Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on January 20, 2022

Parashat Yitro (Exodus 18:120:23)By Rabbi David Maayan | January 18, 2022

This weeks Torah reading gives us the opportunity to reflect upon the value of distance, as well as closeness in our relationships, even with the Divine.

It centers on the climactic moments of the Mount Sinai revelation, a paradigm for Jews of a direct encounter with the Divine. Rabbinic tradition does not speak of the Ten Commandments, but rather of the aseret ha-diberot, the Ten Utterances. This term hews closer to the Torahs own language elsewhereExodus 34:28 refers to the covenant of the ten devarim, rather than mitzvot. In addition, the rabbinic language here may reflect tensions with nascent Christianity, whose elevation of the eternal validity of the Ten Commandments accompanied a denial of the same to other commandments of the Torah, a clear anathema to rabbinic Judaism.

Yet the title the Ten Utterances also emphasizes what is unique about those mitzvot that were imparted from Mount Sinai: the Divine voice that spoke them was heard not only by one prophet, but by all of the Israelites (Deuteronomy 4:12 and 4:33). Mount Sinai thus becomes the model for intimacy and nearness with God. Rashi (Song of Songs 1:2) compares it to a Divine kiss, which, having once experienced, we long for again and again.

However, the parashah takes its name from a very different encounterthat of Jethro with his son-in-law, Moses. In fact, while the Mount Sinai story is about connection between the people and God, the episode with Jethro is about the need to create distance between the people and Moses. The text also provocatively frames this as a kind of distancing of the people from God.

Essentially, Mosess father-in-law advises him that it is impossible for Moses to respond personally to all the issues and questions of the people. He must, instead, set up a hierarchy between himself and the people, such that only some individuals and especially-difficult cases rise to the level of direct involvement with Moses. When Moses father-in-law asks him why he is responding directly to peoples concerns all day, Moses tells him:

It is because the people come to me to seek God. (Exodus 18:15)

One can almost hear Moses asking, between the lines, how can I turn them away? Yet, of course, Jethros objection seems difficult to refute. Mosess current model is simply unsustainable: The thing you are doing is not right, Jethro states bluntly, you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well (18:17-18). Moses accepts this advice and duly sets up a hierarchy between himself and the people.

What is the message of this story for those of us who seek God and desire a direct encounter with God, or a face-to-face meeting with a great prophet who can speak to us Gods word? It seems that these must be sacrificed for the sake of creating a sustainable institution. This system will be administered by the authorities enumerated by Moses in Exodus 18:25. But these officers, even as we hope that they act justly and with integrity, are no prophets.

Hasidic texts often read such political texts in terms of the inner lives of individuals. Thus, in his Torat Emet, the Hasidic master Rebbe Yehuda Leib Eiger (1817-1888, known as Reb Leibeleh) sees the encounter between Moses and Jethro as an opportunity to reflect upon the devotional life of an individual. Reb Leibeleh is struck by the language of the verse, which describes Jethro as Mosess friend (reahu, in Shemot 18:7). He asks: how did Jethro merit such a title in relation to the greatest of all prophets?

Although this is, in my opinion, a rather forced question, his response is very profound. (This combination is not infrequent in Hasidic literature.) Precisely because Jethro, who we met as a non-Israelite priest of Midian (Exodus 2:16), has been far from the God of Israel, the greatest peace and profoundest friendship is exemplified by his union with Moses. Reb Leibeleh quotes Gods words to the prophet:

Shalom, shalom, to the far and to the nearsays God. (Isaiah 57:19)

Here, shalom is related to peace, though the root meaning is that of wholeness. Reb Leibeleh tells us that Moses is the near, a tzaddik who experiences unparalleled closeness to God, while Jethro is the far, a baal teshuvah. The opening of the parashah celebrates the fact that Jethro, from afar, has heard and understood some of the revelations of God, and has drawn himself closer. Although Moses is glad to see his father-in-law, rejoicing that Jethro has seen the value of drawing close, he perhaps does not initially realize that Jethro has something to teach him, too: the value of distance.

In Moses experience, one who is seeking God needs to have a quick and direct response from the Divine. For instance, when Moses is presented with questions that he cannot answeras in the case of the daughters of Zelophehadhe asks it of God and receives a response.(Numbers 27:1-11)

For Jethro, on the other hand, God is the One who, rather than giving answers, gave him the space to wander long and far in his God-seeking. The midrash states that Jethro had engaged in every form of idolatry before finding the One God. Perhaps from all of these experiences, Jethro learned many lessonsincluding the irreducible value of the religious quest itself, for all of its challenges and heartaches.

Read existentially: Jethro is the part of us with the awareness that one who is seeking God needs to be given space, not only answers. Yet we do also need those Moses moments, in which we feel a real response and encounter. Imagining Moses and Jethros embrace, Reb Leibeleh sees the wholeness of a doubled shalom that embraces equally the near and the far, the moments of direct response and encounter as well as the endless quest.

Jethros advice was not merely of a practical naturea concern that the people will be worn out, as a vine will wither from too much sun. Rather, he understands that human growth requires the warmth of the Divine presence, as well as the air of freedom and space that God grants us, as in the great Luranic teaching of tzimtzum, to find and become ourselves in our ongoing search for the Divine.

Rabbi David Maayan is completing his PhD in Comparative Theology at Boston College. He received an MA in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College, with a focus on Hasidism, in 2017. He has also taught courses in the Hebrew College Rabbinical Schooland in theProzdorteen program.

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Posted By admin on January 20, 2022

Join MaTaRoT, Hebrew Colleges Center for Jewish Professional Learning & Leadership, for a spring short-course. Have you been wondering about SESLs impact on teaching and learning? Have you been thinking about how to weave SESL into your curriculum?

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

We invite Jewish educators in part-time settings (congregations and community schools) to engage in this six-session series on social emotional and spiritual learning (SESL) and inclusive practices. Our time together will focus on bringing SESL into our classrooms and curriculum as we begin to think about planning for the upcoming academic year.

The goals of the series include:

There will be short readings/exercises in between sessions. This series will be taught by Susan Morrel and Sandy Gold, leaders in the field of social and emotional learning, special education and Jewish education.

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When

Wednesday, February 2, 2022, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

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According to Islam, there been really only one true religion, i.e. the message of Allah (SWT), submission to the will of Allah (SWT). This is called Islam. It was the religion preached by Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and all the prophets, by whatever name it may be called. People, however, have corrupted that pure light and called their religions by different names. Although Islam teaches Muslims to bear with them all, and allow the names for convenience, but it also insists equally on prevailing of truth over all distorted forms of religion. The Qur'an says, "It is He who has sent His messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth. That he made it prevail over all religion, even though the pagans may detest (it)".

In corollary to it the continuity of this message of truth has been also shown. He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion, it is the religion of your father Abraham. It is he, who has named you Muslims, both before and this (Revelation), witness for you, and you be witness for mankind. So establish regular prayer, give Zakat, hold fast to Allah. He is your protector the best to protect and the best to help

In this way, Islam has existed before the preaching of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) on the earth, as the Qur'an expressly calls Abraham (AS) a Muslim. Its teaching (submission to Allah's will) has been and will be the teaching of religion for all time and for all peoples. There has been a continuous chain of prophets throughout the annals of history of mankind and the Quran calls the Prophets in the Jewish, Christian, Muslim dispensation frame one family literally, and even claims further that all men of faith form one family. "Allah did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of 'Imran above all people' offspring one of the other".

In this way, Islam is universal and claims to date from Adam. Moreover, father Abraham is mentioned as the great ancestor of those among whom Islam was first preached, i.e. Jews, Christians and Arabs. The Quran mentions that the children of Israel were granted the book, the power of command and Prophethood. They were also favoured above all nations as they were the custodians of the message brought by the prophets. Clear signs were granted to them in the affairs of religion.

It was only after knowledge had been granted to them that they fell into schisms; through insolent envy among themselves, verily Thy Lord will judge between them on the Day of Judgment as to those matters in which they set up differences. Since the prophets came with a divinely ordained knowledge and guidance, it contained the message of unity. We know that the message brought by Moses (AS) was presenting integrity. It was one book. But the present Old Testament is a collection of odd books (sheets) of various kinds? Why? Because its integrity was lost or concealed by the Jews themselves. The same applies to the New Testament. It shows that all the prophets mentioned above had one mission and explained their teachings with conformity with each other. But this mission was damaged by the schisms prevalent in their rank and file. "Who then sent down the book which Moses brought? A light and guidance to man. But ye make it into (separate) sheets for show".

In this, the Quran' exposes the excesses and distortions made by the Israelites in the message of Allah (SWT). They have even concealed several portions of it or added some spurious elements to it. "While you conceal much (of its contents): there in were you taught that you know not-neither you nor your fathers", say, "Allah (sent it down)".

The Qur'an elaborates the same point and says that the purpose of new revelation was two-fold: to bring blessings of God in form of the universal and unadulterated message, and to confirm the earlier revelations. The Qur'an says, "And this is a book which we have sent down, bringing blessings and confirming (the revelations) which came before it, that thou mayst warn the mother of cities and all round her".

Makkah being traditionally associated with Abraham was nonetheless the mother of cities. Therefore, this also indicated the universality and continuity of religion, i.e. Islam. Moses was also followed by a succession of messengers. Jesus was also sent with clear signs to the people to continue the same message of Islam. "We gave Moses, the book and followed him up with a succession of messengers. We gave Jesus the son of Mary, clear (signs) and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit".

However, as has been mentioned above, Torah was distorted and rendered into various fragmented portions. The books such as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are traditionally ascribed to Moses. They were in their present form probably compiled sometime after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. The decree of Cyrus permitting such return was in 536 BC.

Ernest Renan (1823-1892) has doubted even the existence of Moses, owing to the messy condition of the present Torah. He is doubtful whether Moses was not a myth. But as Muslims, we believe that Moses existed; that he was an inspired man of God; that he gave a massage which was afterwards distorted or lost, that attempts were made by Israel at various times to reconstruct that message; and that the Torah as we have it is not earlier than the middle of the 5th century. The primitive Torah must have been in old Hebrew, but there is no Hebrew manuscript of the Old Testament available presently which can be dated with certainly earlier than 916 AD; at the time of Jesus, it must have been cultivated.

Hebrews used the Greek language, and others used Aramaic, including Syriac and Chaldean, Latin or local dialects. There were also some Arabic versions. No standard text of the Old Testament is found in its Hebrew form. The versions differ from each other frequently in minor particulars and sometimes in important particulars. It was the merit of Islam that it pointed out that as a scripture; Torah was of no value, although it recognized Moses as an inspired messenger. All his original law as having validity in his period until it was superseded. In its criticism of the Jewish position, it said in effect: You have lost your original law, even what you have now as its substitute, you do not honestly follow; is it not better, now that an inspired teacher is living among you, that you should follow him rather than quibble over uncertain texts.

After Moses came Jesus, whose mission was to his own people, the Jews, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of Isreal"92, and 'It is not wit to take the children's bread, and to cost it to dogs'. The Quran says, "And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said:

O Children of Israel, I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Taurat (which came, before me) and giving glad Tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name should be Ahmad. But when he came to them with clear signs, they said, "This is evident Socrecy."

"And Allah will teach him the book and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel and (appoint him) a messenger to the children of Israel, (with this message)."

(Author is Head, Department of Religious Studies, and Central University of Kashmir. Former Director, Shah-i-Hamadan Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Kashmir Srinagar. He can be reached on hamidnaseem@gmail.com)

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On Tuesday, St. Louis Jewish Light Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Bob Cohn was a guest on The Charlie Brennan Show with Amy Marxkors to discuss his article (read below) on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs visit to St. Louis in 1960.

Cohn discussed Kings visit, the support he received from St. Louis Jews, and the impact his visit had on the community.

You can hear Bobs entire interview here.

Considering his major accomplishments as the leader of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement for which he earned a well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize it is still hard to believe that King was only 39 years old when he was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in April 1968.

It is well-known that King had many supporters nationally in the American Jewish community, most notably Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who said he felt like his feet were praying when he marched with King from Selma to Montgomery.

King also had supporters and friends in the St. Louis Jewish community and made some significant historic speeches at Jewish venues at a critical time in his career. Several of his most prominent supporters in the local community have passed away, including Rabbi Jerome W. Grollman of United Hebrew and his cousin, Rabbi Bernard Lipnick of Bnai Amoona. Both traveled south to support King in his marches and rallies on behalf of full civil rights for African-Americans.

One of those stalwart supporters is still a vital part of the local Jewish community: William (Bill) Kahn, former longtime executive vice president of the Jewish Community Center and later of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, of which he has been executive vice president emeritus since his retirement in 1990.

In 1960, when Kings activities were getting national attention and generating controversy, Kahn was serving as the executive director of the JCC. Even within the normally progressive local Jewish community, there were some contingents who felt threatened by Kings movement, fearing that he was trying to effect change too rapidly and possibly stirring things up more than necessary.

Kahn was not among those naysayers. He believed passionately in Kings mission, having been inspired by his late own father, Ziggy Kahn, who directed the JCC in Pittsburgh and tried to lead a boycott against the Nazi Olympics in Berlin in 1936.

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With the backing of the late Isadore E. Millstone, then President of the JCC, Kahn arranged for King to be a speaker in the JCCs famous Liberal Forum, a prestigious event that had previously featured speakers such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Clarence Darrow. Kings speech at the Liberal Forum took place on Nov. 27, 1960.

His topic was The Future of Integration. Because of the unprecedented size of the crowd, the event was moved to United Hebrew (then located on Skinker Boulevard), with the help of Rabbi Grollman.

Kahn received the Heschel-King Award back in 2008, along with Dr. Henry Givens, president of Harris-Stowe University in St. Louis. The award, conferred by Jews United for Justice, is annually presented to an African-American and a Jewish American who exemplify the spirit of cooperation and support for civil rights of Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel.

At the Heschel-King Award ceremony, Kahn recalled Kings Liberal Forum talk at United Hebrew, including a dinner at the home of Paul Berwald before the talk. Dr. King seemed exhausted, Kahn recalled. He had been arrested, roughed up and jailed in Alabama just before he came to St. Louis. To rescue him from the after-dinner questions, my wife Shirlee and I said we needed to go downtown to meet the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. We were able to give Dr. King a ride around St. Louis and let him unwind a little.

King would later wow the crowd of 2,500 people at United Hebrew, spurring a 15-minute standing ovation, Kahn recalled.

King also spoke at Temple Israel, on Sept. 20, 1963, on the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Over 3,000 people attended that event, where King discussed agape, a concept of selfless love that is central to Christian values.

Today, the Jewish agencies on the Millstone JCC campus still pay homage to King during an annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day program. Kahn helped to institute the observance, which has in recent years past brought together African-American and Jewish students for an event with speakers and school choir performances.

Our task is to build upon Dr. Kings legacy, including his cooperation with Rabbi Heschel to make certain, as John F. Kennedy said that here on earth, Gods work must truly be our own,' Kahn said.

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Jewish Light's Bob Cohn appears on KMOX regarding MLK's visit to St. Louis - St. Louis Jewish Light

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Posted By admin on January 20, 2022

City: Jewish American values have shaped community

While St. Augustine was colonized by Spanish officials, the city also has Jewish heritage and influences that local leaders are celebrating.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law in 2003 designating January as Florida Jewish History Month. To celebrate this year's event, St. Augustine commissioners recently designated January as St. Augustine Jewish Heritage Month.

"Jewish American values are woven into the fabric of American life and have shaped the progress weve made as a country and in our community," the proclamation says.

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Among other things, the city is home to one of the oldest active synagogues in Florida and was the site of the largest mass arrest of rabbis in the U.S. during the civil rights movement.

The influence traces back to the city's founding, accordingto the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society.

According to the city's proclamation, "the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society has been exploring the plausibility and possibility that the first Jews came ashore in St. Augustine, Florida, and took part in the founding of our countrys first European city and established the very beginnings of American Jewish Heritage."

According to the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society, "First there was Harbor Pilot Antonio Martinez Carvajal dating back to 1565. He was followed by Cristobal Carvajal of 'The Company of Colonel Hernando de Uruna' in 1566. Next followed Pedro de Carvajal whose name appears on the St. Augustine Garrison List in 1578. These three men have been identified as of Jewish descent by Professor Roger L. Martinez-Dvila, associate professor of history and director of graduate studies at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs."

The historical society was founded after the St. Augustine Archeological Association discussed "the possibility that hidden Jews (Conversos forced by the Spanish Inquisition to convert to Catholicism) may have been on the ships that arrived in St. Augustine with Pedro Menendez in 1565," according to the organization's website.

Around the turn of the 20th century, a Jewish congregation formed in St. Augustineand created a legacy that is still active today.

Located at 161 Cordova St. in downtown St. Augustine,the First Congregation Sons of Israeldescribes itself as the oldest synagogue in the city.

Families from Russia and Eastern Europe were the congregation's first members,and the congregation was chartered with the State of Florida in 1908, according to the organization's website.

People held services in their homes until the synagogue was built. The first service was held in the Cordova Street synagogue on March 30, 1924, "under the leadership of Rabbi Jacob Tarlinsky and his wife, Dora."

Descendants from the early members still attend, congregation President Les Stern said.

The sanctuary itself, designed by one of Henry Flaglers Florida East Coast Railroad architects, F.A. Hollingsworth, was built in the Mediterranean Baroque style and dates back to 1923. It featured decades-old seats salvaged from an unknown St. Augustine theater, and, in 1958, it received a set of stained glass windows dating back to 1873. These were salvaged from an Atlanta synagogue.

Stern said while it's not certain what life was like in St. Augustine for the earliest members, they lived closely together around the synagogue so they could support each other.

"They were basically from a different part of Europe than so many of the people who had settled in St. Augustine were from. Also, their language was different … and obviously their religion was different," he said.

The synagogue is still active today with religious services that are open to anyone.

"We want it to be a place for good people to come to worship … and to follow the legacy of the original founding families that wanted to establish a permanent Jewish presence in St. Augustine," Stern said.

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David Levy Yulee, the first person of Jewish descent to serve in the U.S. Senate, once lived in St. Augustine, according to a column in The Record from historian Susan Parker, who has a doctorate in colonial history.

"He had already served in Congress as Florida's territorial delegate in the House of Representatives from 1841 to 1845. …He was born David Levy and legally added Yulee to his name as an adult."

Quoting historian Daniel Schafer inThe History of Florida," Parker added, "It was the leadership of congressional delegate David Levy Yulee that most directly led to admission of Florida to the Union."

On June 18, 1964, more than a dozen rabbis were arrested in St. Augustine for their participation in the civil rights movement.

The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society added a plaque where the arrest occurred, and where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested, at what is now theHilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront hotel at32 Avenida Menendez.

The rabbis, who came after King asked for help with the movement,were arrestedduring a protest of segregation at the Monson Motor Lodge and in St. Augustine. The protest included a wade-in of the segregated swimming pool, which led to the well-known image of the lodge owner pouring muriatic acid into the pool.

After their arrests they were placed into a crowded jail cell, where they penned the letter, "Why We Went."

Among the passages in the letter, the rabbis wrote: "We came as Jews who remember the millions of faceless people who stood quietly, watching the smoke rise from Hitler's crematoria. We came because we know that, second only to silence, the greatest danger to man is loss of faith in man's capacity to act."

During a ceremony in 2019 recognizing the arrests, Rabbi Hanan Sills, one of the participants, shared a prepared statementabout the events he was not there because of memory issues and other health concerns, but a friend read a statement on his behalf that was prepared with the help of his family.

Sills, who died in 2020, said the groupfaced opposition from Southern rabbis, and he faced violence and death threats against himself and his family.

He said he was proud of what he did and appreciatedthe gratitude he received. But he described himself asa regular person.

Yes, I can get caught in the ego trap, but the truth is, I was scared to death the whole time," he said. "Sometimes people dont realize that. After the fact, people want to project a false confidence or savior image on the rabbis who participated in the civil rights movement. But that is false and can be harmful. It separates acts of justice into a category of heroism.

"That way of understanding history does not acknowledge that each one of us has the potential in our lifetime to be courageous when asked to do the right thing."

Georgio Valentino, correspondent for The St. Augustine Record,contributed to this report.

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Posted By admin on January 20, 2022

When Federation CEO Keith Dvorchik went to Israel last October, one of the places he visited was Hebron, the beautiful city where the Jewish patriarch Abraham and matriarch Sarah, as well as Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah and Joseph are buried. As Dvorchik relaxed with others in the group, he learned that the soldiers who guard the tomb have no place to relax when they are off duty.

The IDF soldiers, known as the Golani Brigade, serve a 3-month rotation at Hebron, guarding not just the tomb but also the city. Their base is built out of shipping containers!

Dvorchik came home with a conviction to do something to help. The Federations goal is to raise $8,000. By raising this small amount, our community can have one of the containers converted into a lounge with a big screen TV, video games, couches and other furniture. This will provide the Golani Brigade with a safe place to rest and relax when off duty.

Because of the 3-month rotation in Hebron, this lounge will impact thousands of IDF soldiers.

When we visit Hebron on our community trip, said Dvorchik, we can visit the lounge that we created for these brave soldiers and experience the impact ourselves.

Levels of giving are: Abraham and Sarah, $1,000; Isaac and Rebekah, $500; Jacob and Leah, $360; Twelve Tribes, $180; and children of Israel, under $180. To make a donation, contact Dvorchik at 407-621-4042 or at kdvorchik@jfgo.org.

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Being a school that is renowned for its diverse student body, Lawrence High School is home to a wide variety of heritage clubs that inform their members of the worlds cultural traditions.

Throughout the month of December, club meetings have focused primarily on discussing the holiday traditions and customs of different ethnocultural groups.

Members of the Latin American Club recounted family customs including a feast on Dec. 24, the Epiphany, or as it is known in Latin America, Da de los Reyes Magos, and the famous Rosca de Reyes three kings cake. Students spoke about customs specific to their own background and those shared among the Latinx community.

The Rosca de Reyes quickly became a hot topic as members were surprised to find out that Latin American tradition calls for a small plastic figurine to be placed within the cake. The consensus is that whoever gets the piece with the figurine, welcomes good fortune for the upcoming year.

The Hebrew Culture Club hosted a Hanukkah Happening which included games, lessons and discussion among members about the Jewish holiday.

After a brief overview of the holidays origins, the guest speaker explained the significance of its celebration. This was followed by a demonstration of a menorah lighting ceremony and an explanation of its relevance to the Jewish tradition. Members of the club left the meeting with a newly found appreciation for the holiday and the message of hope that it represents.

In addition to educational meetings, clubs such as the Asian American Club, Multicultural Club, Science Bowl, and Dance Honors Society prepared holiday-themed fundraisers that brought smiles to the student body.

The Asian American Club sold candy canes that were given antlers and puffy red noses to look like reindeer. Many students opted to buy a couple for their classmates, friends, teachers and administrators. The candy canes were then delivered to the recipients who were delighted to have received a sweet holiday treat to brighten their day.

The Multicultural Club sold handmade ornaments that were decorated to look like reindeer, snowmen, and snowflakes. The ornaments were sold in the main hallway where students and faculty were attracted to the Multicultural Clubs joyous yuletide setup.

The Science Bowl would perhaps be one of the last clubs one would imagine partaking in a holiday fundraiser.

However, Lawrence Highs bowl proved that science is anything but predictable. The club sold hot chocolate topped with candy canes and marshmallows in the school cafeteria. Students and faculty alike could not resist the hot chocolates delectable warmth on cold winter mornings.

The Dance Honors Society hosted a holiday photo booth that allowed students, faculty, and administrators to take holiday-themed pictures before a near-professional quality backdrop. For many students, there was no better way to preserve holiday memories.

Through dance, entertainment, education, and fundraising, Lawrence High Schools students and faculty have proved that they know how to end a year properly. The high school sees a bright year ahead and though the holiday spirit may be wearing off, Lawrences pride never does.

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Posted By admin on January 20, 2022

Set model for DON CARLOS. Photo:Met Opera Technical Department

Can we talk--about live opera in New York and elsewhere on the East Coast in the coming months?

The year started on a rather ominous note with one of New York opera's (and those elsewhere who benefit from it) major events--the annual Prototype Festival of opera/theatre/now-postponed for a year, except for a single work, the Taylor Mac/Matt Ray THE HANG, about the imagined last hours of Socrates.

Of course, the Met has managed to chug along rather nicely, uninterrupted--even when Quinn Kelsey, the name character in its new production of RIGOLETTO, came down with Covid and his standby had to go on in his place [including the matinee broadcast].Allan Clayton in Dean's HAMLET. Photo: RichardHubert Smith/Glyndebourne Productions Ltd.

But, hurrah!, things have started looking up, though casts and dates are still subject to change due to Covid. (And you'll still have to be vaccinated and wear your masks while you're watching!)

The Met still has a few things up its sleeve for the spring. (See the Met website for details and tickets.) After a long-planned hibernation for most of February (though the season now extends to June), it comes back with a roar at the tale-end of the month with its first performance ever of DON CARLOS, the French version of Verdi's DON CARLO, headlining Polenzani, Yoncheva and Garanca. (There's also a Yoncheva recital on January 23.)

The next night follows with Strauss's ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (Davidsen, Rae, Leonard, Javonovich). Then it's on to, among others, Handel's RODELINDA (van den Heever, Barton, Costanzo, Davies), Strauss's ELEKTRA (Stemme, Davidsen), a new Donizetti LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Sierra, Camarena), Stravinsky's THE RAKE'S PROGRESS, Glass's AKHNATEN (Costanzo) and the Met's premiere of Brett Dean's HAMLET (with many performers from Glyndebourne's world premiere in 2017, including tenor Nicholas Carter).LCT's INTIMATE APPAREL.

The Ricky Ian Gordon-Lynn Nottage INTIMATE APPAREL premieres at Lincoln Center Theatre's (LCT) Newhouse Theatre at the end of January as part of the Met/LCT Opera/Musical Commissioning Program. It was three weeks into previews when Covid first hit two years ago. Those of us who saw the original off-Broadway play by Nottage that it's based on are curious about what they have in store as an opera. It tells of a young African American woman in the New York of 1905, who makes her living sewing beautiful corsets and undergarments, the Orthodox Jewish man who sells fabrics to her and a pen-pal laborer on the Panama Canal, whom she unfortunately marries.

Since that early postponement, from March 2020, composer Gordon has put his mark on another piece that beats APPAREL's premiere (January 31) by a few days (January 27), compliments of the National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene and New York City Opera. It's THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS, with librettist Michael Korie, based on Giorgio Bassani's 1962 novel, which was also the source of the Academy Award-winning Italian film from 1970. It's the story of an aristocratic Italian-Jewish family, the Finzi-Contini, who believe they are immune to change on the eve of World War II.

It will be performed at Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280.

City Opera has another opera planned for the season, though there are no details on when and where: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, a Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Anthony Davis and Richard Wesley.

There are a couple of other operas in the Eastern states that hold some curiosity for me.

The Boston Lyric Opera will perform CHAMPION by Terence Blanchard (composer of FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES) and Michael Cristopher beginning May 18, about welterweight champion Emile Griffith; it reflects on his life as he navigates the meaning of masculinity and complex sexuality. There's also SVADBA (Serbian for Wedding) by Ana Sokolovic, a cinematic coproduction with Opera Philadelphia. January 28. Boston: https://www.operabox.tv/; Philadelphia: https://www.operaphila.tv/.

The Washington National Opera at Kennedy Center is premiering a quartet of short operas under the collective title, WRITTEN IN STONE: CHANTAL by Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran, THE RIFT by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang, RISE by Kamala Sankaram and AM Holmes and IT ALL FALLS DOWN by Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Carlos Simon. It asks about the stories that monuments tell, the legacies they embody and the memories they cement.

AWAKENINGS by Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman, based on the book by Oliver Sacks about a sleep sickness, a cure, and a predicament, will have its world premiere at the Opera Theater of Saint Louis (OTSL) in June. OTSL will also have a production of a new performing edition of HARVEY MILK by Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie, about the "Mayor of Castro Street," how he fought for the rights of the disenfranced and the ultimate price he paid.

Are you one of those who have been waiting for the opera about Steve Jobs, his life and the iPhone to come East? THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS, the Grammy-winning opera by Mason Bates and Mark Campbell, will have its Southeast premiere at the Atlanta Opera starting April 30. It's a new co-production directed by the company's General and Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun that will also be seen at the Austin Opera (starting February 3) and Lyric Opera of Kansas City (starting March 11).

If you missed the shattering premiere at the Met of Blanchard's and Kasi Lemmons's FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES, you can catch it at the Chicago Lyric Opera in March, in the same production with many of the same principals, from the Met.

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BWW Opera Preview: If You're Dreaming of Live Opera, Here Are Some to Think About This Spring - Broadway World

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Posted By admin on January 20, 2022

Test of the Arrow 3 weapon system conducted by the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, July 2019 (Photo: Israeli Ministry of Defense)

Israels Defense Ministry confirmed that the Jewish states Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system had successfully intercepted a target simulating an incoming Iranian missile on Tuesday.

The test was coordinated between the Israel Aerospace Industries and the Israeli Air Force.

Moshe Patel, head of the Israeli Defense Ministrys Missile Defense Organization stressed the importance of the latest Arrow 3 anti-missile test.

We have made a breakthrough in every part of the system, in the detection arrays, in the launches, even in the interceptors themselves, so that they match the threats that are expected in the region. There were highly, highly significant technological breakthroughs here that were assessed and can be used by the air force in its operational systems immediately, Patel told the media on Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces Chief Lt. General Aviv Kochavi said the Arrow 3 test constituted an important component in the Jewish states overall defense capabilities in the volatile Middle East.

The IDF and Israels defense establishment see great importance in constantly upgrading and improving our air defense capabilities. The test conducted this morning is another element in our ability to respond to developing threats in the region, and is a part of the implementation of the IDF's multi-year plan, declared Kochavi.

Israels Defense Minister Benny Gantz praised the successful Arrow test and stressed that with every step forward, with every development, we equip the State of Israel with the capabilities to defend itself against developing threats. Our systems provide Israel with the freedom to maneuver strategically.

The Arrow 3 is the worlds first operational advanced long-range anti-ballistic missile system with a flight range of 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers). It is designed to intercept enemy ballistic missiles at the earliest possible stage while they are still located outside the Earths atmosphere. The purpose of this rapid response system is to neutralize conventional and unconventional warheads as close to their original launch sites as possible.

The Arrow system was jointly developed and funded by Israel and the United States as a strategic anti-missile defense system to counter the growing missile threat from Iran and other regimes with expanding missile system programs.

Over the years, Iran has amassed the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East. Tehran is capable of hitting any target in the Middle East and its longest-range missiles are believed to be capable of reaching parts of Central Europe, while it hopes to develope intercontinental missiles that could eventually reach the American mainland. Consequently, Western military strategists view Israel as the Western worlds first line of defense against the growing Iranian missile threat.

The origin of the Jewish states advanced anti-missile systems can be traced to the First Gulf War in the early 1990s when the U.S.-made Patriot anti-missile system failed to intercept some 39 Scud missiles fired by Saddam Husseins Iraq against the densely populated region of Tel Aviv in central Israel. Miraculously, hardly any Israelis died but the traumatic event pushed Israeli military planners to focus on developing an indigenous Israeli anti-missile defense system that would protect its civilians from the growing threat of incoming enemy missiles.

Israeli military planners are reportedly revisiting a potential military strike option against Irans nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to prevent the ayatollah regime from acquiring a nuclear bomb. While many military experts believe that Israels military is capable of significantly damaging the Iranian nuclear program, Israeli officials are at the same time convinced that Iran and its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon would respond harshly with a considerable amount of missiles fired at Israel. Thus, the Jewish state knows it must develop a potential strike option against the Iranian nuclear program that would include a defensive anti-missile strategy to thwart Iranian and Hezbollah missiles.

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Posted By admin on January 20, 2022

Northern Israelite kingdom, c. 930720 BCE

The Kingdom of Israel (Hebrew: , Modern:Mamleet Ysra'l, Tiberian:Mamle Yrl) or the Kingdom of Samaria was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. The kingdom controlled the regions of Samaria, Galilee and parts of the Transjordan. Its capital, for the most part, was Samaria. The other Israelite polity, the Kingdom of Judah, lay to the south.

The Hebrew Bible depicts the Kingdom of Israel as one of two successor states to the former United Kingdom of Israel ruled by King David and his son Solomon, the other being the Kingdom of Judah. However, historicity of the United Monarchy as described in the Bible is debated.[Notes 1] It can said with certainty that the northern regions underwent a period of re-urbanization during the 10th century BCE, paving the way to the establishment of a kingdom ruled by the Omride dynasty in the 9th century, and that the political center of this kingdom shifted from Shechem to Samaria, where a lavish palace was built.

The Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE.[3] The records of Sargon II of Assyria indicate that he deported 27,290 inhabitants of the former kingdom to Mesopotamia.[4] This deportation became the basis for the Jewish idea of the Ten Lost Tribes. Many Israelites migrated to the southern kingdom of Judah.[5] Foreign groups were settled by the Assyrians in the territories of the fallen kingdom.[6]

After the destruction of Israel, the Samaritans emerged as an ethnic and religious community in the region of Samaria, claiming descent from the Israelites. With their temple on Mount Gerizim, they continued to thrive for centuries.[6] Today, most scholars believe the Samaritans were a blend of Israelites with other nationalities whom the Assyrians had resettled in the area.[7]

The main source for the history of the Kingdom of Israel is the Hebrew Bible, written by authors in Jerusalem, the capital of the Kingdom of Judah. As such, it is inspired by ideological and theological viewpoints that influence the narrative.[8] Later anachronisms, legends and literary forms also affect the story, Some of the events are believed to be recorded long after the destruction of the kingdom. Biblical archaeology has both confirmed and challenged the biblical account.[8] According to the Bible, David and his son Solomon ruled over a united monarchy, but on the death of Solomon, after a short interval during which the kingdom was ruled by Solomon's son Rehoboam, the northern tribes revolted and established their own kingdom under Jeroboam, who was not of the Davidic line. This northern kingdom became the Kingdom of Israel. The first mention of the name "Israel" is from an Egyptian inscription, the Merneptah Stele, dating from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1208 BCE); this gives little solid information, but does at least indicate that the name of the later kingdom was borrowed rather than originating with the kingdom itself.

The existence of an Israelite state in the north is well documented in 9th century inscriptions. The earliest mention is from the Kurkh stela of c.853 BCE, when Shalmaneser III mentions "Ahab the Israelite", plus the denominative for "land", and his ten thousand troops. This kingdom will have included parts of the lowlands (the Shephelah), the Jezreel plain, lower Galilee and parts of the Transjordan. Ahab's forces were part of an anti-Assyrian coalition, implying that the kingdom was ruled by an urban elite, possessed a royal and state cult with large urban temples, and had scribes, mercenaries, and an administrative apparatus. In all this it was similar to other recently-founded kingdoms of the time, such as Ammon and Moab.

In later Assyrian inscriptions the kingdom becomes the "House of Omri". Shalmanesser III's "Black Obelisk" mentions Jehu son of Omri, and Adad-Nirari III, who mounted an expedition into the Levant in 803, mentions the Hatti-land and Amurru-land, the cities of Tyre and Sidon, Philistia, Edom, Aram, and the mat (land) of Hu-um-ri, or Omri. Another inscription from the same king introduces a third way of talking about the kingdom, as Samaria, in the phrase "Joash of Samaria". The use of Omri's name to refer to the kingdom still survived, and was used by Sargon II in the phrase "the whole house of Omri" in describing his conquest of the city of Samaria in 722 BCE. It is significant that the Assyrians never mention the kingdom of Judah until the end of the 8th century, when it was an Assyrian vassal: possibly they never had contact with it, or possibly they regarded it as a vassal of Israel/Samaria or Aram, or possibly the southern kingdom did not exist during this period.

Today, among archaeologists, Samaria is one of the most universally accepted archaeological sites from the biblical period.[15] At around 850 BCE, the Mesha Stele,[citation needed] written in Old Hebrew alphabet, records a victory of King Mesha of Moab against king Omri of Israel and his son Ahab.[16]

Archaeological finds, ancient Near Eastern texts, and the biblical record testify that in the time of the Omride dynasty, the Kingdom of Israel ruled in the mountainous Galilee, at Hazor in the upper Jordan Valley, in large parts of Transjordan between the Arnon and the Yarmouk Rivers, and in the coastal plain of the Sharon.[8]

According to the Bible, for the first sixty years, the kings of Judah tried to re-establish their authority over the northern kingdom, and there was perpetual war between them. For the following eighty years, there was no open war between them, and, for the most part, they were in friendly alliance, co-operating against their common enemies, especially against Damascus.

The conflict between Israel and Judah was resolved when Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, allied himself with the house of Ahab through marriage. Later, Jehosophat's son and successor, Jehoram of Judah, married Ahab's daughter Athaliah, cementing the alliance. However, the sons of Ahab were slaughtered by Jehu following his coup d'tat around 840 BCE.

In c. 732 BCE, Pekah of Israel, while allied with Rezin, king of Aram, threatened Jerusalem. Ahaz, king of Judah, appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of Assyria, for help. After Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser[20] Tiglath-Pileser sacked Damascus and Israel, annexing Aram[21] and territory of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh in Gilead including the desert outposts of Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. People from these tribes including the Reubenite leader, were taken captive and resettled in the region of the Khabur River system, in Halah, Habor, Hara and Gozan (1 Chronicles 5:26). Tiglath-Pilesar also captured the territory of Naphtali and the city of Janoah in Ephraim and an Assyrian governor was placed over the region of Naphtali. According to 2 Kings 16:9 and 2 Kings 15:29, the population of Aram and the annexed part of Israel was deported to Assyria.[22]

The remainder of the northern kingdom of Israel continued to exist within the reduced territory as an independent kingdom until around 720 BCE, when it was again invaded by Assyria and the rest of the population deported. During the three-year siege of Samaria in the territory of Ephraim by the Assyrians, Shalmaneser V died and was succeeded by Sargon II, who himself records the capture of that city thus: "Samaria I looked at, I captured; 27,280 men who dwelt in it I carried away" into Assyria. Thus, around 720 BCE, after two centuries, the kingdom of the ten tribes came to an end. Some of the Israelite captives were resettled in the Khabur region, and the rest in the land of the Medes, thus establishing Hebrew communities in Ecbatana and Rages. The Book of Tobit additionally records that Sargon had taken other captives from the northern kingdom to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, in particular Tobit from the town of Thisbe in Naphtali.[citation needed]

The Hebrew Bible relates that the population of the Kingdom of Israel was exiled, becoming known as the Ten Lost Tribes. To the south, the Tribe of Judah, the Tribe of Simeon (that was "absorbed" into Judah), the Tribe of Benjamin and the people of the Tribe of Levi, who lived among them of the original Israelite nation, remained in the southern Kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Judah continued to exist as an independent state until 586 BCE, when it was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire.[citation needed]

The Samaritan version to the events claims that actually much of the population of the Northern Kingdom of Israel remained in place upon the Exile, including the Tribes of Naphtali, Menasseh, Benjamin and Levi - being the progenitors of the Samaritans. In their book The Bible Unearthed, authors Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman estimate that only a fifth of the population (about 40,000) were actually resettled out of the area during the two deportation periods under Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II.[23]:221 Many of the Northern Tribes also fled south to Jerusalem, which appears to have expanded in size five-fold during this period, requiring a new wall to be built, and a new source of water Siloam to be provided by King Hezekiah.[5]

In medieval Rabbinic fable, the concept of the ten tribes who were taken away from the House of David (who continued the rule of the southern kingdom of Judah), becomes confounded with accounts of the Assyrian deportations leading to the myth of the "Ten Lost Tribes".[citation needed]

No known non-Biblical record exists of the Assyrians having exiled people from Dan, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun or western Manasseh. Descriptions of the deportation of people from Reuben, Gad, Manasseh in Gilead, Ephraim and Naphtali indicate that only a portion of these tribes were deported and the places to which they were deported are known locations given in the accounts. The deported communities are mentioned as still existing at the time of the composition of the Books of Kings and Chronicles and did not disappear by assimilation. 2 Chronicles 30:1-18 explicitly mentions northern Israelites who had been spared by the Assyrians, in particular people of Ephraim, Manasseh, Asher, Issachar and Zebulun, and how members of the latter three returned to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah.[24]

The religious climate of the Kingdom of Israel appears to have followed two major trends. The first, that of worship of Yahweh, and the second that of worship of Baal as detailed in the Hebrew Bible(1 Kings 16:31) and in the Baal cycle discovered at Ugarit.[25] This religion is sometimes referred to by modern scholars as Yahwism.[26]

According to the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings 12:29), Jeroboam built two places of worship, one at Bethel and one at far northern Dan, as alternatives to the Temple in Jerusalem.[27] He did not want the people of his kingdom to have religious ties to Jerusalem, the capital city of the rival Kingdom of Judah. He erected golden bulls at the entrance to the temples to represent the national god.[28] The Hebrew Bible, written from the perspective of scribes in Jerusalem, referred to these acts as the way of Jeroboam or the errors of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:2629).[28]

The Bible states that Ahab allowed the cult worship of Baal to become an acceptable religion of the kingdom. His wife Jezebel was the daughter of the Phoenician king of Tyre and a devotee to Baal worship (1 Kings 16:31).

The Northern Kingdom had 19 kings across 9 different dynasties throughout its 208 years of existence.

The table below lists all the historical references to the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) in Assyrian records.[29] King Omri's name takes the Assyrian shape of "Humri", his kingdom or dynasty that of Bit Humri or alike - the "House of Humri/Omri".

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