Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

CHANDIGARH: The first day of Literati21 shall be a mix of bureaucracy to Bollywood, cuisines to humour to pathos of partition, with its online sessions which can be accessed on Chandigarh Literary Societys social media handles on Facebook and YouTube @clschandigarh.

Lots of books have resulted during the pandemic and have given the authors a time to look into diverse aspects of life and share with the avid readers, said CLS Chairperson Dr Sumita Misra.

The Sahitya Akademic Award winner for English Literature and her novels extensively feature Jewish life, culture and cuisine in India, Esther Davids latest book, Bene Appetit: Cuisine of Indian Jews shall be focus of the discussion with equally prolific writer Lily Swarn.

Two brilliant bureaucrats who have received accolade for their remarkable contribution to the policy making process, and are authors of some of the best-seller non-fictions, Anil Swarup and Deepak Gupta shall be exchanging notes with former Resident Editor of Indian Express Vipin Pubby.

Vivek Atray, the former IAS officer, author and speaker would be in conversation with Rakeysh Omparkash Mehra, the brilliant Bollywood writer, director of Rang De Basanti, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Aks and Delhi-6 fame, in the session based on his book, The Stranger in the Mirror.

Punjabs partition is an unforgettable episode in the life of the people in the north, and the session on Uprooted: The Aftermatch of Punjabs Partition, shall feature Ludhiana-based psychiatrist and author of two books on partition, Anirudh Kala, and Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, author of Lahore: the Partition Trilogy shall be in conversation with Jupinderjit Singh.

The day would culminate with RJ Mehak quizzing San Francisco based best-selling prolific author novelist Parinda Joshi, whose third novel Made in China has been adapted into a feature film by Maddock Films starring Rajkummar Rao and Boman Irani.

On Sunday, the Literati21 shall be having their morning sessions at the UT Guest House, Chandigarh.

Literati2021

Programme Schedule

Saturday 11 December 2021 . Digital

Facebook Live @clschandigarh YouTube Live @clschandigarh

5pm Bon Appetit: Intermeshing of Culture and CuisineEsther David in conversation with Lily Swarn

5:30pm Civil Service or Disservice? The Road AheadAnil Swarup and Deepak Gupta in conversation with Vipin Pubby

6:15pm The Stranger in the MirrorRakeysh Omprakash Mehra in conversation with Vivek Atray

7:00pm Uprooted: The Aftermatch of Punjabs PartitionAnirudh Kala and Manreet Sodhi Someshwar in conversation with Jupinderjit Singh

7:45pm Hillariously Yours: The Recipe for a Delightful Read

Parinda Joshi in conversation with RJ Mehak

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Literati21 opens tomorrow with digital sessions, Sunday sessions will be at the UT Guest House - Punjab News Express

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

Wont somebody please think of the parents? Whatever emotions children might have as Storm Barra shuts schools in much of the country, Clare McKenna, guest host ofLunchtime Live (Newstalk, weekdays), is more interested in the closures impact on mams and dads.

Sitting in on Wednesdays show, she reads tweets about the good old days when children were ushered out to school no matter how apocalyptic the weather, before questioning the necessity of the measure in binary terms: Is it nice that peoples safety has been put first, or do you think its an overreaction by Government?

McKenna admits she hasnt been overly inconvenienced by the closure, thanking her mother for minding her children and allowing myself and my husband to waltz out the door to work. Likewise, despite the alarmist preface, her item on the matter is deflatingly level-headed. The journalist (and mother of seven) Jen Hogan, who writes regularly for The Irish Times,says that while notification of the closedown came late on Tuesday for Dublin schools, shes neither surprised nor especially annoyed: I think theres something to be said about prioritising safety.

This is hardly a revelatory statement, but its telling that the point needs to be made, even allowing for parental frustration at the unexpected burden. The host later concedes as much, when talking to maintenance workers stranded on a lighthouse by the storm. After hearing just how rough conditions are there, she downgrades her own grumbles: Its just us disgruntled parents complaining.

When it comes to other parenting concerns, however, McKenna is more vocal. Discussing the announcement of vaccinations for five- to 11-year-olds, the host asks listeners for their knee-jerk reaction to the news. McKenna, who also presents Newstalks Sunday health show, Alive and Kicking, confesses to doubts about getting her children vaccinated, while fretting about raising the subject.

It is with great hesitation that Im going to talk of vaccine hesitancy, she says, conscious of the anger and vitriol the issue stirs. The host is double-jabbed, her children were inoculated as infants, and her family has just emerged from home quarantine after her son caught Covid-19. But, she continues,As a parent, I do feel differently about vaccinating children. Worrying about possible long-term risks, she continues,We need to ask these questions without being shouted down.

As her tone underlines (You can hear the emotion in my voice), McKenna is undertaking a perilous high-wire act by raising such a charged issue. Admirable though her honesty is, canvassing listeners opinions on public-health matters can backfire if its seen as a gateway to Covid conspiracies. (Just ask the 2FM presenter Jennifer Zamparelli, who got in hot water after appearing to invite anti-maskers on to her show last year.) An on-air storm seems to be brewing.

But hold the popcorn. Far from being controversial, the ensuing discussion has the infectious-disease specialist Prof Sam McConkey making a convincing scientific case for the measure, while understanding the emotional reaction it provokes. I cherish your passion, he tells his host. Even so, McConkey firmly believes that children should be vaccinated, not to shield the elderly but to protect themselves: one in 3,000 children with the virus becomes very ill, he says. Equally, he admits the impossibility of yet knowing any long-term effects. (Though, as McKenna herself points out, the vaccine itself eventually exits the body, leaving antibodies behind.)

As she asks sensibly probing questions, McKenna sounds more reassured by her guest. Meanwhile, the once ubiquitous McConkey proves that hes not just some 2020 nostalgia act, as his calm analysis and empathetic advocacy take the sting out of a potentially tricky item. Its food for thought for concerned parents, spurred by McKennas hesitant candour.

The politics and perils of Covid are highlighted by Brendan OConnor (RT Radio 1, Saturday and Sunday), when he discusses the latest round of pandemic restrictions with his newspaper panel. Much attention is paid to the tensions between the Government and the National Public Health Emergency Team, with Dr Laura Durcan, a rheumatologist at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, decrying the squabbles as big egos in a room. Meanwhile, the economist Dan OBrien opines that the medical advisers should be put back in their box, prompting the host to reply thatmaybe theyre just doctors trying to do the right thing.

OConnor keeps things moving briskly in this fashion, allowing panellists to speak their mindsbut reeling in their shakier pronouncements. When the Irish Examiner political editor, Daniel McConnell, talks of people being beaten over the head with reports about the disproportionate number of unvaccinated patients in intensive care, the host points out: Theyre the facts. Its an approach that allows stimulating debatewithout ever getting too sensationalist.

It also brings forth some sobering testimony. When OBrien chafes at heavy-handed lockdown mandates We need to get it in perspective Durcan agrees that we should congratulate ourselves that mortality has been greatly reduced by vaccination. But she also details the grim toll Covid can take on unjabbed patients. When they deteriorate, they are wide awake, Durcan says, Theyre having a conversation with you while they tank. OConnor puts it more luridly, describing such unfortunate souls as drowning alive, but fully aware of it.

Such moments help explain why his show has become Radio 1s second most listened to programme, bettered only by the stalling Morning Ireland. Aside from his leaner, punchier Sunday newspaper panel, OConnor has other notable encounters, such as Saturdays interview with the chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White. Describing White as the original enfant terrible of British cuisine, OConnor wonders if his guest is mellowing out as he turns 60.When you get to my ageyou start to get nostalgicand reflect back on your life, comes the reply.

Sure enough, their conversation is thoughtful and open. White ruminates in entertainingly stentorian fashion on the influence his tough childhood had on his erstwhile bad-boy behaviour, while sharing tips for the perfect roast turkey (a meat probe is crucial, apparently) and singing the praises of vegan redefined meat. You never cease to surprise, observes the appreciative host. As for OConnor, hes become Radio 1s surprise package.

Always looking to marry pop culture and intellectual fun, Sen Moncrieff (Newstalk, weekdays) comes up trumps on Wednesday, when he interviews the author Roy Schwartz about the Jewish roots of Superman. Schwartz highlights how the all-American superhero was created in the 1930s by two teenage Jewish writers as a reaction to Nazism in Germany and anti-Semitism in the United States.

More intriguingly, he calls Superman the ultimate immigrant, an alien who adopts the waspy guise of Clark Kent while keeping his ethnic garb underneath. Its a deep dive into the comic book, touching on identity, history, religion and philosophy. Typically, however, Moncrieff also delights in other quirky details, gleefully congratulating his guest on his book title: Is Superman Circumcised? That we dont discover, thankfully.

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'With great hesitation, I'm going to talk of vaccine hesitancy' - The Irish Times

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

The winners of the Best Tourism Product 2021 competition were selected from a total of 72 entries: 49 entries in the main competition, 9 entries for the Gold Certificate and 14 in the Special Certificate categories.

Thirteen locations in Poland have been awarded the countrys best tourist sites of the year by the Polish Tourism Organisation.

The winners of the Best Tourism Product 2021 competition were selected from a total of 72 entries: 49 entries in the main competition, 9 entries for the Gold Certificate and 14 in the Special Certificate categories.

Each year, certificates are granted by a special committee comprised of leading experts in tourism, marketing, and building and promoting tourism products, as well as representatives of academic communities and the media.

Hydropolis CentreHydropolis/Facebook

This years top award, the Gold Certificate, was awarded to the Hydropolis Centre for Ecological Education in Wrocaw, a modern multimedia exhibition about the history of water located in a revitalized 19th century clean water reservoir.

Containing seven thematic zones on topics like Planet of Water which includes a 360 degree projection on a 65 metre high screen, the exhibition also features a relaxation zone and kids zone and sees visitors walking through a unique 46.5 metre long water printer at the start, the longest installation of its kind in Europe.

Following the Gold Certificate, 10 sites received certificates distinguishing them as the Best Tourism Product 2021:

Professor Inkblots Fairy TaleBajka Pana Kleksa/Facebook

Translated as Professor Inkblots Fairy Tale, Bajka Pana Kleksa is a site based on a popular series of childrens books about a professor who takes his students on various adventures into magical and fairy-tale worlds. The site sees 1,000 square metres organized into eight activity zones involving sensory and multimedia exhibits through which children have to solve riddles and participate in experiments as they are led through various worlds by a guide mimicking Professor Inkblot.

Holy Cross Mountains GeoparkGeopark

Receiving UNESCO status at the end of 2020 in recognition of its geological significance within Europe, the Holy Cross Mountains Geopark offers visitors the chance to see rocky outcrops from 360 million years ago and spectacular geological features including quarries, caves and nature reserves as well as remnants of stone tools used in Palaeolithic and Neolithic times.

Juromania FestivalZwizek Gmin Jurajskich|JUROMANIA

Organised in September each year, Juromania Festival is associated with a picturesque trail along a chain of 25 medieval castles in the Krakw-Czstochowa Upland in Southern Poland, known as the trail of Eagles Nests, owing its name to the fact that the castles are perched atop high cliffs, like eagles' nests. Juromania is an event that brings all lovers of the trail together and involves a variety of events, re-enacting an atmosphere from Medieval times, including the presentation of medieval costumes, cannons, instruments of torture, historical reconstructions, dance shows, workshops, tournaments and concerts plus the most excellent regional cuisine.

KolejkowoKolejkowo

Located in Wrocaw and Gliwice, the miniature model worlds of Kolejkowo were set up by modelling enthusiasts who sought to imitate the real living world in miniature, complete with the smallest and most lifelike details include moving trains, trams and cars and even streetlamps switching on at night. Kolejkowo are also the creators behind two gingerbread towns, open during the Christmas period, one of which is the largest in the World.

Museum of papermakingMuzeum Papiernictwa

Located in an over 400-year old still functioning paper mill, the only monument of its kind in Poland, the museum of papermaking offers visitors a chance to discover the history of papermaking in Duszniki-Zdrj and see paper made using a traditional method used since the Middle Ages and even make their own.

Pozna Croissant MuseumRogalowe Muzeum Poznan

Located in the historic centre of the city with fantastic views, the Pozna Croissant Museum gives visitors the chance to learn more about, sample and make one of the symbols of the city, the St Martins Day Croissant, a local speciality produced in the city since 1891, with a recipe now protected by EU law.

Modlin FortressKalbar/TFN

A unique monument of defensive architecture first built in 1806 by the French under the orders of Napolean, the barracks located inside the fortress are the longest building in Europe, with a length of 2,250 metres. The site offers the chance to visit the fortress with a guide or without and runs a series of events throughout the year including reconstructions and open air games.

Tykocin: Monument of HistoryCC BY-SA 3.0 pl

Located on the Narew river, Tykocin is town dating back from the Middle Ages, which is known for having so many monuments and legends that the whole town is itself considered a monument to history. Its main attractions include Tykocin Castle and the Baroque Tykocin Synagogue dating from 1642, the best preserved in Poland from this time period, one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Poland as well as other baroque monuments including a church, monastery and manor house.

ZielonyPonton.pl: Adventure on the River SanZielonyPonton.pl/Facebook

The organisation offers those who love being active outdoors the opportunity to take part in pontoon river trips down the river San in the Bieszczady mountains.

Interactive Bagel Museum, Krakowmuzeumobwarzanka

Part of Krakws history for over 600 years, parboiled dough rings, called Obwarzanki remain a characteristic feature of Krakw in the form of street sellers selling them from wheeled carts on street corners and along the tourist trails. The Interactive Bagel Museum close to the main market square, offers visitors the chance to participate in an obwarzanki making workshop and make their very own traditional obwarzanek.

Underground Olkusz Exhibitiontrias.pl

Outside of the 10 certificates for Best Tourism Product 2021, the Polish Tourism Organisation also awarded two special awards: a Special Mention award for organic gardening academy Angelic Gardens who promote organic gardening projects engaging the community and a Special Certificate for the Underground Olkusz Exhibition, a multimedia tourist route in the basement of the old town hall of Olkusz.

Alongside receiving a certificate for Best Tourism Product 2021, Juromania Festival of the Krakw-Czstochowa Upland was also voted as the best product by internet users in a vote held on the National Tourism Portal.

Rafa Szlachta, president of the Polish Tourism Organisation said: There is no doubt that the places awarded Polish Tourism Organisation Certificates are the most distinctive tourist attractions on the map of Poland.

We want them to be explored by domestic tourists, Polish families, as well as international visitors. I encourage everyone to visit the polska.travel website and read about all the recipients. The regions where such certified sites are located can be the perfect holiday or short stay destinations

All the certified tourism products will be included in the Polish Tourism Organisations special promotional program.

In addition, the Gold Certificate comes with a dedicated promotional campaign worth PLN 150,000.

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Top tourist destinations awarded for excellence. TFN takes a look at the winners - The First News

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, rabbi and cantor of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, will be a featured speaker at the Anti-Defamation League Clevelands annual meeting held virtually Dec. 14.

Also speaking at the event will be ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who will be in conversation with Myers about experiencing and fighting hate with love.

Myers has served as the rabbi and cantor for the Tree of Life since the summer of 2017.

He moved to Pittsburgh after spending decades in ministry in New Jersey and Long Island. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., a Master of Arts degree in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and studied privately with Cantor Zvi Aroni before graduating from the Cantorial School of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

After the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, when a heavily armed gunman began shooting in the Tree of Life, Rabbi Myers became the face of the tragedy, according to the ADLs news release about the event. Eleven people were killed and six were injured.

Since then, Myers has set about sending the key message that love is stronger than hate. He contends that a lack of understanding of our neighbors leads to fear and sometimes loathing, which can lead to acts of violence. Myers has said that if we are ever to remove the H word from our society, it must start with pledging not to use that word.

Greenblatt serves on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards and has been recognized on multiple occasions for his leadership at ADL.

He has been named by The NonProfit Times to its list of Top 50 Nonprofit Leaders from 2016-2020. Recode named Greenblatt to its inaugural Recode 100, a list of the top 100 people in business and technology. He has been named among the Top 50 Most Influential Leaders in the global Jewish community by The Jerusalem Post, and as one of the Top 50 Jews to follow on Twitter by the JTA.

Before ADL, Greenblatt served in the White House as special assistant to former President Barack Obama and director of the Office of Social Innovation.

He came to that role after a long career in business. In 2002, he co-founded Ethos Brands, the business that launched Ethos Water, a bottled water that helps children around the world access clean water. Ethos was acquired by Starbucks Coffee Company in 2005.

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ADL Cleveland event to feature Tree of Life's Rabbi Myers - Cleveland Jewish News

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

Tonight is the last night of Hanukkah, and it's been a busy week for Chabad Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn, the only ordained rabbi in the entire state of Wyoming.

By the fifth night Mendelsohn had already driven about 1,000 miles across the state, from Jackson to Cheyenne and back again, plus a quick stop in Denver to pick up kosher catering.

"One of the things that often happens being a traveling rabbi is that there are snowstorms and there are those dreaded blinking lights that come on and say, 'Road Closed.' And here you had planned on doing a wedding or a bar or bat mitzvah or a funeral and you're just stuck," he says.

Mendelsohn leads the Chabad Jewish Center of Wyoming based in Jackson but travels quarterly to Casper, Laramie and Cheyenne - about 300 to 430 miles. The center isn't the only Jewish community in Wyoming, population 577,000, but right now, Meldelsohn is the only full-time ordained rabbi in a state larger than the whole United Kingdom, though there's at least one more in training.

"It's been a labor of love and a journey of a lifetime," he says of his 14 years on Jackson.

Avi Kantor, a member of the Jackson congregation, says the rabbi and his wife, Raizy helped ease their move to Wyoming from a larger Jewish community in Philadelphia.

"They were very welcoming," Kantor says, "opened up their home to us, and really made it possible for us to transition here and keep up our traditions and keep up the practices that were important to us back home."

Mendelsohn says the history of Jews in Wyoming dates back to the state's early pioneers. And Jackson's Jewish community has grown by a couple hundred members during the pandemic, partially because of people leaving cities but also because many are looking for a renewed sense of meaning.

"We've just been through a pandemic where many of us lost the courage and the conviction to be able to continue on. Many of us have lost faith in humanity," Mendelsohn says, "and now the message is: Don't lose faith. You have a bright light to shine with the world around you."

And that, he says, is the most important lesson of Hanukkah this year: Even when things seem dark, you can always find your personal reserve of oil.

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Hanukkah is a busy week for Wyoming's only rabbi - NPR

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

On the last night of Hanukkah, Hebrew College officially kindled a unique partnershipofBoston-basedorganizations,both local andnational,tobreak ground on a new homein Auburndale, Newton, andforma dynamicinterdisciplinarycenterof Jewish learning, leadership,community and creativity.

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The Dec. 5, 2021, groundbreaking ceremony marked a milestone for Hebrew Collegein a year when the College is also celebrating its centennialandculminated in the lighting of a full Hanukkiah with shared campus partners Temple Reyim, Jewish Arts Collaborative, Jewish Womens Archive, Kesher Newton, Keshet, Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Centerand Zamir Chorale of Boston.

This is a moment of both arrival and anticipation, achievement and aspiration, said Hebrew College president Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld. As we celebrate 100 years since Hebrew College first opened its doors, we are thrilled to begin our next chapter together, creating a vibrant communal hub that brings together so many different expressions of Jewish life. Education, art, music, community, justice, movement, study, spiritual practice and prayermay all of these be openings to deeper learning and growth, to compassion, creativity and a heightened awareness that we are each part of a greater whole.

ItsHanukkah and the metaphors for a groundbreaking of a dynamicnationaland international model abound, said Rabbi Marc Baker, president and CEO of CJP. [This] is about the renewal and dynamism of what takes place in that space, collective light that shines brighter than any one of those candles could on its own.May this be a place of deep connectivity that yields creativity and possibility for our entire community and for generations to come.

The groundbreaking came two years after Hebrew College and Temple Reyim began planning together for the new shared campus.

If theres one theme for today, its hevruta, partnership. Jewish tradition and practice guide us toward partnership, said Hebrew College board chair Andy Offit. Trust, kindness and caring, if we can lead with this, well be an example for Jewish communities throughout the nation and around the world.

Event speakers included Massachusetts State Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, CJP president and CEO Rabbi Marc Baker, Hebrew College president Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld and Temple Reyim spiritual leader Rabbi Daniel Berman.This feels like a really great day in the City of Newton, Mayor Fuller said. Celebrating Jewish learning and leadership, collaboration and creativity, sustainability and shared goals, artists and activists, pragmatism and vision, all anchored by Hebrew College and Temple Reyim.

With all these terrific organizations located in one place, there will be incredible opportunities for deeper learning and more extensive collaboration, Sen. Creem said. Im confident that with all of us carefully tending to it, this shared campus will blossom into the flower of Jewish life in Greater Boston.

Hebrew College raised $13.2 million for the new shared campus through its ongoing capital campaign, Branching Out, Building Together. The project will extensively renovate the existing TempleReyimproperty and construct a two-floor, state-of-the-art addition, called theJack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Education Building, thanks to a challenge grant of $1million early in the campaign from theJack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation.

In August 2018, Hebrew College made the decision to sellitscurrent campus in Newton Center to eliminate debt, rededicate resources to people and programs and prepare for the future through new opportunities for strategic partnership and collaboration. Hebrew College plans to move to its new home in January 2023.

We welcome you with all of our hearts as you build your own homes in partnership as neighbors and friends, said Temple Reyims Rabbi Daniel Berman. Institutionally and constitutionally, Jewishly and civically, this is our work, to lift each other up, and we believe that being here together on this shared campus will help us all do this work, each through our own distinct missions.

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This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content are presented solely by the author, and JewishBoston assumes no responsibility for them. Want to add your voice to the conversation? Publish your own post here.MORE

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Branching Out. Building Together. Breaking Ground. | JewishBoston - jewishboston.com

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

Michigan Technological UniversityGerrit Lamain played the Wurlitzer Organ for the last time at the Student Development Complex in 2009.

The monastery in rural France had a rich history. Its fame had spread throughout the surrounding countryside. It was the center for the spiritual growth of the area. Villagers came to attend classes and to seek spiritual advice. The children were schooled by the monks in music and art and they also organized sports activities. The agricultural excellence of the monastery was recognized far and wide. Because of the Brothers skills, the vineyards yearly produced wonderful grapes which resulted in wines that received high acclaim.

It had been that way for a long time. But as time went on, the old Abbot who had been in charge of the Abbey for many years, began to notice changes. The usual upbeat disposition of the Brothers had been declining. Cheerful greetings were no longer heard and occasional arguments became more frequent. Parents had noticed, and were beginning to withdraw their children from the art and music classes. Brother Jac, who was in chargeof the friendly, competitive games, seemed to have lost interest.The games were now marked by discord, and the air that at former times had been filled with laughter and good cheer, was now filled with complaints and snippy insults. The vineyards, once the pride of the Abbey and Brother Raphael, now showed signs of neglect. Area parishioners, who in the pastwillingly gave of their time to help during harvest time, were now absent. Even the wine sales, that once sustained the Abbey, had dropped off to an alarming rate, causing great concern. The Saturday night Mass, that had traditionally drawn parishioners and strangers from far and near, now was sparsely attended. The choir, that once beautifully sang the music of the masters, now was reduced toa few voices who were barely able to singsimple hymns. Brother Henry, who was in charge of the Music and Art classes, seemed to have lost interest; and parents were beginning to withdraw their children from what had been such wonderful programs. The softball field, under Brother Jacs enthusiastic leadership, where during the summer nights the various local teams competed, now on many nights wasalmost empty.

The Abbot, deeply disturbed, had tried everything from prayer sessions, individual counseling, humor and even anger. Nothing seemed to make a difference. The monastery that had once been a place of joy and serenity was now becoming a place of discontent and ill will. The decline continued to increase.

Perhaps he should seekoutside help; advice from someonenot connected with the Abbey. He thought of his long-time friend, the retired Rabbi in the neighboring village. From time to time they would visit each other and spend time in friendly discussions about their individual religious beliefs and the ups and downs of their communities. The abbot had even brought the rabbi to the Abbey to teach a class on Judaism and world religions; his specialty.

He called his old friend, and after the usual pleasantries the Rabbi asked, And what, my friend, is the reason for your call? The abbot replied, My friend, I treasure your counsel and your wisdom. May I come and visit with you tomorrow? The Rabbi replied,Ah my friend, of course, come tomorrowand we will spend the day. Well havea nice lunch and well talk.

All night the abbot wrestled with his coming visit. How should he approach his problem? It was so difficult to ask a Rabbi for advice about a monastery. He asked for divine wisdom. None came. He finally decided to just be open and honest.

The next morning the abbot walked to the neighboring village, to the home of his old friend. They embracedand exchanged pleasantries; they inquiredabout each others health and their individual families. The Rabbi then said, Come my friend, come and sit on the porch. Well open a bottle of wine from your vineyard. Well talk about the beautiful weather, the Fall that is in the air, and how soon the seasons will change. Well talk about our ailments, as old people seem to do, and well enjoy our time together.

The morning flew by. They drank the wine; and itwasfollowed by a lovely lunch. There was so much to talk about. And then the Rabbi asked, And so, how are things at the abbey? The floodgates opened, and the abbot began to tell of all the things that were on his mind. He talked about how the attitude of the brothers had changed, and how it reflected on everything at the abbey. He talked about the music rooms that were now strangely quiet, and the ball fields that were now empty. He told how the loving attitude among the brothers had turned cold. Brothers, who once had been friends, now rarely spoke to each other. The vineyards needed care. Weeds seemed to be the only thing flourishing. The quality of the music at the Saturday night Mass that used toattract parishioners and strangers, had lost its luster and sounded uninspiring.

The abbot talked for a long time and poured out his soul; and his friend, the Rabbi, respectfully and lovingly listened. The two friends sat in silence for a long time, and then the abbot asked his friend, What should I do? How can I make things better? What should I say to the Brothers?

The Rabbi looked at his friend lovingly, but shook his head in reply. They sat silently for a long time, each deeply in thought. Finally it was time for the abbot to return to his community. They walked to the gate, embraced and then the abbot began to walk down the path to his village. He turned around one more time to wave goodbye. The Rabbi waved in response and then shouted, Take courage my friend, the Messiah lives among you. The abbot was stunned. Had he heard correctly? He began to walk back towardshis friend. He wanted to ask if he heard correctly, but the Rabbi, nodding his head, waved in response, turned, and re-entered his house.

The abbot stood perplexed, not knowing what to do. Should he go back and ask for a clarification? He had watched the door close. Then the abbot understood. His friend had given him the answer to his problem. He slowly, deep in thought, began to walk back towards his village.

The Messiah lives among you. What did it mean? Who could it be? Surely he was not the Messiah; that he knew. He began to think about the Brothers. Was one of them secretly the Messiah? None seemed a logical choice. When he reached the Abbey he talked with Brother Henri, the abbots assistant. He too was sure that he was not The One. He offered to talk to the other Brothers. Soon all the Brothers knew the abbots story and they began to look at each other differently.Could he be The One? they wondered. They saw qualities in each other that they had not seen before. Their daily communications were becoming friendlier, more tolerant. Slowly they reached out to brothers who had been on their ignore list. They began to help each other in their daily chores, and at times laughter could even be heard. Smiles replaced scowls, and they seemed to be more purposeful in carrying out their daily duties.

Their change in attitude even began to affect the surrounding villages. As the Abbots story was told and retold, children began to return to their Art and Music classes. The vineyard took on a new look, and even the years grape crop seemed to be bigger than before. Brother Henri was thrilled. The Chapel Choir, which had been floundering, now had more members than ever before. They again could sing the music of the masters. Brother Jac reported that the stands at the ballpark were filled for every game.

The Abbot just had to call his old friend, the Rabbi, and after exchanging the usual pleasantries the Rabbi asked, And so, how is it at the Abbey? The Abbot excitedly began to tell of all the good things that were taking place. The Rabbi listened, and then, when there was a moment of silence, he said, Ah my friend, I am delighted. You have learned that the Messiah lives among you, Shalom! The Abbot was silent for a moment and then in a voice that choked backtears he responded, saying, And Shalom to you too, my friend. I thank you for your teaching and for your wisdom. I had almost forgotten the most important lesson of all.

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The messiah lives among you Part II | News, Sports, Jobs - Daily Mining Gazette

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

A famous Jewish rabbi who died in 2019 had 'seven wives and 19 kids' which he thought was all part of 'God's divine plan'.

Philip Sharp, who was 60 when he died, had claimed that God spoke to him directly regarding polygamy.

Before his death Sharp had become famous, starring in several TV documentaries due to his unconventional lifestyle as a polyamorous religious leader.

He was born in north London's Stanmore hospital, and died on October 28, 2019, in Nairobi, Kenya, where he had been living for two years doing missionary work.

His lifestyle meant that his 1993 rabbinic ordination from the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues was actually revoked, although he continued to work as a religious teacher.

Philip and His Seven Wives, a BBC documentary released in 2006, was his first big TV appearance, and saw Louis Theroux dissect the dynamics of the Sharp family.

By 2013, Sharp was legally married to one wife - Hadas - but had been living with at least six others for over a decade, fathering several children.

Some of the rabbi's many kids weren't actually Jewish.

That same year Channel 5 released a documentary called The Girl With Seven Mums, featuring Sharp's then 10-year-old daughter Ellie and revealing what her bizarre upbringing was like.

The rampant rabbi also sat down with 60 Minutes Australia in 2013, where he revealed more details about how God had spoken to him, comparing his life to those of the ancient Kings of Israel.

He said: "I'd heard God speak to me many times, I'm a spiritual man.

"I'm used to that, but I've never been spoken to by God in this way.

"It wasn't so much what he said, it was the way he spoke to me. He spoke to me as if I were a king - that's the only way I can describe it.

"What I discovered is that every single King of Israel, when they became a King of Israel, the scriptures say that 'they took wives'.

"So it seemed to be almost an obligatory thing."

Sharpe was also asked about the impact of his lifestyle on his young children - to which he argued that most western laws are derived by the Bible, which itself was written by polygamists.

"So it can't be too bad," he added.

In 2018 he appeared on This Morning to defend his lifestyle to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.

He also revealed on the ITV show that by then he only had five wives, with two of them and some of his children having left the family.

Even after his death in 2019 the rabbi continued to perplex, with an inquest failing to conclude exactly how he died.

A court heard in December last year how Sharp was found by a relative having collapsed in his bathroom.

He was believed to have left a note the day before he died, detailing what he would leave for his family, leading to suggestions that it was a suicide.

The Old Court House in Hertfordshire was told Sharp went to the toilet but did not come out after "some time", leading a relative to check on him.

The cause of death on his death certificate was given as respiratory failure with suspected organophosphate poisoning, although the coroner said the evidence coming out of Kenya was limited.

The inquest eventually recorded an open conclusion.

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Inside life of Brit TV star with 7 wives and 19 kids as part of 'God's plan' - Daily Star

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

WHO warns Omicron fears could spark new vaccine hoarding, straining global supplies

The World Health Organization expresses concerns that rich countries spooked by the emergence of the Omicron variant could step up the hoarding of COVID-19 vaccines and strain global supplies again, complicating efforts to stamp out the pandemic.

The UN health agency, after a meeting of its expert panel on vaccination, reiterates its advice to governments against the widespread use of boosters in their populations so that well-stocked countries instead can send doses to low-income countries that have largely lacked access to them.

What is going to shut down disease is for everybody who is especially at risk of disease to become vaccinated, says Dr. Kate OBrien, head of WHOs department of immunization, vaccines and biologicals. We seem to be taking our eye off that ball in countries.

Months of short supplies of COVID-19 vaccines have begun to ease over the last two months or so, and doses are finally getting to needier countries such as through donations and the UN-backed COVAX program and WHO wants that to continue. It has long decried vaccine inequity by which most doses have gone to people in rich countries, whose leaders locked down big stockpiles as a precautionary measure.

As we head into whatever the Omicron situation is going to be, there is risk that the global supply is again going to revert to high-income countries hoarding vaccine to protect in a sense, in excess their opportunity for vaccination, and a sort of no-regrets kind of approach, OBrien says.

Its not going to work, she adds. Its not going to work from an epidemiological perspective, and its not going to work from a transmission perspective unless we actually have vaccine going to all countries, because where transmission continues, thats where the variants are going to come from.

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Israel said to lead 10-country simulation of major cyberattack on world markets - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on December 10, 2021

After a five-month hiatus, indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran resumed last week in Vienna in an attempt to revise the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). The outlook isnt good.

Less than a week into negotiations, Britain, France, and Germany accused Iran of walking back almost all of the difficult compromises achieved during the first round of negotiations before Irans new president, Ebrahim Raisi, was sworn into office. While such actions by Iran certainly arent helping the negotiations succeed, there is another country one that is not even a party to the agreement that was ripped up in 2018 by then president Donald Trump whose hard-line position is creating obstacles to successful negotiations: Israel.

On Sunday, amid reports that the talks might collapse, Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett called on the countries meeting in Vienna to take a strong line against Iran. According to Channel 12 news in Israel, Israeli officials are urging the United States to take military action against Iran, either by striking Iran directly or by hitting an Iranian base in Yemen. Regardless of the negotiations outcome, Israel says that it reserves the right to take military action against Iran.

Israeli threats arent just bluster. Between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated, presumably by Israel. In July 2020, a fire, attributed to an Israeli bomb, caused significant damage to Irans Natanz nuclear site. In November 2020, shortly after Joe Biden won the presidential election, Israeli operatives used remote control machine guns to assassinate Irans top nuclear scientist. Had Iran retaliated proportionately, the United States might have backed up Israel, with the conflict spiraling into a full-blown USMiddle East war.

In April 2021, as diplomatic efforts were underway between the Biden administration and Iran, sabotage attributed to Israel caused a blackout at Natanz. Iran described the action as nuclear terrorism.

Ironically described as Irans Build Back Better plan, after each of Israels nuclear facility sabotage actions, Iranians have quickly gotten their facilities back online and even installed newer machines to more rapidly enrich uranium. As a result, American officials recently warned their Israeli counterparts that the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities are counterproductive. But Israel replied that it has no intention of letting up.

As the clock runs out to reseal the JCPOA, Israel is sending its top-level officials out to make its case. Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid was in London and Paris last week asking them not to support US intentions to return to the deal. This week, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea are in Washington for meetings with US defense secretary Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA officials. According to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Barnea brought updated intelligence on Tehrans efforts to become a nuclear country.

Along with verbal appeals, Israel is preparing militarily. They have allocated $1.5 billion for a potential strike against Iran. Throughout October and November, they held large-scale military exercises in preparation for strikes against Iran and this spring they plan to hold one of their largest strike simulation drills ever, using dozens of aircraft, including Lockheed Martins F-35 fighter jet.

The United States is also readying for the possibility of violence. A week prior to the negotiations resuming in Vienna, the USs top commander in the Middle East, General Kenneth McKenzie, announced that his forces were on standby for potential military actions should the negotiations collapse. It was reported Wednesday that Israeli defense minister Benny Gantzs meeting with Lloyd Austin would include discussing possible joint US-Israeli military drills simulating the destruction of Irans nuclear facilities.

Stakes are high for the talks to succeed. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed this month that Iran is now enriching uranium up to 20 percent purity at its underground facility at Fordo, a site where the JCPOA forbids enrichment. According to the IAEA, since Trump pulled the United States out of the JCPOA, Iran has furthered its uranium enrichment to 60 percent purity (compared with 3.67 percent under the deal), steadily moving closer to the 90 percent needed for a nuclear weapon. In September, the Institute for Science and International Security issued a report stating that, under the worst-case breakout estimate, within a month Iran could produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon.

The US exit from the JCPOA has not only led to the nightmarish prospect of another Middle East country becoming a nuclear state (Israel reportedly has between eighty and four hundred nuclear weapons), but it has already inflicted enormous damage on the Iranian people. The maximum pressure sanctions campaign originally Trumps but now under Joe Bidens ownership has plagued Iranians with runaway inflation; skyrocketing food, rent, and medicine prices; and a crippled health care sector.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, US sanctions were preventing Iran from importing necessary medicines to treat such illnesses as leukemia and epilepsy. In January 2021, the United Nations released a report stating that US sanctions on Iran were contributing to an inadequate and opaque response to COVID-19. With more than a hundred thirty thousand officially registered deaths so far, Iran has the highest number of recorded coronavirus deaths in the Middle East. Officials say that real numbers are likely even higher.

If the United States and Iran are not able to reach an agreement, the worst-case scenario will be a new USMiddle East war. Reflecting on the abject failures and destruction wrecked by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a war with Iran would be catastrophic. One would think that Israel, which receives $3.8 billion annually from the United States, would feel obligated not to drag the United States and their own people into such a disaster. But that doesnt seem to be the case.

Though teetering on the brink of collapse, talks resumed again this week. Iran, now under a hard-line government that US sanctions helped bring into power, has shown that it isnt going to be an acquiescent negotiator, and Israel is hell-bent on sabotaging the talks. This means its going to take bold diplomacy and a willingness to compromise from the Biden administration to get the deal resealed. Lets hope Biden and his negotiators have the will and courage to do that.

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Israel Is Hell-Bent on Sabotaging US Nuclear Negotiations With Iran - Jacobin magazine

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