Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
Legends of Talmud-Why we should join funeral processions
Discover why traffic comes to a standstill when a funeral is driving by. What the Torah have to say about funeral processions and why is it so important to participate in the procession?
By: rabbi nebel
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Legends of Talmud-Why we should join funeral processions - Video
Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
Today, May 2, is the 17th day of the Omer. Following the practice set forth in this weeks parasha, we have been counting the day of the Omer since the second day of Passover, and will continue to do so until we reach the 49th day of the Omer, when we will celebrate the festival of Shavuot. Of the many curious rituals that we have, the counting of the Omer is one of the most curious of all.
The Torah itself provides virtually no explanation for the ritual at all. All it tells us is that, on the second day of Passover, we are to wave a measure of new barley as an offering in the temple (the measure is known as an Omer), and that we are then to begin counting 49 days. When the 49 days of the counting the Omer are complete, we are to offer two loaves baked of the new wheat as an offering of first fruits to God. What is the purpose of the counting? Thats not really clear.
In addition, the rabbinic tradition was unsure at various points whether the counting of the Omer was intended as a personal mitzvah, to be observed in all places and all times. The Talmud entertains the possibility that the counting of the Omer like the counting of the years of the Jubilee was intended as a commandment for the High Court alone to carry out, and not intended for each individual. The Talmud also wonders whether the counting of the Omer has any relevance at all after the destruction of the Temple, when the Omer and first fruits offering are no longer being practiced. And beyond these possibilities, later rabbis wondered whether the biblical term count refers in any case to a verbal counting. Perhaps all it is requiring is a mental acknowledgment, as numerous other such uses of the same biblical verb connote.
And yet, despite the ambiguity surrounding the reason, and the suggestions that have been made that there is no individual mandate to verbally count the days of the Omer, the practice has persisted, and is regarded as an obligatory mitzvah. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that over the many centuries, we have invested the counting of the Omer with many layers of spiritual meaning above and beyond that which the Torah originally intended.
Twelve years ago, as we celebrated our oldest sons bar mitzvah on this parasha and in the midst of that years Omer count I spoke about the meaning that the counting held for me on that morning. I began with the recognition that counting is ordinarily a very utilitarian activity. We typically count things for the very practical purpose of lassoing them in, of getting a clear sense of what they are, so that we can then make use or manipulate this set of counted things for our maximum benefit. Counting is a vital tool for exerting control over, and being able to impose our will upon, the objects and beings in our world. And if it were the case that we counted the days of Omer beginning with 49 and ending with 1, we could fit this counting into the typical model as well. With the counting of each day, we would know how much time we had left until the Shavuot festival, and consequently how much time remained to accomplish whatever tasks we needed to complete by the time festival arrived. (For rabbis, for example, this would help expedite the planning of the synagogues Shavuot program!)
But we do not count down the days of the Omer. We count up. For 49 days we simply count how many days have passed since the second day of Passover, not how many days are left until Shavuot. What practical, utilitarian purpose could this possibly provide? What could such a count enable us to gain control over? How did it happen that, despite all of the ambiguities and unexplained features of this counting, and despite its lack of functional purpose, that the mitzvah to count the days of the Omer has persisted? These were the questions I posed as, together with the congregation, we were marking our oldest childs coming-of-age.
And I proposed that the meaning of counting the Omer is to be found precisely in its strange, nonfunctional quality. And that the reason it has persisted as a cherished ritual is precisely the fact that it gives us the ability to control nothing. To the contrary, it highlights, and calls to our conscious attention, the fact that we do not control the passage of time at all. That as much as we might wish that it were otherwise, we live within the steady flow of time. As hard as we might wish to freeze certain moments in time, to stop and remain forever in particular stages of our own lives or of our childrens lives, we are powerless to do so. Time will keep passing, and everything and everyone will keep aging and changing. We count the Omer year after year, verbally, individually, and whether we have barley and wheat offerings or not, because it is our annual ritualized reminder that we are not in control of the passage of time.
Why do we annually call our attention to this reality? Well, both because we need to learn how to graciously let go at many critical points in life, and because we need to remember that days only come around once, and we need therefore to make the most of each one. The most profound prayer in the entire book of Psalms is found in chapter 90: Teach us how to properly count our days, so that we may attain a heart of wisdom.
Im guessing it would be too depressing to count the passing days all year round. But in our collective Jewish wisdom, we have realized that its a really good idea for a period of seven weeks each year.
Today is the 17th day of the Omer.
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Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
Janet Seckel-Cerrotti in Kolin synagogue, part I.
By: Judita Matyasova
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Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
Yair Dalal playing at the Sehpardi Synagogue, 24 April 2014
Yair Dalal is a legend.
By: Allan Alderson
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Yair Dalal playing at the Sehpardi Synagogue, 24 April 2014 - Video
Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
By: The Canadian Press
Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2014 at 11:40 AM | Comments: 0
CALGARY - The spraying of a swastika and other vulgar graffiti on a synagogue and some schools in Calgary has been deemed by police as a hate crime.
Three suspects are being sought after the symbol was scrawled last week on a rear door of the southwest-area synagogue.
Vandals also tagged several schools with swastikas and other vulgar drawings and language.
All the graffiti has since been removed.
Investigators say surveillance video has given them a description of the suspects.
Judy Shapiro with the Calgary Jewish Foundation says many people in the community are distressed that a symbol of hate and evil is being displayed in highly-visible places. (CHQR)
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Vulgar graffiti on Calgary synagogue, schools, sparks hate-crime probe
Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
Hasidic Businessman's Body Found in Dumpster in January
VOS IZ NEIAS
Published April 30, 2014.
Police are questioning a suspect in custody in connection with the January murder of Brooklyn Hasidic businessman Menachem Stark, a spokesman for the department confirmed.
The 26-year-old man, has admitted to his role in the crime and implicated the other two, sources told the New York Post and the Daily News. He is expected to face a murder charge, the sources told the Post.
Police called the suspect the main player in the kidnap and murder, the Daily News reported. The paper said two other people were being questioned.
The pace of the investigation has accelerated over the last 24 hours and hopefully will continue to accelerate over the next 24 hours to its conclusion, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said during a brief appearance with Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, who nodded in agreement. Its accelerating and its moving in a very quick direction.
Satmar political leader David Niederman praised the police actions in a statement.
Today is bittersweet, Niederman said. Bitter because Menachem is no longer with us and he is forever missed. Sweet that the law enforce community has made an arrest in this heinous crime.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) also praised the authorities. I have followed this terrible and tragic case from the beginning and applaud the NYPD for their tenacity in pursuing the murder suspects, said Hikind.
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'Main Player' in Menachem Stark Murder Being Questioned by Police
Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
From Hasidic Jews confronting their homosexuality (Trembling Before G-D); to four overweight Israeli men who find Sumo wrestling their way to be appreciated and honored (A Matter of Size), nine Jewish movies in the premier Indianapolis Jewish Film Festival present topics that raise significant issues, touch the heart and make you laugh. http://www.indianapolisjewishfilmfestival.com
The first Indianapolis Jewish Film Festival rolls out the red carpet May 3, and concludes May 10. The feature-length films will be shown in three locations. The Indianapolis Jewish Film Festival was created by Indianapolis community leader and attorney Robert Epstein. The Indianapolis Jewish Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Epstein said Jews have a long history in theater starting off-Broadway, and then producing on the Great White Way, and eventually moving to Hollywood. Familiar Jewish Hollywood names include Stanley Kubrick, Stephen Spielberg, Douglas Fairbanks, Billy Wilder, Carl Reiner, the Coen brothers (Fargo, the Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, and others,) the Weinstein brothers (The Kings Speech, Philomena, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,) and many more.
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Posted By richards on April 30, 2014
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 30, 2014
JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2014
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
For thousands of years, the Jewish people have sustained their identity and traditions, persevering in the face of persecution. Through generations of enslavement and years of wandering, through forced segregation and the horrors of the Holocaust, they have maintained their holy covenant and lived according to the Torah. Their pursuit of freedom brought multitudes to our shores, and today our country is the proud home to millions of Jewish Americans. This month, let us honor their tremendous contributions -- as scientists and artists, as activists and entrepreneurs. And let all of us find inspiration in a story that speaks to the universal human experience, with all of its suffering and all of its salvation.
This history led many Jewish Americans to find common cause with the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans and Jewish Americans marched side-by-side in Selma and Montgomery. They boarded buses for Freedom Rides together, united in their support of liberty and human dignity. These causes remain just as urgent today. Jewish communities continue to confront anti-Semitism -- both around the world and, as tragic events mere weeks ago in Kansas reminded us, here in the United States. Following in the footsteps of Jewish civil rights leaders, we must come together across all faiths, reject ignorance and intolerance, and root out hatred wherever it exists.
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Presidential Proclamation -- Jewish American Heritage ...
Posted By simmons on April 30, 2014
West Bank Hamas Rally Tests New Palestinian Unity Pact Over a thousand supporters of the Islamist group Hamas marched through the streets of a West Bank stronghold of its rival Fatah party on Wednesday, testing a... By: Newsloop Top News
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West Bank Hamas Rally Tests New Palestinian Unity Pact - Video
Posted By simmons on April 30, 2014
We Walk to Remember - Unto Every Person There is a Name AEPi joins B #39;nai B #39;rith in remembering the millions who perished during the Holocaust. Students read names of victims from the Holocaust and join together in a silent walk around campuses across..
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We Walk to Remember - Unto Every Person There is a Name - Video
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