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Michael Che Invites Rabbi to Sit In on SNL’s Year-End Joke Swap with Colin Jost – Yahoo Entertainment

Posted By on May 21, 2024

The post Michael Che Invites Rabbi to Sit In on SNLs Year-End Joke Swap with Colin Jost appeared first on Consequence.

SNL wrapped up its 49th season this weekend and, as per tradition, Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che marked the occasion with their annual joke swap. The funny segment sees the duo exchange jokes theyve written for the other that neither of them has seen before going on air. In a special Christmas joke swap earlier this season, Che added a new wrinkle by bringing out a civil rights activist named Dr. Hattie Davis (who unbeknownst to Jost was actually an actor). Che pulled a similar bit for this weekends swap.

Last time we did this, I had an actress who pretended to be a civil rights hero, and that was low, Che remarked. To make it up to you, this time I invited an actual practicing rabbi. He then proceeded to have Jost read jokes about Harvey Weinstein, Rabbi Jill controlling the weather, and space lasers (the latter of which also involved the usage of a puppet). There was also a joke about Josts wife, Scarlett Johansson, for good measure.

Jost did get a good few licks in on Che, including having him antagonize Kendrick Lamar into a rap beef.

Last night episode, which was hosted by Jake Gyllenhaal, marked the end of Saturday Night Lives 49th season. There are already big plans in store for season 50, including a three-hour primetime special and an origin movie.

Michael Che Invites Rabbi to Sit In on SNLs Year-End Joke Swap with Colin Jost Scoop Harrison

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Michael Che Invites Rabbi to Sit In on SNL's Year-End Joke Swap with Colin Jost - Yahoo Entertainment

Jewish National Fund-USA announces new rabbis for Israel Advisory Committee – JNS.org – JNS.org

Posted By on May 21, 2024

(May 20, 2024 / JNS)

For years, Jewish National Fund-USAs Rabbis for Israel has been crucial in engaging rabbinical leaders around the country to support the land and people of Israel. Now, as the organization aids Israels resilience efforts and the rebuilding of communities in the Israel Envelope region, Rabbis for Israel has launched a pluralistic advisory committee to deepen community engagement and further unite our people.

Chaired by the senior rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, Erez Sherman, the Rabbis for Israel Advisory Committee features educators and thought leaders from every end of the religious spectrum. And with members from Boston to Georgia to Los Angeles, the committee is primed to leverage its national reach and rally rabbis and faith leaders from around the country to increase pro-Israel activism in their congregations.

Jewish National Fund-USA has been a force of Zionism in the world that continues to impact young and old, in Israel and in the Diaspora, said Sherman. As chair of Rabbis for Israel, I am honored with the opportunity to give rabbis the resources to continue to bring positive Zionism to their congregations, schools and communities. From gathering at [Jewish National Fund-USAs] Global Conference in Dallas in November (jnf.org/gc), to literally working the land and rebuilding our Jewish home in Israel, Rabbis for Israel will stretch its wings to ensure that leaders of the past, present, and future will be prepared to stand up for Israel, and to unequivocally say Am Yisrael Chai!

A fast-growing affinity group, Rabbis for Israel has over 200 members spread out across 31 states. Since Oct. 7, over 50 religious leaders have joined, showing the clerical communitys support for Israel in the wake of such unimaginable loss.

For millennia, rabbis have been the leaders of the Jewish people, said Jewish National Fund-USA director of community engagement Dr. Marnie Nadolne. As Israel and Jews worldwide face increasing antisemitism, it has never been more important for the stewards of our wisdom and institutions to be united in support of our ancestral homeland. Our organizations diverse, yet united, advisory committee will continue the tradition of rabbis stepping up in times of crisis to spur Jews nationwide of every background to support the land and people of Israel.

Rabbis for Israel is Jewish National Fund-USAs affinity group for rabbis who have demonstrated a commitment to Israel and the organization. For more information, visit jnf.org/rfi or contact Dr. Marnie Nadolne, director of community engagement, atmnadolne@jnf.org.

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We Finally Have Details for ‘Nobody Wants This,’ Adam Brody’s Charming Rabbi Show on Netflix – Alma

Posted By on May 21, 2024

Its been one long (read: torturous) year since Deadline announced that Jewish actor Adam Brody would be playing a charming rabbi in a forthcoming Netflix rom-com series.

The April 2023 announcement teased that the show centers on the unlikely relationship between an outspoken, agnostic woman [Kristen Bell] and an unconventional rabbi (Brody). At the time, we at Hey Alma celebrated. In preparation, we published a list of pop cultures hottest rabbis. And then we waited. For 383 days, Netflix embodied the meme go girl, give us nothing in terms of new information aboutthis extremely important show.

That is, until now.

Yesterday, Netflix gave us a steamy first look at the Adam Brody charming rabbi show. In the photo, Rabbi Noah (Brody) and Agnostic Joanne (Bell) lock eyes, smoldering at each other. He holds her face, thumb under her chin, as if theyre about to kiss. And in a non-descript public location with low-key bisexual lighting!! The announcement also came with the news that the show will be called Nobody Wants This, which is ironic as I will say that I, personally, want this show very, very, badly.

This show is based on the only good decision I ever made: falling for a nice Jewish boy, co-creator Erin Foster told Tudum. But I realized that being happy is way harder than being miserable (theres nothing to complain about). So, I created this show based on all the ways that finding the right person can be so hard. Nobody Wants This, but we do, and thats all that matters.

We also now know that the show will feature an ensemble of fantastic actors. Justine Lupe from Succession and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel plays Joannes sister, Morgan. Timothy Simons, best known as Jonah Ryan from VEEP, is Rabbi Noahs older brother, Sasha. Jackie Tohn from GLOW is Sashas wife, Esther. Rabbi Noahs parents Ilan and the Bina are portrayed by actors Paul Ben-Victor and Tovah Feldshuh, respectively. And finally, Emily Arlook is Rebecca, Noahs perfect Jewish girlfriend who has done everything right to get Noah to propose. (Frankly, that last character makes me a little nervous in terms of leaning into stereotypes, but well cross and/or burn that bridge when we get there!)

The 10-episode first season of Nobody Wants This is slated to drop on Sept. 26, 2024.

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We Finally Have Details for 'Nobody Wants This,' Adam Brody's Charming Rabbi Show on Netflix - Alma

At Reconstructionist Rabbinical College ordination, divisions over Israel share stage with 11 new rabbis – JTA News – Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Posted By on May 21, 2024

ABINGTON, Pa. (JTA) The discord tearing apart the Reconstructing Judaism movement was on full view Sunday, as the movements rabbinical school ordained 11 new rabbis in a ceremony rife with references to Israels war in Gaza and the ways in which it is dividing an already small denomination.

This year, the attacks of Oct. 7, the war between Hamas and Hezbollah and Israel, and the terrible situation in Gaza has been at the forefront of the RRC community, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, said at the graduation.

It has been incredibly challenging, she said, adding, I wrote these words before last Friday.

That remark appeared to be a reference to an op-ed published by two rabbinical students who say they left the school this year after enduring harassment for their pro-Israel views. The essay, published in the Forward, wasnt the only sign of tension around Israel at the ordination ceremony: While the venue Temple-Beth Am, a Reform synagogue in suburban Philadelphia had a We Stand With Israel sign outside the building and an Israeli flag at the entrance, the American and Israeli flags flanking the synagogue sanctuary were obscured by large plants. (Last years ceremony also did not feature flags; two years ago, it did. Both were held at different locations.)

Until this year, I didnt fully appreciate how hard it is to build and maintain a community based on our principles at a moment of deep crisis, Seth Rosen, chair of Reconstructing Judaisms Board of Governors, said at the graduation.

The last seven months have challenged our ability to remain a community across differences like nothing in our collective memory, Rosen added. We live in a moment when it is so clear that our shared, deeply-rooted Jewish values can lead us to very different conclusions about very important things.

Jewish spaces and organizations across the United States have endured debate and division over Israel in the wake of Oct. 7 and Israels war against Hamas in Gaza, which has come with a reported spike in antisemitism nationwide. What sets Reconstructing Judaism apart is that many of its rabbis and rabbinical students have been leaders of groups that harshly criticize Israel or disavow Zionism entirely.

A leading pro-Israel Reform rabbi recently lamented in a sermon how many Reform Jews are involved in anti-Zionist protests, while Conservative Judaism has had to grapple with the prominence of graduates of the movements Ramah camps in IfNotNow, an anti-occupation group that accuses Israel of genocide and has participated in major anti-Zionist demonstrations since the wars start.

But Reconstructionist rabbis are proportionally the most represented in the anti-Zionist movement: RRC graduates and students make up at least 25 of the 45 members of the rabbinical council of Jewish Voice for Peace, the biggest Jewish anti-Zionist organization. And they have played a prominent role in the public response to the war, with an RRC graduate, for example, interrupting President Joe Biden on Nov. 1 to call for a ceasefire.

Speaking at the ordination ceremony, Waxman affirmed that the movement supports Israels right to exist but is open to ordaining rabbis who depart from its position on the country.

The stance of the Reconstructionist movement since the time of Mordecai Kaplan to this day is that Israel has a right to exist and is a vital center for Jewish life and the Jewish people, Waxman said. We care deeply about the Jewish people across geography, and we stand in solidarity with Israelis. And at the end of the day, any litmus test we have in the Reconstructionist Movement is not about particular stances around Israel.

Instead, she said, the movements litmus test is the capacity to center relationships and to build covenantal community across our differences.

Unlike university commencements nationwide in recent weeks, the graduation itself was not disrupted at any point, and the event had an overwhelming air of warmth. There was no booing or visible anger in the crowd, though some did snap their fingers in agreement at various times, including with statements expressing support for Palestinian rights.

And a group of about 10 pro-Israel protesters gathered outside the synagogues entrance in opposition to former Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan, who received RRCs Keter Shem Tov Award, meaning Crown of a Good Name, along with his father and predecessor, former Rep. Sander Levin. Earlier this year, Andy Levin supported the Uncommitted movement in Michigan to pressure President Joe Biden to abandon his support for Israels military campaign.

Seth Rosen, chair of Reconstructionist Rabbinical Colleges board of governors, left, and RRC President Deborah Waxman present an award to Sander and Andy Levin, the former Michigan congressmen, May 19, 2024. (Stephen Silver)

The group carried signs reading, Andy Levin: You Do Not Deserve an Award, You Deserve Condemnation and Contempt, Pro-Israel and Pro-America, and Israel We Stand With You. The group did not enter the synagogue during the event. When asked about his reaction to the protest, Levin declined to comment.

Levins support for Palestinians drew cheers at the ceremony. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee targeted Levin in a 2022 primary, which he lost. At the graduation, Rosen quoted an interview Levin gave that year in which he said, AIPAC cant stand the idea that I am the clearest, strongest Jewish voice in Congress standing for a simple proposition: that theres no way to have a secure home for the Jewish people unless we achieve the political and human rights for the Palestinians.

Advocacy for Palestinians got other mentions as well. Following the individual ordinations, the new rabbis made a series of statements of thanks, followed by the entire class stating Toda raba, Hebrew for thank you very much. The messages of thanks included thanking our teachers for showing by example how to stand up for Palestinian rights as a rabbi, and for knowing that Jewish and Palestinian safety are intertwined.

In her remarks, Waxman noted that this was not the only time of turmoil the students have experienced since most of them entered RRC five years ago. Their experience, she said, was forged in the intensity of these last several years, these last several days. Many of the graduating students began in 2019, before the start of the pandemic, and attended remotely for a time until the campus reopened in the fall of 2021.

Their time in the school also included the racial justice protests spurred by the 2020 police murder of George Floyd and a worsening climate crisis.

We choose community over radical individualism, and in doing this, we repudiate nihilism with intention and forcefulness, Waxman said.

The graduates have been involved in a range of Israel-focused organizations, ranging from progressive pro-Israel to anti-Zionist. Two of them work at Makom, a new anti-Zionist Jewish community in Durham, North Carolina.

Being open to a diverse range of Jews has long been a point of pride for Reconstructionist institutions a value that was cited amid the rifts that have opened in the movement. And that value was reflected in the graduating class which included Jews by choice, Jews of color and LGBTQ-identifying rabbis.

Up here, on this bimah, we have a remarkably diverse group of rabbis who have stuck with one another all year despite fundamentally different interpretations of whats going on in the world, Tamar Kamionkowski, a professor of biblical studies at RRC, said during the opening prayer.

Today, we come together to celebrate each of you, to acknowledge that your paths may be different from one another, but that you all share the same basic values, and that ultimately, we all share a vision of a more peaceful world and a more compassionate humanity.

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At Reconstructionist Rabbinical College ordination, divisions over Israel share stage with 11 new rabbis - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Rabbi at Rouen synagogue set on fire says Jewish community needs to be ‘strong’ – Lufkin Daily News

Posted By on May 21, 2024

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Rabbi at Rouen synagogue set on fire says Jewish community needs to be 'strong' - Lufkin Daily News

Take One, Talmud to Go Bava Metzia 79 and 80 – Tablet Magazine

Posted By on May 21, 2024

Todays Talmud pages,Bava Metzia 79 and 80, hold a lesson about our responsibility to our faith hidden within a discussion about labor. Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin joins us to tease out this lesson. What level of responsibility do we have to the unchosen gifts that we have been given? Listen and find out.

Take One

Bava Metzia 79 and 80

Use your blessings, with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin

May 17, 2024

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Take Oneis a Tablet Studios production. The show is hosted by Liel Leibovitz and is produced and edited by Josh Kross, Robert Scaramuccia, Quinn Waller, and Elie Bleier.Our team also includes Stephanie Butnick, Courtney Hazlett, and Tanya Singer.

Listen to theTestimonies Archive, a partnership between Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation, for eyewitness audio accounts from Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

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Take One, Talmud to Go Bava Metzia 79 and 80 - Tablet Magazine

JNY Toronto Shabbaton Brings Large Group to the Rebbe – Anash.org – Good News

Posted By on May 21, 2024

TheJewish North York (JNY)community from Toronto, led byRabbi Yisroel and Henya Karpilovsky, organized a memorable Shabbaton at 770, bringing together 123 men, women, and children to the Rebbe.

Last Shabbos, theJewish North York (JNY)community from Toronto, led byRabbi Yisroel and Henya Karpilovsky, organized a memorable Shabbaton at 770 Eastern Parkway. The trip brought together 123 participants from the community, including men, women, and children.

Friday morning, the buses arrived at the Ohel, where the group davened Shacharis and then enjoyed a brunch, learning about the significance of their visit. They then headed to Crown Heights for a tour of 770, learning about its history and visiting the library. The group settled at the Eshel Hospitality Center, where a pre-Shabbos buffet was served.

The Shabbaton began with the lighting of Shabbat candles and then a Kabbolas Shabbos at 770. Shabbos meals at Eshel Hall featured divrei Torah, inspiring stories, singing, and farbrengen. Speakers included Rabbi Yisroel Barenbaum and Mrs. Nurit Sarytchev in Russian, Rabbi Shais Taub, Rabbi Mendi Wolf, and Rabbi Levi Garelik, and Mrs. Itty Kay and Mrs. Sara Blau in English.

On Sunday, the group visited the Jewish Childrens Museum and spent time in the Rebbes room, capturing a group photo before returning home.

For many participants, spending Shabbos at 770 was an almost impossible dream, now fulfilled. Im really grateful I had this opportunity to spend Shabbos in 770 with my kids. It was a real uplifting experience which I did not expect, said one of the participants.

I davened in 770 for over 25 years, said Chaim, and its really unique to see a group of families this size coming to spend Shabbos by the Rebbe.

The Shabbaton was sponsored in loving memory of Eliyahu Ben Abbo in honor of his 20th yartzeit. May Eliyahu Ben Abbos neshama have an aliyah and be a guter better for his family and klal Yisroel.

The JNY community extends its gratitude to all those who made this Shabbaton possible.

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R POUPKO: Post October 7th Zionism, Response to Rabbi Lopiansky – VINNews

Posted By on May 21, 2024

RABBI ELCHANAN POUPKO (Op-Ed / VINnews) Whether quietly or outline, many voices in the frum and Hasidic community, post-October 7th, have felt vindicated about the Charedi approach to Zionism. No one looking at what has happened or what is happening right now on Israels northern border and its South, can reflexively feel this is Atchaltach DeGeula (beginning of the redemption), or a vindication of the Zionist vision.

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Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington, in the Pesach issue of Mishpacha magazine, wrote a column alluding to this approach of vindication:

For almost 200 years, the common wisdom was that all our woes were a byproduct of our homeless existence.The solution was thought to be obvious, if difficult. Become a normal people. Have a country that is yours and everything will fall into place. Sure, there will be birth pangs, but those are productive pains, like that of a dislocated shoulder being pulled into place. Once that initial stage has passed, life should be natural and smooth.

Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, went on to question the current state of Jews in the state of Israel: Can anyone explain how, almost a century later, with magnificent armed forces, sophisticated and brave beyond words, we are still not safer than we were at the beginning of our venture? That no fewer Jews are killed in the ongoing skirmishes than in the pogroms of Europe?

For the historical record, it is important to note that in no place did the early leaders of the Zionist movement make the above statements. Zionism was founded by people who had a tragically accurate vision of what was going on in Europe and understood that the Jews of Europe were facing an existential danger. Zionist leaders saw the pogroms of Eastern Europe and the failure of modernization and emancipation in Western Europe to curb the European vicious lust for Jewish blood, and they dedicated themselves to finding a new safe home for the Jewish people. Some are mocked to this day for entertaining the option of Jewish statehood in Uganda, but the fact is that they and their Zionist peers read the atmosphere in Europe terrifyingly accurately.

It is hard to say how many Jewish lives would have been saved had everyone listened to Zionist leaders when they said what they said and what would happen had Britain not reneged on the Balfour declaration and established a Jewish state in the 1920s, but surely millions of Jewish lives would have been saved.

There was nothing religiousor anti religiousabout their outlook on this matter, they simply did not see a future for Jews in Europe. This was proven to be tragically true in the years before the Holocaust, during the Holocaust, after the Holocaust, and to this very day.

As a frum person, you do not demand that your doctor be frum, nor is there a need for a frum outlook on the vision for a Jewish state. It simply has to do with thinking forward about the future safety of the Jewish people.

But it isnt just the Holocaust.

Jews from Iran, to North Africa, Turkey, most recently Ukraine and Ethiopia, found refuge in the land of Israel in the hundreds of thousands and in the millions. It turns out that having a homeland where the Jewish people can run to in times of need, is a really good idea. I shudder at the thought of what would have happened had so many Jews from Soviet Russia, Yemen, or Egypt would have no place to flee to. For centuries Jews were pogromed in tens and hundreds of thousands, expelled from country to country, and persecuted in the most horrible ways, and now all that is needed is a flight to the modern state of Israel.

Was that state always perfect? Of course not.

There were some terrible things that happened in the many difficult moments since its birth, such as the episode of Yaldei Teiman, Yemenite children removed from their families, to other incidents that came with a young state clamoring for its very life. It is important to recall those episodes not only for the record of what wrongs were done, but also to ask what the alternative could have been. In the case of Yemenite, Syrian, or Iraqi Jews, they likely would be mostly murdered by violent Islamists because as it turns out, not every Jew in the world is born with an American passport and a house in Lakewood or Maryland.

In fact, especially as you compare the Jews who fled to Israel with the Jews who fled to America, you realize what a miracle Israel has been for the Jewish people. We can now safely say that an unintended consequence of Herel and Zionist leaders work was to build a national shelter against Jewish assimilation that maintained the Jewish identity of many millions of Jews.

This is not about the past or just historical Monday morning quarterbacking. This is about the very future of millions of Jews.

No matter what your Hashkafa is, making sure Jews are safe and with a strong Jewish identity is a goal everyone should share.

Here is where I will deviate from my fellow religious zionists. Keeping this miracle called the modern state of Israel requires an extraordinary amount of Hishtadlus and the efforts of millions of Jews. If those efforts are not made, the state of Israel will collapse on its inhabitants, will be destroyed, and those who survive that destruction will go into exile, just like so many of those who survived the Bar Kovcha rebellion have.

The irony of the destruction of the third Jewish commonwealth that could come, is that if it does, it will be a self fulfilling prophecy. As the frum, not-Zionist or anti zionist community in Israel grows, it will not be willing to make the immense sacrifices needed to maintaining the unfathomably miraculous sate of Israel. Once those needs are not met and those sacrifices are not made, the State of Israel will cease to exist.

The common Charedi Hashkafa regarding the state of Israel, is a luxury of being a minority. Yet as the frum community goes on to constitute a majority of Jews living in Israel, and as the frum community in the diaspora goes on to grow in numbers and percentages of the broader Jewish community, the question of who will care for the future of Jews living in Israel, becomes unescapable. The frum fantasy of thriving as a minority community with no zionist ideology, becomes less sweet when you realize Hamas and those who committed the atrocities of October 7th, are the alternative to the modern state of Israel.

I once had a friend in Jerusalem from the Old Yishuv, who came from the Aurbach family, known to live in Israel for over 150 years. While most Charedim do not descend from people who had lived in Israel for that long, he had. He made to me the legitimate argument against the modern state of Israel saying: my family came here before the state of Israel. You cooked a porridge, eat it. None of Israels problems are my problem, he concluded.

While I respect this position, upon discovering that millions of Jews living under the rule of Hamas is the alternative to the modern state of Israel, it is time to call off the bluff. The bluff claiming that millions of Jews in Israel should or can just get on an airplane and move to suburban Maryland, or Upstate New York is practically impossible and Halachically discouraged.

It is time for the frum community to leave the vindictive or theoretical mode, and start asking what each and every one of us could do to ensure the lives and existence of 6.6 million Jews living inside the modern state of Israel. Futile debates over how religious Hertzel and Ben Gurion really were, how secular were members of the early Kibbutzim, or who the true villain was in the Kasnter affair (Kastner in my opinion) or what did the Brisker Rov and Satmar Rebbe really mean when they said the state of Israel would not survive longer than ten years must fall by the wayside. Any Yid who cares for Klal Yisrael should be losing sleep at night to ask themselves what we can do to ensure the success and survival of the state of Israel for the coming fifty years. Do we really want to bet our options on being right and seeing the national home of millions of Jews collapsing on them in bloodshed, humiliation, and a Chilul Shem Shamayaim we havent seen in our lifetimes, or would we like Yidden to live in safety and peace? If the latter is our answer, then standing with and fighting for the future of the state of Israel should be our highest priority right now.

Whether it is the early Zionists deep concern about the future of European Jews in the years to come, or the yearning of Talmidai HaGra, Talmidei HaBaal Shem, and countless other Jews for the land of Israelevery frum person must be asking themselves now how to sustain the future of the modern state of Israel. If we do not, we will lost it with all the death and destruction such a loss would ential. Let us double our commitment to securing this future.

The writer is an eleventh-generation rabbi, teacher and author. He has written Sacred Days on the Jewish Holidays, Poupko on the Parsha, and hundreds of articles published in five languages. He is a member of the executive committee of the Rabbinical Council of America.

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R POUPKO: Post October 7th Zionism, Response to Rabbi Lopiansky - VINNews

A look at the Breslov hassic music scene: asking big questions with song – The Jerusalem Post

Posted By on May 21, 2024

Contemporary Breslov Hassidism has the most creative hassidic music scene.

This is not sanctioned Breslov music, since Breslov Hassidim do not have a recognized central leadership. Rather, there are numerous Breslov factions, each with its own character and emphasis. The music, often inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Nahman of Breslov (1772-1810), is produced and performed by Breslov Hassidim, but there is no official imprimatur of a hassidic master or entire community.

Examples of current musicians who identify as Breslov Hassidim and reflect this trend include Adi Ran; Shuli Rand; Yosef Karduner; Nissim Baruch Black; and Ron Aharon Caras. Several bands, including the hardcore punk band Moshiach Oi!, formed in 2008, and the reggae band Shlepping Nachas, formed in 2019, share some identification with Breslov. As a rule, these musicians did not grow up as Breslov Hassidim but joined the ranks of Breslov later in life.

For example, Karduner joined while in his 20s, while Ran and Rand joined during their 30s. These musicians are not necessarily part of the same stream within Breslov Hassidism. Indeed, Rand is a student of Rabbi Shalom Arush, while Karduner is a student of Rabbi Shimon Yosef Hakohen Wizenfeld. Thus, it is not a particular Breslov faction that has a propensity for music. It seems that the musical trend is connected to Breslov in a deeper way. Perhaps Breslov Hassidism attracts musicians; perhaps the core of Rabbi Nahmans teachings encourages musical composition and performance.

Some Breslov musicians have achieved recognition and fame way beyond their community. Their music is appreciated by Israeli and Jewish audiences across the spectrum. Indeed, these Breslov musicians are on the vanguard of original Hebrew music.

A FEW months ago, in January 2024, Shuli Rand recorded a song that reflected on the tragic events of October 7. The song provides a space for the tough theological question Where was God on that Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah?

The song uses the style of Israeli pop, with influences of alt rock and hip-hop. The lyrics employ biblical phrases and allusions to rabbinic traditions and texts. The song was written in Hebrew but is presented here in English translation.

In the first stanza, Rand depicts his understanding of the all-knowing God:

He who stands behind me, before me, above me / He is the one who stands on me / As I rise, as I fall / As I stumble in the darkness / He knows me very well / Knows me not well / Knows from the beginning to the end / Your banner upon me is love that is true / But / Why are your mercies a fist?

While starting in the descriptive third person, Rand moves to second person with an accusatory tone toward the Almighty: Why do we feel that You have punched us in the gut? Rand taps into what people might be feeling at this time. From here in the classic Breslov style of hitbodedut, or meditative solitude Rand continues his personal conversation with God, while at the same time inviting others to join him. The language is not lofty or formulaic; rather, the song reads like a person talking to a mate:

Yes, to You I am talking, to You, You / the hidden one / the one who is hiding amongst the baggage / the one who slips away between the shadows / is silent / even as the house is burning / peeks out from a pot plant / appears at the window / caressing, disappearing, and dissipating / So how is it that I remember everything / run to dip [in the mikveh] / but immediately forget.

Here, Rand begins to reveal what has precipitated his heated conversation with God. As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the burning house symbolizes the homes in Beeri, Kfar Aza, and other southern Israel areas that marauding terrorists destroyed:

And as for me, who am I, not a prophet / just a son to my mother and to my father / not a medium, not the voice of the generation / not one who abstains, not like the empowered lion / not the bringer of tidings on a donkey / Rather, I dwell amongst my people / not dwelling in security / heavy rain is about to fall / I know, I come from the area.

Rand is aware that he is not some grand figure not a prophet nor a hassidic master nor a messiah. He is one of the people. From this vantage, he understands that there is no safety, no security. In the fourth stanza, his indictment of God becomes more forceful:

So it is true that for everything there is a reason and a time and an era beneath heaven / But this is a real siren / the water has reached the neck / look down from Your dwelling place / start the move already / will you not hear Your impoverished ones / how they are crying from the sewers?

Rand reminds himself that God has a reason for everything, but then he reminds God how serious the current situation is, urging the Almighty to act for those who are mired in the sewers perhaps an allusion to the hostages being held in underground tunnels.

At this point, the refrain breaks into the song with a line from the Passover Haggadah: Let the day that is neither day nor night draw close. This line is based on a biblical verse about the end of days (Zachariah 14:7). The tune of the refrain is eerie and unnerving, suggesting a break from the harsh reality of the song and a complex prayer for the future.

Rand then turns to a historical account of sorts in which he acknowledges that we should have recognized Gods hand in our successes. Accepting part of the blame is quickly replaced by returning to the accusations against God:

Yes, we made aliyah, we created, we built, we dreamed, we loved / we did not whisper prayers / how tall the wheat stands in our fields / how beautiful the nights are in the cemeteries / with holy ones [buried] in rows / flowers, showers, sprinklers / they burned our synagogue / foxes all over the town / So we sat there, there we also rent [our clothes], there we also cried / enveloped in silence / the desecrated earth, the cursed Sabbath / the tremor of hostages / outside the sword deals death, in the rooms terror / the blood of a boy, the blood of a girl, the blood of a suckling baby / cry out from the earth.

So it is true that for everything there is a reason and a time and an era beneath heaven / but, as for me, I will die in another moment / the water has reached the neck / In Your glorious might appear already, be placated / can You not hear Your orphans / how they are crying from the edge?

Once again, the refrain breaks in with its eerie tune. The song then repeats the second stanza, followed by the first, with the refrain overlaying each one. The refrain ends before the songs final line, abruptly ending with the unanswered, charged question: Why are your mercies a fist?

The writer is a senior faculty member at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and rabbi in Tzur Hadassah.

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A look at the Breslov hassic music scene: asking big questions with song - The Jerusalem Post

Batman’s Replacement for Alfred Is the Perfect Nod to Comics History – Screen Rant

Posted By on May 21, 2024

Summary

WARNING: Potential Spoilers for The Bat-Man: First Knight #2!

Superhero comics have deep roots in Jewish culture and history, with many of the creators behind iconic characters, including Batman and Superman, having Jewish heritage. Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster are among the most notable of these creators. Now, decades after their initial comic creations, DC Comics has come full circle, subtly paying tribute to these creators with the introduction of Batmans replacement for Alfred Pennyworth.

Batman sees Rabbi Cohen not just as a friend but also as a trusted confidant and moral compass, echoing the relationship Batman shares with Alfred in other renditions.

Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins, and Mike Spicers The Bat-Man: First Knight offers a gritty retelling of Batman's origins set in 1939. Returning to the Caped Crusader's roots, the series showcases Batman's original costume, his first partnership with Commissioner Gordon, and other classic elements of the Batman mythos.

Staying true to the early days of Batman's story, this comic excludes Alfred Pennyworth, who didn't appear until Batman #16 (April 1943). Thus, with Bruce's butler and pseudo-father figure absent, Jurgens introduces Rabbi Cohen to fill Alfred's shoes as Batman's most trusted confidant.

In The Bat-Man: First Knight, Batman encounters Rabbi Cohen in the series' debut issue, seeking refuge after a perilous encounter with undead mutants leaves him badly injured. However, it's during their second meeting in issue #2 that Bruce chooses to disclose his identity to the rabbi, signifying a profound level of trust in Cohen. Their ensuing conversation delves into Bruce's mission and ethics, highlighting that this version of Batman sees Rabbi Cohen not just as a friend, but also as a trusted confidant and moral compass, echoing the relationship Batman shares with Alfred in other renditions.

This homage to Jewish culture resonates with the origins of superhero comics, which were shaped by Jewish creators like Bill Finger and Bob Kane.

Cohen's role as a rabbi explicitly reflects his Jewish faith and his position within the Jewish community as a religious leader and educator. This homage to Jewish culture resonates with the origins of superhero comics, which were shaped by Jewish creators like Bill Finger and Bob Kane. The inclusion of Rabbi Cohen marks a meaningful full-circle moment, especially given that this comic series focuses on Batman's initial appearances and adventures in Gotham, as originally envisioned by both Finger and Kane. With Rabbi Cohen playing a significant role in the story thus far, it raises anticipation for his role in the concluding issue.

It's important to recognize that iconic characters like Superman and Batman have connections to the Jewish community that extend beyond their creators. Superman's original narratives, crafted by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, embraced various Jewish themes, including the immigrant journey and the battle against oppression. Similarly, Batman's co-creators, Bob Kane and Bill Finger, frequently incorporated Jewish ideals of justice, morality, and the fight against evil into the Caped Crusader's adventures. Therefore, The Bat-Man: First Knight serves as a beautiful homage and reminder to fans of Batman's Jewish roots.

The Bat-Man: First Knight #2 is available now from DC Comics!

The Bat-Man: First Knight #2 (2024)

One of DC's most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world's leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.

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Batman's Replacement for Alfred Is the Perfect Nod to Comics History - Screen Rant


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