time, Ive recorded my own Jewish compositions, combining ancient lyrics with modern musical styles ranging from Irish folk to EDM. It took seven years, but I actually just released my first album! Listen to Az Yashir: Songs for Shabbat here.

Isabel

Excerpt from:

Why Conspiracy Theorists Always Land on the Jews - The Atlantic

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