Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 22, 2022

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov tells us: The main benefit of crying is when it is motivated by joy. It is even very good when remorse is motivated by joy; when out of great joy in G-d, a person feels remorse and aches greatly over having rebelled against Him in earlier days (Likutey Moharan I #175).

Rebbe Nachman adds that the word bchiyah (crying) is an acrostic for Bshimcha Ygiloon Kol Hayom (In Your Name they rejoice all day long) (Psalms 89:17). This hints to us that we must temper our crying over tragedies and that our crying should primarily be motivated by joy in Hashem.

Reb Noson explains that crying is an especially propitious means for arousing oneself to better serve G-d. Moreover, crying can move another person and motivate them to want to help the person in distress. Thus, when one cries out to Hashem, they awaken, as it were, a feeling from the Almighty to help them personally or to bring a general salvation to the Jewish people. Hence Rabbi Elazar tells us that even when the gates of prayer are locked, the gates of tears are still open (Berachos 32b).

So, as we transition out of the mournful month of Av and get ready for Elul, let us focus on the myriads of kindnesses Hashem has bestowed upon us. Through this new mindset may we come to true tears of joy and a new awakening for Hashem and His Torah.

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Posted By admin on August 22, 2022

Rebbi said observe these three things and you will not come into the clutches of sin. Know what there is above you: an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deed are written in a book (Avot 2:1).

Over the past months, we have seen Pirkei Avots delineation of the proper view of life. Internalizing and maintaining our consciousness of this view in a way that forges our lifes compass can often be challenging. Rav Ovadia MiBartenura points out that most sins emanate not (only) from desire, but also from a (temporary) loss of perspective. Having the right values and goals is not enough; we need to be conscious of and driven by them.

The mishnayot of Avot speak about how to accomplish this. Two of Avots chapters begin with advice on how to generate the consciousness that helps one avoid sin. The third chapter opens by quoting the guidance given by Akavya ben Mahalalel (a tanna who lived in the first tannaitic generation), while the second quotes Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, who lived at the end of the tannaitic period). Rebbi is chosen to open the second chapter of Avot in order to highlight his central role in editing the Mishnah.

Though both tannaim advise us to focus on three things, they each recommend a different set of three, demonstrating how the model is relevant across different time periods. This week we will study Rebbis three.

Whats Up

Rebbi encourages reflecting upon Hashems presence and omniscience. Look at three things and you will not come to sin: know what is above you, a seeing eye, and a listening ear, and all of your actions are recorded (Avot 2:1).

The type of consciousness Rebbi recommends has earlier sources in Torah and Nach. In Bamidbar 15:39, the Torah commands us to wear tzitzit so that seeing them will help us avoid sin by reminding us of Hashem and His mitzvot. Dovid HaMelech went beyond remembering G-d, and constantly imagined himself in His actual presence (Tehillim 16:8). Rebbi takes the idea a step further by encouraging us to focus on the omniscient aspects of Hashems presence. Consciousness of Hashems awareness of our actions motivates people not only to avoid sin but also to keep far away from it.

The Seeing Eye

The first aspect is the seeing eye Hashem sees everything in our world. Rabbeinu Yonah explains that the seeing eye means more than abstract knowledge; it means that Hashem is always watching. Many studies have indicated that people are more hesitant to do the wrong thing when they know that others are watching and even if they see the picture of an eye in front of them.

Students were asked to participate in the so-called Dictator Game, in which one is given money together with the opportunity to share some or none of it with an anonymous stranger. Beforehand, and without realizing it was part of the experiment, some of the students were briefly shown a pair of eyes as a computer screen saver, while others saw a different image. Those exposed to the eyes gave 55 percent more to the stranger than the others did.

In another study, researchers placed a coffee maker in a university hallway. Passers-by could take coffee and leave money in the box. On some weeks a poster with watchful eyes was hanging on the wall nearby, on others a picture of flowers. On the weeks where the eyes were displayed, people left on average 2.76 times more money than at other times. Ara Norenzayan, author of the book Big Gods, from which these studies are taken, concludes that watched people are nice people.

Obviously, knowledge of G-ds eyes being constantly upon us can have an even stronger impact. That is part of what makes religion a force for honest and altruistic behavior and mitzvah observance: the belief that G-d sees what we do. It is no coincidence that, as belief in a personal G-d has waned in the West, surveillance by CCTV and other means has had to be increased.

The Hearing Ear

The hearing ear expands G-ds omniscience. In addition to seeing our actions, G-d also hears our words. Many of the commentaries see Hashems eye and ear as able to know our thoughts as well. As Hashem said to Shmuel, Man sees only up till the eyes (of the other) while Hashem sees straight through to the heart (Shmuel Aleph, 15:7).

Running Record

Rebbi adds that our actions are also recorded for posterity. This means that what we do is remembered and has long-term significance. We are not always careful about our actions because we see them as lacking significance. The Medrash (Vayikra Rabbah 34:9) tells us that had Reuven known that his saving Yosef would be recorded in the Torah, he would have picked him up on his shoulders and taken him back to Yaakov. Similarly, if Boaz had known that Nach would record the way he cared for Rut, he would have given her a four-course meal. We should recognize that all of our actions even those that seem insignificant to us are recorded and have great significance.

Rebbis Mishnah in the Tech Age

The Chofetz Chaim used this mishnah to explain the technological developments of the beginning of the 20th century. He commented on the invention of the phonograph: Earlier generations more readily believed that G-d sees, hears and records our actions. Unfortunately, in our [his] generation, people have less faith. Therefore, the phonograph had to be created so people could believe that G-d is recording our actions and our voices.

What does this say about the explosion of recording technology in the hundred years since then? Maybe we need the reality of knowing that our every move is observed, heard, and recorded by cameras, eyes, and satellites to help us believe that Hashem is doing the same.

May the knowledge of the FBIs records help us recognize Hashems similar capability and may our focus on this capability keep us far from sin and inspire us to live our lives properly.

Adapted by Rafi Davis

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Posted By admin on August 22, 2022

Title: The Yeshiva and the Rise of Modern Hebrew LiteratureBy Marina ZilbergertsIndiana University Press, 184 pages

Conventional wisdom says that although most of the heroes of early Modern Hebrew literature and poetry were born and raised in traditional families, their very foray into the world of the Haskalah and Eastern European intelligentsia demonstrates their total break from that religious milieu. Instead, these writers were said to have completely shed their backward upbringing in order to become participants in an enlightened republic of letters. They were said to be so thoroughly engrained in secular culture that their discarded background is of no use to scholars trying to understand what these writers meant and what drove them to write in the ways that they did.

In this scholarly study, Zilbergerts upends the conventional take on those early Modern Hebrew writers. She painstakingly details how various aspects of traditionalism and religious thought continued to influence and inform even the most secular of Modern Hebrew writers. In doing so, this book focuses on the lives and times of various early Modern Hebrew writers, most notably Avraham Uri Kovner (1842-1905), Moshe Leib Lilienblum (1843-1910), Micha Yosef Berdichevsky (1865-1921), and Chaim Nachman Bialik (1873-1934). All of these figures rejected the yeshiva way of life, and the yeshivas rejected them, yet there always remained some vestigial residue from their former lives. The author thus examines the life trajectories and writings of these famous writers, highlighting along the way the various ways in which they were unable to escape the expectations and, to some extent, ideologies of their religious upbringing.

One overarching theme that emerges from Zilbergertss study is the concept of Torah lishmah. This Talmudic ideal was understood by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (1749-1821) to refer to the notion that one ought to study Torah for its [the Torahs] own sake. That formulation of this Talmudic concept became the motto of the yeshiva world that developed in Eastern Europe, and especially in the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As Zilbergerts explains it, when reduced to its core, this ideal represents the notion of an autotelic (having a purpose in itself) textuality that encouraged yeshiva students to study religious texts simply because they were religious texts, with no alternative motives.

She sees evidence of this staunch devotion to textuality in the writings and lives of the writers mentioned above. Many of those writers had previously attended and studied in the halls of the yeshivas that advocated Torah lishmah, and throughout their lives they continued to devote themselves to reading and writing texts, swapping the holy texts of the Talmud and halacha for the non-holy texts of the Haskalah, Zionism and other intellectual movements.

For Zilbergerts, one of the most persuasive pieces of evidence for this trend was the early Modern Hebrew writers general resistance to Russian nihilism. That movement tended to reject textualism in favor of more materialistic or pragmatic endeavors. Yet the Russian Haskalah (which followed some of the other trends of Russian intellectualism) bucked this trend or simply paid lip service to it, as those maskillic exponents continued to devote themselves to reading and writing more and more texts, with an almost religious fervor.

Another aspect of traditional life that Zilbergerts looks at is its conception of marriage. In the yeshiva world, the ideal student would marry a girl from a rich family and would continue to study the Talmud uninterrupted while being supported by his parents-in-law (called eating kest) and/or having his wife tend to his financial affairs. In this way, the elite yeshiva students devotion to his studies and texts superseded his responsibilities to his wife and family. Zilbergerts shows how this traditional outlook influenced some early writers of Modern Hebrew, many of whom had entered failed or unhappy marriages in their younger years, which bequeathed to them an unhealthy and even cynical way of viewing the entire endeavor of matrimony.

Many of these debates continue to rage on in contemporary times. For example, the virtue of textuality is at the center of one of the most hotly contested discussions in the Knesset. The outspoken secularist Avigdor Lieberman echoes many of the nihilist talking points in his attacks against the modern yeshiva movement in Israel, while Ultra-Orthodox apologists tend to affirm and reaffirm their commitment to studying the Talmud and, thus, to textuality.

In summation, this fascinating book is a well-sourced study of how different aspects of early Modern Hebrew writers religious upbringing continued to influence their lives and writings well after they shed their religiosity and became more thoroughly secularized. It shows how even when these writers were following whatever intellectual trends were in vogue at the time, they were still also heavily informed by their experiences in the yeshiva and the ideologies imparted to them by their upbringing. With this book in hand, the reader can contextualize many of the debates that continue within the global Jewish community about the nature of textuality and the importance of yeshiva students.

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Posted By admin on August 22, 2022

Our history is predicated on our being strangers, always in search of the place where we would find safety. Knowing our history, could anyone deny us the emotions that come from being outsiders? However, rather than define us as suspicious and defensive, G-d demands that our experience as outcasts give us empathy. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the L-rd your G-d. (Vayikra 19:34) The ability to love the stranger is not only a moral imperative but, as we have learned so tragically in recent days and years, it can very well be the difference between life and death.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech, in his Aish.com article, The Mass Shootings Tisha BAv, speaks to the violence that has become an almost predictable consequence of societys failure to embrace the stranger. The bloodbaths of mass murder are rooted in a veritable plague of hatred hatred of other views, hatred of people who differ with us in any discernible way

That the culture hates the stranger serves only to make the stranger more isolated. It is hurtful and dangerous to the stranger. It is also powerfully dangerous to society and culture when, as we have seen happen so often, the stranger lashes out in reaction to his isolation.

Still, many people are gerim. What is it that transforms someone from a stranger into a creature capable of committing mass violence? According to the LA Times, there are four elements that people who commit mass violence have in common. The first is that they very often experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence at a young age, which caused alienation early in life. Second, most people who commit mass violence become fixated on the actions of others; that is, they seek to identify with someone and the one they identify with is one who shares his isolation and pain. Third, nearly every person who commits mass violence had a specific, identifiable crisis point in the days, weeks and months before the act. A job loss. A relationship rejection. Something that proved to be the breaking point in his isolation.

And finally, those who carried out acts of mass violence had the means to do so. We must note that in almost every instance of mass gun violence, the shooter obtained his guns legally. So, not only do we fail to embrace the stranger, we essentially hand him the weapons he will use against us.

Yet, for all the acts of mass violence which necessarily capture our attention from Uvalde to Virginia Tech, across the country and across the years there are thousands upon thousands who fit this ger description who do not commit violence.

What differentiates the shooter from the non-shooter? From a Jewish perspective, what drives the actual shooters is that they desperately wanted to be seen. They felt estranged and were desperate for it to no longer be so.

They could no longer endure the pain of being estranged strangers gerim.

If the thing that drove them to such acts of hatred and violence was being a ger, then the cure for that hatred can only be found in G-ds command, You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself

We would be wise to remember that loving a ger is a mitzvah no less required than observing Shabbat, eating kosher or giving charity. It is, and must be, essential to our psyche and our behavior. Why? Because we too were strangers. We know the feeling of alienation and vulnerability. Every day we must remember our otherness, we must remember G-d who took us out of Mitzrayim. G-d, who revealed Himself to us at Sinai with the words, I the L-rd your G-d who took you out of Egypt.

Parshat Eikev challenges us anew with this compelling and counter-intuitive obligation. You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Deut. 10:19). Appearing 36 times (double chai) in Torah, we hear it and read it so often and refer to it so regularly that we too often lose sight of its power and unsettling demand.

We do so at our peril and diminishment.

Much too often, we carefully adapt the demands of this mitzvah to fit our comfort rather than rise to the profound and gracious imposition that it places upon us. We think of the mitzvah as referring to those exactly like us but who, perhaps, live in another city or town; fellow Jews (and likely Jews of the same level of observance). In responding to the mitzvah in this way, we show how badly we misread it. G-d has not commanded us to care for the stranger for our comfort but for His. Hear this command with fresh ears, with the ears of our ancestors, with the ears of a people and a world for whom communal identity was fundamental to self and existence.

This command tells us to go against everything that our human instincts and fears demand.

It tells us to see beyond the familiar and the safe and to see the shared fundamental goodness and holiness that G-d bestows upon all His creatures.

We are told to care for the stranger, but to do so we must ask, who is the ger? I posed this question to my son, Nathan. His response spoke to the deep wisdom in G-ds command. I think anyone in any social situation can feel like a ger. The new kid in class. The new guy at the office. In fact, in any social situation there is likely to be someone that feels like a ger doesnt have to be a new situation, its just the inevitability of a social dynamics.

A ger is not just defined by physical realities; not defined by where hes from or the color of his skin. He is one whose place in life makes him feel like a ger.

This understanding demands we bring greater sensitivity to every aspect of our lives, encouraging us to look for the ger in every situation and respond supportively; it encourages us to see in the eyes of the estranged divorced men and women who have lost their home, Shabbos table, dignity, and confidence, that stranger that we were once in the land of Egypt!

It encourages us to see the humanity and beauty in those teens who have become estranged from their homes, yeshivas, shuls, and communities. Gerim.

It might seem to us that there are ever greater numbers of these struggling, separated individuals and perhaps there are. We are a society that finds it very hard to love altogether.

So how much more difficult is it for us to reach out and care for the stranger? Yet we must.

We were gerim in the land of Egypt. Now they are gerim in their own mitzrayim (narrow, tight place). They are boxed in. Lost.

And G-d commands that we treat them with respect, loving-kindness and decency. G-d commands that we treat them in a way that makes clear that redemption is just ahead.

While it may seem only human to fear the stranger and the unknown, it is because we are only human that G-d commands us to be more, to rise above our limitations, to remember our own pain and fear so that we can respond to the pain and fear of others.

When we dont we see the results that follow when we allow our rhetoric and our emotions to express the limitations of our human nature. We see it in the horrible images of school shootings; images of fortunate parents gripping their surviving children tightly, unable to protect them from the wounds they will carry forever; we see it in the images of the grieving parents who are not so fortunate

Fear. Hate.

Loathing.

Of the other.

Strangers.

According to some civic leaders, religious leaders, educated men and women strangers are criminals, rapists, gang members. They are less than human. But we know that they are but G-ds creatures currently in the galut in search of their coming redemption.

G-d does not accept our fear, our incendiary words, our hateful speech and behavior. Perhaps when we stood at Sinai, we tried to forget the shame of being gerim. G-d demands that we remember, not for ourselves but for those others who still suffer the demeaning emotions even as we bask in the light of grace.

Who is the ger? We all are.

Who is in galut? We all are.

Who stands at Sinai? We all do.

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Posted By admin on August 20, 2022

Professor Kendall Soulen will deliver our 10th annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish relations: Why Did God Choose the Jews? A Christian Reflection in Conversation With Jewish Thought. This will take place in person and via Zoom.

Never miss the best stories and events! Get JewishBoston This Week.

Simple theological questions are often the hardest to answer. This lecture unpacks what the question means: what makes it so difficult for Christians to answer this in a satisfactory way; and what a satisfactory Christian answer might be that is informed by Jewish thought.

Kendall Soulen is professor of systematic theology at Emory University. He is president of the society for post-supersessionist theology and served as president of the American theological society in 2016. His most recent book is Irrevocable: The Name of God and the Unity of the Christian Bible.

Fact Sheet

When

Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Where

Boston College- Yawkey CentreBoston, MA 02467

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Posted By admin on August 20, 2022

This article is part of our morning briefing. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox each weekday.

Bidens first Democratic challenger is a retired Jewish philosophy professor angry at the presidents treatment of Palestinians

If Jerome Segal comes knocking at your door, its because he wants to introduce himself. Hell chat and then hell ask you to put one of his lawn signs in your front yard. The Bronx native will tell you hes running to become the next president of the United States. The 2024 race has begun.

Mideast map: Segal has spent decades trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 1987, according to his website, he was part of the first Jewish-American delegation to go to Tunis to open dialogue with Arafat and the PLO. He is the founder of a group called the Jewish Peace Lobby, and has written extensively about the Middle East. During a visit to the region in July, President Biden said the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, a statement Segal calls shameful.

Not new to politics: The 2024 presidential race is Segals fourth bid for public office. This summer he came in ninth in the 10-candidate Democratic primary for Maryland governor, with .67% of the vote. He challenged Maryland Sen. Benjamin Cardin in the 2018 Democratic primary, and ran in the 2020 U.S. presidential election as the candidate of the Bread and Roses Party, which he founded.

Senior moment: In a recent poll, one-third of Americans said they believe President Biden is too old to run for reelection. Segal is 78, just one year younger than Biden. When they speak of age, he said, it is not a question of chronological age, but creative capacity and whether or not someone has new responses that new challenges call for.

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Then and now: Paula Goldstein as a USO hostess during WWII and now, nearing 100. (Courtesy)

A century of memories, starting with the old Forward building: It was like the North Star of the Lower East Side, recalls Paula Goldstein, 99, who grew up buying our newspaper each day at the candy store on Market Street. Goldstein spent a recent afternoon recalling the highlights of the 20th century to her niece. They covered presidents (JFK was so impossibly handsome) and comedians (apparently, Don Rickles reminds her of Nikita Khrushchev), adventurers (Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh) and so much more (democracy, spies and famous relatives). Goldstein shows no sign of slowing down. Literally. On the day of our visit, she was wearing new sneakers. Yes, I wore my Pumas out. Read the story

She studies Torah and table tennis | Meet the 20-year-old Orthodox phenom angling for a spot at the Olympics: Estee Ackerman, a Yeshiva University senior, beat Rafael Nadal at pingpong as a preteen and is nationally ranked in her sport. But shes been making headlines recently off the court. Last month, the mother of her doubles partner yelled at her for being disgusting and unprofessional over her modest dress. The words stung, but Ackerman is focused on the future. Its my passion to inspire others, she said. Read the story

But wait, theres more

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WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

The graphic novel version of The Diary of Anne Frank, by writer Ari Folman and illustrator David Polonsky. (Getty)

The superintendent of the Texas school district that this week ordered the removal of Anne Franks Diary: The Graphic Adaptation from its schools shelves said Thursday that he expected the book, along with the Bible and other books that were removed following parental challenges, will be on shelves very soon. No timeframe was given. (JTA)

A Russian court on Friday postponed its verdict in the countrys case against the Jewish Agency for a month in a move Israel hopes will give it more time to reach an agreement with Moscow and prevent the shuttering of the agencys offices in Russia. (Times of Israel)

On Gab, Truth Social and other platforms, antisemitic threats are continuing in the wake of the FBIs Mar-a-Lago search, with users going after the attorney general and the judge who ordered the search, both of whom are Jewish. I just think were in a particular dangerous time in this country, said the ADLs Oren Segal. (JTA)

Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert, the president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, will have to unblock his atheist constituents from his social media accounts as part of a settlement the organization American Atheists said it reached with the state. (Religion News Service)

Jesse Eisenbergs newest film directing project follows two estranged cousins who travel to Poland and learn about their grandmothers Holocaust story. Im trying to ask the question: Is modern pain valid against the backdrop of real historical trauma, said Eisenberg, who traces his Jewish family roots back to Poland and Ukraine. (JTA)

More than 4,000 people gathered at the Coney Island Amphitheater in Brooklyn for the first annual Chosen Comedy Festival, featuring Jewish comedians and musical acts. The event served as a benefit for the Ukrainian Emergency Performing Arts Fund. (Jewish Journal)

What were watching this weekend Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America, a special report on CNN, airs on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. In the hour-long show, anchor Dana Bash visits Jewish communities still reeling from recent violence, including Poway, California, and Colleyville, Texas. Bash also gets a first look at a command center dedicated to tracking threats against Jews by monitoring the deepest corners of the dark web.

Long weekend reads Meet the Gandalf-like archivist of the frum world American Jews have not been spared the devastating fallout of opioid abuse Is David Langer the Jewish king of surfing?

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Slow down this weekend and enjoy the end of summer. Print out our end-of-the-week magazine in which youll find stories about: a Russian rabbi who is caught between a rock and a hard place, a tour of the Jewish Museums not-so-Jewish new exhibit, an explainer on why Hashem and Yiddish are trending on Twitter and, finally, an interview with God. Get your copy now

The Forward made this video in 2011, on the 20th anniversary of the Crown Heights riots.

On this day in history (1991): Riots broke out in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, after a Black child was struck and killed by a car in the entourage of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. A rabbinical student was fatally stabbed in the melee that followed. The riots went on for three days. More than 200 people were injured, police cars and stores were damaged, and bottles were thrown at Mayor David Dinkins when he visited the area. Although efforts have since been made to repair the relationship between the Black and Jewish communities in Crown Heights, Molly Boigon wrote in the Forward in 2020 that these feelings of bitterness and trauma run so deep that they persist to this day. Read our account of insiders recalling the tense three days between the mayor and the Jewish community

In honor of National Soft Ice Cream Day (yes, its a thing), check out our recipe for no-dairy no-churn peach pie ice cream. Youre welcome.

On the eve of World War II, David Kurtz took his 16 mm camera and shot three minutes of home video of a vibrant Jewish community in a Polish town old men in yarmulkes, boys and girls playing, people pouring into a synagogue. The ephemeral footage ends abruptly and was lost for decades. Now its part of a 70-minute documentary being released today in theaters called Three Minutes: A Lengthening. Watch the trailer above.

Play todays Vertl puzzle, the Yiddish Wordle

Thanks to Samuel Breslow, Jordan Greene, Beth Harpaz, Lauren Markoe, Chana Pollack, and Talya Zax for contributing to todays newsletter. You can reach the Forwarding team at editorial@forward.com.

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Posted By admin on August 20, 2022

(New York Jewish Week) Gustavo Rivera, a Puerto Rican-born State Senator representing the Bronx, had never spoken Yiddish before, let alone sang it. But when his district was redrawn earlier this summer to include the heavily Jewish community of Riverdale, Rivera had to shift his campaign strategy.

On the campaign trail, Rivera was introduced to Ethel Raim, a Riverdale resident and Yiddish singing teacher, by The Jewish Vote, the electoral arm of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice. It endorses and campaigns for local progressive candidates.

The Jewish Vote brought the two together in hopes of making a campaign ad that showcased how the progressive candidate could connect with Jewish voters in ways The Jewish Vote says are consistent with its progressive Jewish values.

The resulting video, which was released on The Jewish Votes social media pages on Monday, features the politician and his constituent in the roles of student and teacher. In the video, Raim, who is in her 80s and grew up in the Bronx, teaches Rivera Shlof Mayn Kind (Sleep My Child), a popular Yiddish lullaby. It ends with them swapping verses in Yiddish.

By Thursday it had racked up 23,000 views.

It was pretty awesome, Rivera said. I was sent the song so I could learn it over a couple of days. Then I actually got on the Zoom with her to go over exactly how it should sound and how the words should be pronounced. Im very glad with how it came out.

Raim said that, to her knowledge, Rivera was the first politician to sit down and learn a Yiddish song with her. She called the experience wonderful.

He has a wonderful ear for language and sound and hes a beautiful voice as you can hear from his singing. He got the notes very easily and he really worked to get those words out, she said. He was a pleasure to work with. It was really very satisfying.

Rachel McCullough, the political director of JFREJ and The Jewish Vote, told the New York Jewish Week that the organization wanted to highlight that Jewish voters in its ranks care about more issues than just Israel.

If you paid attention to most writing about Jews and elections, and certainly any mailers or ads designed to target Jewish communities, you would conclude that the one issue we care about is Israel, she said.

We are, as an organization, very committed to cultural organizing and building vibrant Jewish culture through our work through diasporic languages, traditions, texts, art-making and joyful celebration, she said.

The ad comes not long after the Anti-Defamation Leagues CEO Jonathan Greenblatt retweeted a tweet that challenged JFREJ and The Jewish Votes Jewish bona fides. Referring to The Jewish Votes endorsement of candidates who are often deeply critical of Israel, an ADL spokesman told the New York York Jewish Week that Greenblatt was saying that a group calling itself The Jewish Vote isnt representative in any way of the majority of the Jewish community.

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Riveraonce opposed legislation that would have prevented public colleges and universities from participating in a boycott of Israel. A number of pro-Israel groups back such anti-BDS legislation. Last month, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said that Rivera supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Rivera responded that I do not support BDS. Period, and said he opposed the boycott bill on free speech grounds.

Both Raim and Rivera have worked with JFREJ and The Jewish Vote for about a decade. Rivera, 46, has been a member of the New York State Senate since 2011 and served as the chair of the Senate Health Committee.

In the Aug. 23 Democratic primary, he will face first-time candidate Miguelina Camilo in the running for the Democratic nomination in the 33rd district, which, along with Riverdale, includes the neighborhoods of Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil and Norwood. This is Riveras first competitive election since 2016; Camilo, running to the right of the progressive Rivera, has gotten backing from Reps. Ritchie Torres and Adriano Espaillat and other major Democrats in the Bronx and the city.

Im very much looking forward to getting to know the Jewish community here better and figuring out how to serve them better, Rivera said. Asked if hell perform his new Yiddish skills live, Ill be spending the next five days focusing on winning the primary and after that one of the many activities I will do for leisure for the rest of the summer will be to learn the song to perform off book.

Raim has spent her career documenting ethnic music and is credited with bringing immigrant musical traditions into the American folk revival of the 1960s through her singing group The Pennywhistlers. She currently teaches Yiddish voice lessons to students on Zoom from all over the country.

Teaching Rivera was really consistent with my entire background, giving ordinary people a voice to fight for a good life and equity and justice. I was very proud to have been able to do something like that, Raim remarked. She said she was interested in learning one of Riveras favorite Spanish Cuban ballads when he has the opportunity to teach her.

We wanted to create something that was unapologetic Jewish content that was joyful and caring, and showcased a very solidaristic exchange between a progressive non-Jewish legislator of color and a Jewish woman in his district, McCullough added.

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A Latino incumbent learns a Yiddish song to connect with Riverdale, NYs Jewish voters - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By admin on August 20, 2022

(August 19, 2022 / JNS) Shelley Greenspans resume runs the gamut from Capitol Hill to the private sector, presidential races and nonprofits. She has worked for AIPAC and Amazon, and campaigned for Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

Late last month, the Jewish advocacy and outreach veteran was named as the White House liaison to the Jewish community, replacing Chanan Weissman.

Its rare to find a position that sits squarely at the center of the Venn diagram of who you are. I am Jewish. I am an American. I am a public servant, Greenspan told JNS in her first comments to the media since assuming her new role.

Greenspan, a native of Miami Beach, Florida, joined the White House this summer as policy advisor for partnerships and global engagement at the National Security Council. She manages public-private partnerships for the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, a new program supporting women entrepreneurs around the world. Prior to that, she worked at the State Department as a civil servant.

Greenspan told JNS that strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship is her priority.

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Last month, President Biden arrived in Israel for the tenth visit of his career. Addressing Israels president and prime minister, he declared, You need not be a Jew to be a Zionist. Truer words have rarely been spoken, said Greenspan, who insists the directive comes straight from the top.

President Biden has a lifelong connection to [Israel], and his charge to all of us is to make sure were doing all we can to strengthen Israels security, prosperity and integration into the larger region. That continues to be a priority for this administration, and I am committed to advancing this priority in my new role, she said.

Greenspan helped lead a national activist group called Jewish Women for Joe during the 2020 presidential election. She also served on Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign, handling research and rapid response related to Clintons State Department record.

Along with reinforcing U.S.-Israel ties, Greenspan said she will concentrate on rooting out Jew-hatred.

The president and Vice President [Kamala Harris] know in their neshama, in their souls, that attacks against the Jewish community are a strike against the soul of our nation and the values we stand for. No matter its source or stated rationale, as the president has said, we must and we will condemn this prejudice at every turn, alongside other forms of hate, said Greenspan.

Greenspan has extensive experience on Capitol Hill, managing legislative projects in the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees for three years with AIPAC. She has also been a board member of the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Women International. In February, she helped launch Jewish Democratic Women for Action, which seeks to expand Jewish outreach ahead of the November midterm elections.

As President Biden said, we need to focus on the ties that bind us together, not tear each other apart. We each have a role to play in building bridges in our communities across the country and throughout the world. Focusing on shared values and common interests is essential for effective policymaking, Greenspan said.

I grew up in South Florida. I went to an Orthodox day school, a Conservative summer camp and a Reform synagogue. I consider myself a Jewish mutt. I love and embrace the diversity and passion of this community, she said.

The Jewish liaison position often requires engaging parts of American Jewry opposed to administration policy on a host of issues, and a deep understanding of the subtleties that distinguish a number of Jewish denominations and groups. Greenspan told JNS she will continue with the regular online forums, pre-Shabbat briefings and open events that Weissman organized for the Jewish community. Guest speakers at these events have included Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lempert and Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer.

This administration is committed to maintaining a two-way dialogue between the White House and communities across the nation, ensuring that diverse voices are heard and that concerns are translated into action. Were in place to support the presidents goal of building a government that is inclusive, transparent, accountable and responsible to its citizens, she said.

Greenspan noted Bidens visit to Yad Vashem last month and a widely circulated video of him approaching two Holocaust survivors, who began to stand in respect. Biden insisted they remain seated and crouched down on one knee to speak with them. She said it struck a potent chord with her.

Its even more meaningful for me to serve in this role as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. My Zaydie [Yiddish for grandfather] was the only survivor in his family,Greenspan said. Their granddaughter not only has the honor of working in the White House, but for a president whose record of support for Holocaust survivors is second to none.

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EXCLUSIVE: New White House liaison to the Jewish community talks about priorities, challenges and personal missions - JNS.org

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Posted By admin on August 20, 2022

Jewish Family Services We Need to Talk program, a community-wide youth mental health initiative, and the Jamie Daniels Foundation will present a candid look at drug addiction in the Jewish community, Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts inside the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield.

Like society at large, Jewish families are grappling with how to understand, face and live with addiction. Community advocates will share stories and insights that explore the devastating impact of addiction and the path to recovery.

According to event organizer and panel moderator Sam Dubin, This panel has the potential to open the eyes of our community members particularly parents who are concerned about their teenagers and young adults. We need to have these difficult conversations because the lives of our loved ones depend on it.

Everyone age 13+ is welcome to attend. An addiction-help resource fair and kosher refreshments will follow the panel. The panel discussion will also be on Zoom for those unable to attend in person.

Panelists include Lisa Kaplan, LMSW, program coordinator of Maplegrove Community Education, Henry Ford Health; Lisa Daniels-Goldman, parent and co-founder and trustee of the Jamie Daniels Foundation; Sue Berlin, parent and local community advocate; and Brian Abel, a recovering addict. Dubin, assistant director of JCRC/AJC, is serving as moderator.

Other community partners include the Daniel B. Sobel Friendship House and the Jewish Addiction Resource Alliance.

Learn more about addiction in our community, find recovery resources and have your most pressing questions answered. Register at jewishdetroit.org/addiction.

Submitted by the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit.

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Learn About Addiction in the Jewish Community Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News

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Posted By admin on August 20, 2022

WASHINGTON SEPTEMBER 21: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski speaks at the Brookings Institution on September 21, 2009 in Washington, DC. The Brookings Institution hosted a discussion on improving broadband and mobile communications. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Former chairman of the FCC, now a managing director at the Carlyle Group,Julius Genachowskiturns 60

FRIDAY:One of the first venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, he was an early investor in Intel, Apple Computer, Scientific Data Systems and Teledyne,Arthur Rockturns 96 Ventura County, Calif., resident, Jerry Epstein Past member of both houses of the South Dakota legislature,Stanford Stan M. Adelsteinturns 91 Retired as president of Ono Academic College in Israel, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations,Gabriela Shalevturns 81 42nd president of the United States,William Jefferson Clintonturns 76 Retired reading teacher for the New York City Department of Education,Miriam Baum Benkoe Actor and director,Adam Arkinturns 66 Gavriel Benavraham Managing partner at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz,Mark C. Rifkin Co-founder of Apollo Global Management,Marc J. Rowanturns 60 Executive editor ofThe New York Times,Joseph Kahnturns 58 Partner and talent agent at William Morris Endeavor,Dan Aloniturns 58 Former member of Knesset, he is the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,Omri Sharonturns 58 Executive administrator of Ventura, Calif., accounting firm, Morgan, Daggett & Wotman,Carolynn Wotman Actress and producer, best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama The Closer,Kyra Sedgwickturns 57 District attorney of Queens,Melinda R. Katzturns 57 Founder and CEO of NYC-based government advocacy firm The Friedlander Group,Ezra Friedlander Private equity financier and a founding partner of Searchlight Capital Partners,Eric Louis Zinterhoferturns 51 Contributing editor forThe Daily Beastand the author of three books,Molly Jong-Fastturns 44 Businessman and investor,Brett Icahnturns 43 Managing partner of Handmade Capital,Ross Hinkle Rapper, singer and songwriter,Steven Adam Markowitzturns 34 Chair of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore,Yehuda L. Neuberger Digital marketing and PR consultant in Tel Aviv,Cassandra Federbusz

SATURDAY:Laguna Hills, Calif., resident,Phoebe Bryan Director of the National Economic Council during the Trump administration,Larry Kudlowturns 75 Former secretary of labor for the state of Kansas,Lana Goodman Gordonturns 72 Chair of the Golda Och Academy in West Orange, N.J.,Steven H. Klinghoffer Former mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the owner of minor league baseballs Winnipeg Goldeyes,Samuel Michael Sam Katzturns 71 Managing director of equity derivatives at Rice Financial Products,Jay A. Knopf U.S. representative (D-IL),Brad Schneiderturns 61 Wilmington, Del., resident and former national campaign chair for the Jewish Federations of North America,Suzanne Barton Grant Vice chairman and president of strategic growth at Mastercard,Amb.Michael Fromanturns 60 U.S. senator (R-MT),Steve Dainesturns 60 Moroccan-born billionaire, he is the founder and controlling shareholder of the Altice Group, he acquired Sothebys during 2019,Patrick Drahiturns 59 Executive director of A Wider Bridge,Ethan Felson Israeli writer known for his short stories and graphic novels,Etgar Keretturns 55

Film director and screenwriter,Mark Levinturns 54 Former British ambassador to Israel, now the CEO for NHSX,Matthew Gouldturns 51 Ethiopian-born, former member of the Knesset for Kulanu,Asher Fentahun Seyoumturns 51 Director of communications at the Center for Democracy & Technology,Ari Goldberg Executive director of Lisa Stone Pritzkers LSP Family Foundation,Abigail Michelson Porth Deputy director and one of the founders of the Jerusalem Season of Culture,Karen Brunwasser Co-founder of Boundless Israel,Rachel Lea Fish, Ph.D. Partner in the Iowa office of Cornerstone Government Affairs and foundation president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines,David Ryan Adelman Canadian television and film actress,Meghan Oryturns 40 Real estate agent, author and television personality,Josh Flaggturns 37 Triathlete and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Israel 2019,Sella Sharlinturns 26

SUNDAY:Retired owner of Effective Strategy Consultants, Boynton Beach resident,Irwin Wecker Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (with chambers in Chicago), JudgeIlana Kara Diamond Rovnerturns 84 President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,L. Rafael Reifturns 72 Israeli-born pawnbroker and star of the reality television series Beverly Hills Pawn,Yossi Dinaturns 68 Businessman and prominent collector of modern and contemporary art,Mitchell Ralesturns 66 U.S. senator (D-MT),Jon Testerturns 66 Israeli physician who was a member of the Knesset, he now serves as mayor of Ashdod, Dr.Yehiel Lasriturns 65 Co-founder of BlueLine Grid, a former member of the Los Angeles City Council,Jack Weissturns 58 Director of school strategy and policy for the UJA-Federation of New York,Chavie N. Kahn Global head of public affairs at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts,Ken Mehlmanturns 56 Co-founder of Google,Sergey Brinturns 49 MLB pitcher for 9 teams in a long career from 2000 to 2015, he was the winning starting pitcher in three of Team Israels first four games in the 2017 World Baseball Classic,Jason Marquisturns 44 President at Bold Decision,Adam Rosenblatt Missions manager at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia,Erica N. Miller Assistant editor at Simon & Schuster,Tzippy Baitch Lynn Sharon James Barton

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Daily Kickoff: State Dept. withholds condemnation of Israel for NGO raids + Max Tuchman joins the podcast - Jewish Insider

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