Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 16, 2021

Watch the Senators Remarks Here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for CombatingAntisemitism, released the following statement afterher bipartisan resolution condemning antisemitismpassed the Senate by voice vote.Prior to Senate passage of the resolution, Senator Rosen spoke on the Senate floor, denouncing recent antisemitic attacks, and calling for this resolution to receive an immediate vote.Thebipartisan resolution, introduced by SenatorsRosen (D-NV) and Lankford (R-OK)and co-sponsored by nearly three-quarters of the Senate, recommits the Senate to combating antisemitism in all forms,voicessolidarity with those affected byantisemitism, urgesthePresident to take specific actions to addressantisemitism,and calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil society leaders to denounce and combat all manifestations ofantisemitism.

As antisemitism surges in the United States and around the world, we must do all that we can to put a stop to these hateful actions,said Senator Rosen.We, as Members of Congress, along with faith and community leaders have a responsibility to speak out and take action against antisemitism and other forms of hate for the safety of our neighbors, our friends, and our loved ones. I am glad that the Senate passed this bipartisan resolution that Senator Lankford and I introduced. which in addition to condemning recent acts of antisemitism, also calls on the President to nominate a qualified Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, fully implement the Never Again Education Act to advance accurate Holocaust education, and request sufficient funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Tonight, the Senate spoke out in one voice to condemn recent acts of antisemitism and to recommit to preventing future antisemitic violence and harassment.

BACKGROUND:The full resolution can be viewedhere.

In addition to Senators Rosen and Lankford, there are 72 other co-sponsors, 36 Democrats and 36 Republicans.They include Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tom Carper (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), John Cornyn (R-TX), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Steve Daines (R-MT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Susan Collins (R-ME), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jim Risch (R-ID), Ed Markey (D-MA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mike Braun (R-IN), Angus King (I-ME), John Boozman (R-AR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Thune (R-ND), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jack Reed (D-RI), John Barrasso (R-WY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chris Coons (D-DE), John Kennedy (R-LA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Bob Casey (D-PA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Todd Young (D-IN), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Jon Ossoff (D-FA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Sherrod Brown (R-OH).

The resolution is backed by numerous organizations including Agudath Israel of America, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, Bnai Brith International, Christians United for Israel, Combat Antisemitism Movement, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hadassah - The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc., HIAS, J Street, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish Women International, National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry, National Council of Jewish Women, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Union for Reform Judaism, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, WorldJewish Congress, and Zionist Organization of America.

In 2019,SenatorsRosenandLankfordlaunched theSenate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism.

In January 2020, SenatorsRosen,Lankford, Cardin (D-MD), Cramer (R-ND), and Menendez (D-NJ)introduced a bipartisan resolutioncommemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by Allied Forces during World War II.That resolution later passed the Senate.

On April 20, 2021, Senators Rosen and Lankford led 22 of their Senate colleagues inaletterto President Joe Biden urging him to expeditiously nominate a qualified Ambassador to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism in order to confront the rising level of anti-Semitism worldwide.

On May 21, 2021 Senators Rosen and Lankford, co-founders and co-chairs of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, and Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), two founding co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, released astatementcondemning the surge in antisemitic incidents in the United States and around the world.

In May of 2020, theNever Again Education Actwas signed into law. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senator Rosen, establisheda dedicated federal fund through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to provide teachers with resources and training necessary to teach our students the important lessons of the Holocaust.

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Following Floor Speech, Rosen's Bipartisan Resolution Condemning the Recent Global Surge of Antisemitism Passes Senate - Jacky Rosen

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Posted By admin on June 16, 2021

We have all found ways of dealing with new challenges during the past year or so. We outfaced adversity, the nature of which we had never envisaged. We marshalled untested reserves of fortitude in order to survive.

Of course, theres no one, single skillset when it comes to confronting universal problems of global magnitude, and all are rooted in the contiguous fields of pragmatism, denial and, for many, imagination.

Imagination as escapism; catharsis. Imagine if the pandemic had never happened. Imagine if it hadnt happened to us. Imagine that it may never happen again. Never again.

Heres another exercise in imagination. Imagine that youre back at school. Closeted in a stuffy classroom, surrounded by your peers. Youve all been given a task by your teacher, one requiring your full concentration. You sit there, head down, scribbling away, conforming.

For as long as you can remember, the adults in your life have been enjoining you not to draw attention to yourself. Not to make waves. Not to cause trouble. Not to fight back.

Suddenly, outside the room, a corridor away, loud noise erupts. A scuffle of some sort. Theres shouting. A schoolbag is lobbed through the window. A pane is broken. Someones hurt.

Nothing to do with you; after all, youre safely ensconced in your classroom, getting on with your work.

Without warning, the classroom door bursts open. Its the principal. He strides over to you. Pulls you out of your chair. Wrenches your arm agonisingly. Bellows intimidatingly in your face. His voice trembles with revulsion; droplets of his foul spittle shower your spectacles. Its all your fault, he roars.

You know it isnt true. You were here all the time. You look around the room seeking support, but theres none. Most people look away. Some laugh, carnivorously. One or two stand up for you, but theyre ignored, bullied, threatened with the same punishment youre about to receive.

Sounds unfair? Yes. Unimaginably unfair. The stuff of nightmares. Surely a tolerant, inclusive, pluralistic society like Ireland would never countenance anything like this.

Why, its as ridiculous as accusing your Asian neighbours of causing Covid-19. Or treating all Irish Protestants as the living embodiment of Cromwell. Its an improbable, impossible scenario. Isnt it?

No. When you are Jewish living in Ireland, you neednt try and visualise this. This is your everyday reality when you are Jewish living in Ireland, especially whenever Israel is in the news.

This is the existential threat that perpetually hangs over your head, gnawing away at your sense of security; eroding and erasing your identity. Normalising the politics of exclusion and isolation. Oh, and desecrating your grandparents graves. Daubing Nazi-era graffiti on the gates of your places of worship. Generating tsunamis of filthy online vilification. Sounds familiar? It should.

Lets all go back to school again, this time for a lesson on semantics. Some people in Ireland seem confused by language, particularly when a word has more than one meaning.

The word condition, for instance. Or the word state. Sometimes these words are synonymous. Or not; its all about context, you see. The condition of being Jewish, in contrast with the state of Israel. Conceptually, these are unequivocally not the same. Unfortunately, there exists a sector of Irish society unable or unwilling, or both, to comprehend this hard, inescapable fact.

People who bluster that they arent anti-Semitic (lets pretend, charitably, that they have a remedial understanding of the term anti-Semitism). People who attempt to cloak their anti-Semitism in a tissue of self-righteous justification. People whose Pavlovian response to conflict in the Middle East is to visit their ire upon Jews . Any Jews, anywhere. All Jews, everywhere. Always.

This pattern has been repeating itself throughout recent history. Anti-Semitism is the ancient, visceral hatred that clings on and spreads, virus-like, within societies even when other forms of institutional racism are purged.

Rational public discourse, and the actions arising from this, will rid us of the despicable unseen enemy that is Covid-19. We could do the same with anti-Semitism. Why not?

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Harsh reality of being Jewish in Ireland when Israel is in the news - The Irish Times

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Posted By admin on June 16, 2021

Re: June 14 Council meeting; item A-1, exclusionary resolution 2021-R

Dear Members of the Culver City City Council,

Please read my remarks into the record, which Im writing as an individual member of the Council of the City of Beverly Hills, one of the only Jewish-majority cities outside of Israel, and a city which itself has a past history of exclusion and restrictive covenants towards Blacks, Jews and other groups.

Jew-hatred is a form of racism. Jew-hatred, also sometimes pseudo-scientifically called antisemitism, is likely the oldest, most atavistic and most pathological form of racism, not unlike a virus which has been constantly mutating for over two millennia.

While undoubtedly well-intentioned, item A-1, the proposed resolution 2021-R acknowledging the racial history of Culver City unfortunately excludes any history of racism towards Jews, who are not even mentioned in the draft resolution by name.

Talking about exclusionary covenants and systemic racism towards people of non-Christian religious faiths is a kind of whitewashing and, quite frankly, a trivialization of the institutional and systemic antisemitism which has impacted Jews for centuries in this country and for millennia in this world. Covenants did not specifically exclude Muslims or Hindus or Shintoists or people of any other non-Christian religious faith; they specifically excluded Jews. The KKK, which, as the resolution discussed, operated with impunity in Culver City, echoed (and still echoes) Nazi hatred towards Jews, not towards all people of non-Christian religious faiths and reserved (and still reserves) some of its worst venom for Jews.

Of all the groups they could have chosen to call out, white supremacists routinely chant Jews will not replace us. They dont chant people of non-Christian religious faiths wont replace us. Even today the KKK and other white supremacist groups use Israel as an excuse to unleash their Jew-hatred.

Furthermore, lumping Jews in with people of non-Christian religious backgrounds not only erases Jewish history, it also ignores the fact that Jews are not just members of a religious faith, but are a People, connected by their common history, group memory, shared aspirations and DNA. Some Jews are not religious at all.

By ignoring the impact of policies of exclusion towards Jews, the resolution latently denies Jews our Peoplehood and trivializes our unique history of persecution and persistence, ongoing for millennia. Such a trivialization could itself easily be seen as discriminatory and bigoted towards Jews, perpetuating the virus of antisemitism, which mutates into any number of forms of hatred, denial, erasure, and apathy.

How effective can a truth and reconciliation process really be that attempts to ignore, rewrite and literally whitewash a part of history?

Attempts to paint Jews as white ignore Jewish history and trivialize the unique Jewish experience of suffering and survival. As mentioned, white supremacists clearly dont consider Jews white, while antisemites on the other side often paint Jews as colonizers and beneficiaries of white privilege. Again, the virus of Jew-hatred has mutated in ways that demonize Jews while attempting to define them, with outside groups denying Jews their Peoplehood and sacred right of self-definition.

Perhaps its time that we started speaking seriously of Gentile privilege, in addition to other forms of privilege. Because the fact remains that Jews Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews are all linked by DNA to each other and to the Middle East, and if other Middle Easterners are to be considered people of color, so must Jews, who are native to the Middle East and whose indigenous status is often called into question in continual antisemitic microaggressions and outright anti-Jewish attacks.

Culver City is not only a city with a history of cross burnings on the front lawns of the homes of Jewish residents, its also a city where just last month, in May of 2021, a street advertisement was vandalized with a swastika and the words, Jews fund BLM.

A swastika. The symbol of fascism and Nazi crimes against the Jewish People and humanity. A reference to BLM, a leftwing group which itself has engaged in antisemitic and dehumanizing rhetoric towards Jews. The mutating virus of Jew-hatred for which there is no Pfizer, Moderna or J&J vaccine so concisely captured in one jarring instance of vandalism in Culver City less than a month ago.

In a time in which anti-Jewish hate crimes and violence are once again spiking worldwide, in addition to correcting this exclusionary resolution meant to acknowledge the racial history of Culver City, which has been unceremoniously whitewashed and scrubbed of antisemitism, it would make sense for the Culver City City Council also to enact a resolution adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, as Beverly Hills did last year when I was mayor.

We would be happy to assist you in taking this important measure against ongoing Jew-hatred, along with helping you craft a resolution in condemnation of anti-Jewish racism. Thank you for your efforts to come to a reckoning with racism in Culver City and I hope you are able to fix the elements of that reckoning which erase the lived experience of your Jewish neighbors.

Sincerely,John MirischBeverly Hills City Council

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A Letter to the Culver City City Council - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on June 14, 2021

Jewish people love to disagree. In fact, there is an old Jewish adage: Two Jews and three opinions.

And so I present my favorite story about Jews and disagreement.

There once was a Jewish village in which people had forgotten how to affix the mezuzah (parchment with verses from Scripture) on the doorposts of their homes.

Some said that the proper way to affix the mezuzah was on its side and some said up and down. Each side insisted it was right. Up and down! On its side!

Back and forth they went until someone suggested, Lets ask the rabbi. And so the townspeople brought their disagreement to the rabbi.

The rabbi turned to each side and listened. Stroking his beard, the rabbi said, You are both right!

How can we both be right? the townspeople shouted. The rabbi stroked his beard again and said, The problem is that you havent read the instructions.

He explained, The first word in the first verse on the parchment is Shema/Listen (Deuteronomy 6:4). You must first listen to one another.

A mezuzah should be standing up a little and lying down a little. You affix a mezuzah diagonally, pointing inward toward your home.

And so, each side got what it wanted. For a moment, the Jews of the town stopped arguing and chose to listen first and then to speak.

The story reminds us that we will not always agree. We have different opinions. Thats not bad. Its good.

Jewish people love to disagree. The issue is not agreement or disagreement. The issue is when we disagree, how do we disagree? Do we shout and stomp our feet or do we listen and try to understand?

The art of disagreement has deep roots in Jewish tradition.

Our weekly reading from the Five Books of Moses (Torah) tells of a disagreeable fellow named Korah (Numbers 16). Korah, along with Dotan and Abiram, disagrees with Moses and leads a rebellion in the wilderness.

Accusations fly: Moses is a dictator; he is power hungry; he is unreasonable, Korah and his followers say.

And what does Moses do? He appeals to God to be the judge of who is right, and he also sends for Dotan and Abiram. No name-calling and foot-stomping.

The medieval sage Rashi (12th century France) comments that in sending for Dotan and Abiram, Moses set aside his own dignity and feelings of resentment toward those who spoke ill of him and took the initiative to heal this breach in the community. In other words, Moses seeks to understand then to be understood to listen and then to speak.

Sadly, Moses is rejected and the rebels meet a terrible end. The earth swallows them. But, this is not the end of the story.

This episode is remembered by subsequent generations. Moses becomes the model, our teacher of the Torah of conflict and disagreement. Moshe, Rabbeinu our Rabbi is the model for all rabbis.

The great work of rabbis, the Talmud, is full of disagreement and yet there is coherence and unity. How? By listening and then responding. By respecting the contrary opinion to the extent that it is a principle in the Talmud to always record the opinion of the losing side.

We Americans live in a time of great disagreement. We hear calls for unity.

Certainly, unity has its place. But, in reality, we dont need unity. We need respectful disagreement.

As the Jewish adage teaches, God gave us two ears and one mouth, in order to teach us that we should listen twice as much as we speak.

Benjamin Shull is the rabbi of Jewish Congregation of Venice.

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Agree to disagree, agreeably | Religion | yoursun.com - yoursun.com

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Posted By admin on June 14, 2021

On Thursday June 3, just as the Israeli working week was drawing to a close and everyone was heading off to bed, I took part in a Losers Party promoted by the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF). I believe that this was a groundbreaking event in the field of Jewish education.

Now that we are finally starting to make strides in putting COVID-19 behind us, the time has come to engage in novel thinking. Before we can do that, however, we need to take a moment to remember all of the people who lost their lives during this dreadful pandemic, and acknowledge the emptiness theyve left behind.

On the first Shabbat of the first lockdown in Israel, when all the synagogues were shuttered, my family sang the evening prayers at home together with mixed feelings. As it is customary for someone to say a Dvar Torah some words of Torah every time we gather in prayer, we began discussing which family member would be the proper and respectable choice. We felt that these words, which would connect us to the weekly Torah portion, needed to be extra special and encouraging during these difficult days when infection rates were soaring. I began scanning the plethora of books Ive read throughout my lifetime in search of some timely words of wisdom. My vague memory of reading this book many years ago led me to pick up my copy of Who Moved My Cheese?

Yes, Im referring to the tale of two tiny smart humans (Hem and Haw), along with two mice (Sniff and Scurry), who manage to find their way through the maze even under challenging circumstances. And this is how my family came to study this book by Spencer Johnson, M.D., as if it were a tractate of Talmud! We dissected and contemplated each and every word in order to gain insight into our lives.

I explained to my children that my generation had never before experienced a life-changing event, and suddenly something extraordinary was unfolding. This new reality went beyond the pain from loss of life, and it presented us as parents and educators with an opportunity to engage in deep dialogue about what is truly important in life. From the shock and the isolation that we experienced, we have gained an awareness that will hopefully help to guide us throughout the rest of our lives.

This new reality forced us as educators to reorganize our lives, and the results have been remarkable. The virtual meetings that my organization has held with dozens of teachers and principals around the world, have helped us clarify the need for these connections, and they were the impetus for the creation of our World Center for Jewish Education Hub. Despite enthusiastic calls from teachers and principals working in the field to carry out the wonderful innovations that we recommend, all the official organizations that really need to make these changes, have countered with, Dont move my cheese!

It was interesting that, in March this year, several tenders were published by various educational organizations, describing the process of getting back to normal in this post-COVID-19 era. They may have used the same words, but apparently, they didnt have the same meaning.

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My dear friend, Michael Wegier from the UK, brought my attention to the JCRIF tender. As we started preparing our application, we began to realize that this was a unique opportunity. We invested a great deal of time and thought into the program plan we submitted, and as you can imagine, were quite disappointed when we received a negative response.

TWO WEEKS ago, I received an invitation by email to an event that at first glance sounded strange. Rabbi Sara Luria and a group of activists invited all of the tender losers to participate in a Reset After Party. Despite the fact that Id never heard of such an event, it was clear to me and the WCJE staff that we should not miss out on such an opportunity, and so we responded that wed be delighted to attend the online event. Added on at the end of the invitation was the slightly sarcastic comment: You will, sadly, need to bring your own beverages and snacks; we will try to bring the scintillating conversation.

That evening, as I logged on to the meeting, my expectations were pretty low. But right away, it was clear this was something out of the ordinary. After a short and unifying session of communal singing, Rabbi Sara opened the session by talking about the existential loneliness and difficulty that people who work in entrepreneurship in the Jewish world have been experiencing. She spoke about the disappointment we were all probably feeling after failing to win the tender. As the session went on, I began to realize that I was partaking in a revolutionary event. The only word to describe this party was groundbreaking!

Jason Bloch and Sarah Kornhauser from UpStart explained that through this tender the Jewish people received many amazing and unique ideas devised by dozens of organizations.

Together we now have to continue developing these ideas, which will lead to the enrichment of the entire Jewish world. By analyzing the recurring keywords from the proposals, we have created an extensive map that links all these proposals and organizations with one other and empowers everyone. It is imperative that we not let this knowledge disappear.

The party I participated in that evening was full of creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation for the benefit of the Jewish people. When someone is willing to move their cheese, they can make great headway. Those of use who are working to promote innovative programs in the Jewish world need to begin using the term Jewish Activist. We must abandon old models that promote divisiveness, and instead use positive terms that connect us all and set the tone for future activity.

The writer is founder and CEO of the World Center for Jewish Education, a global resource hub for Jewish schools and organizations across the religious spectrum.

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In wake of coronavirus, Jews must learn to adapt and change - opinion - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on June 14, 2021

A Torah scroll. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

If youre British and of a certain age, you are probably a fan of the irreverent 1970s comedy sketch show Monty Pythons Flying Circus. I was introduced to their zany humor in my early teens. It had been a few years since the original TV shows aired, and at the time, the only medium available to access their sketches was audio recordings.

I found Monty Pythons Flying Circus incredibly refreshing. It was like stepping through the looking-glass into an alternative world, and I was helplessly drawn into the countless unlikely scenarios that were the backdrop to their skits a roller-coaster mix of surreal setups and clever wordplays. And Monty Python comedy does much more than make you laugh it forces you to see just how ridiculous the human condition can be, particularly if people take themselves too seriously.

One particularly preposterous Monty Python skit is known as the argument sketch. The premise is simple. An average-looking chap enters a generic office and tells the receptionist that hed like to have an argument. Unfazed, the receptionist asks if hes interested in a one-off argument, or if hes thinking of taking a course. The penny drops this is no ordinary office; it is a facility which offers a variety of human interactions that in a non-Monty Python world we all try and avoid: arguments, verbal abuse, listening to complaints, and even being hit over the head.

After some false starts, the guy walks into a room and asks if hes in the right room for an argument. The man looks up at him, quizzically. Ive told you once, he says. No you havent. Yes I have. When? Just now. No you didnt! Yes I did! You didnt! And so it goes on, back and forth, until the customer, in total frustration, challenges his interlocutor: Look, he says, this isnt an argument! Predictably, the other guy responds: Yes it is! No it isnt! says the customer, its just contradiction and an argument isnt just contradiction. Well, it can be. No, it cant! he protests, an argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.

And so it goes on and on, and on. Eventually, the sketch descends into total farce, with the comedy meandering off in a different direction but I was always struck by this particular point: that an argument is only an argument if it is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition, rather than just being a series of pointless, futile disagreements.

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, the award-winning executive coach Peter Bregman explained why most arguments are utterly ineffective:

Think about it. You and someone have an opposing view and you argue. You pretend to listen to what theyre saying but what youre really doing is thinking about the weakness in their argument so you can disprove it. Or perhaps, if theyve debunked a previous point, youre thinking of new counterarguments. Or, maybe, youve made it personal: its not just their argument thats the problem its them. And everyone who agrees with them. In some rare cases, you might think their argument has merit. What then? Do you change your mind? Probably not. Instead, you make a mental note that you need to investigate the issue more to uncover the right argument to prove the person wrong.

Remarkably, Bregman is making the exact same point as Monty Python: an argument however sophisticated you may think your point-of-view may be is never going to be productive if it is merely a series of contradictions between two opposing viewpoints. Thats because if the object of an argument is just disagreement, no proposition is ever established and the longer such an exchange of views persists, the more it will lead to frustration, rancor, and worse.

The Talmud records a number of Jewish traditions regarding arguments, the most famous of which can be found in Pirkei Avot (5:17): Any argument for the sake of Heaven will endure, while [an argument that is] not for the sake of Heaven will not endure.

The Mishna continues by informing us that a controversy for the sake of Heaven is exemplified by the disagreements between Hillel and Shammai, while Korachs polemic is identified as the paradigm of an argument that is not for the sake of Heaven. Elsewhere (Sanhedrin 110a), the Talmud teaches us that someone who is persistently argumentative has sinned, as it says do not be like Korach and his supporters (Num. 17:5).

Puzzlingly, the Talmud is almost exclusively dominated by arguments between rabbis. Paradoxically, it seems as if our Talmudic sages reveled in disagreement. And although Hillel and Shammai disagreed with each other quite infrequently, the schools they founded and inspired remained in constant dispute over major and minor points of Jewish law for centuries.

In fact, over 300 debates are recorded between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, and yet, the Talmud informs us (Yebamot 14b): Beit Shammai did not refrain from marrying women from Beit Hillel, nor did Beit Hillel refrain from marrying women from Beit Shammai, which means that they remained friendly and affable towards each other, fulfilling what [Zechariah] said: Love truth and peace (Zech. 8:19).

Not only was there a constructive purpose in their debates namely, the establishment of Jewish law but when it came down to practical life, there was a total accommodation of each others opinions. As the Talmud records elsewhere (Erubin 13b), both points of view were considered to be the words of the living God, an attitude these adversaries seem to have adopted as an overriding principle.

Meanwhile, Korachs intent was anarchy: he wanted to disrupt the social order, to deconstruct society, and to undermine the leadership. Korach was not interested in an honest debate, nor was he concerned with anyone elses point of view. As if this was not enough, he knew that there was no endgame in which he could emerge successful. Gainsaying Moses may have been satisfying in the short term, but ultimately, just like the Monty Python sketch, it was an exercise in futility.

Nothing has changed. Human beings still argue. And there are those who argue like Hillel and Shammai, and those who argue like Korach. The difference between the two remains the same, and we all know why one kind of argument is right, and why the other is wrong. And while truth is undoubtedly important, ultimately it is always more important for peace to prevail.

The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.

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Korach and the Arguments of Destruction | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on June 14, 2021

Our parshah this week recounts the rebellion of Korach and his band. Korach, first cousin to Moshe, Aharon, and Miriyam, along with three men from the tribe of Reuven, gather 250 men in uprising against Moshe and Aharon. Korach and his men say to them in Bamidbar 16:3, You have taken too much power! For all the people are holy, all of them, and Hashem is with them. So why do you elevate yourselves above Hashems community?

Yeah! Thats a good point! I instinctively react. We all stand at Har Sinai and receive Gods Torah! What makes Moshe so special that he gets to be in charge?

Of course, through dramatic irony (the Torah is not called the Five Books of Korach) we anticipate the fate of this band of contrarians. While they are permitted to make a show of winning Gods favor, they are rejected and then swallowed alive by the earth, erased from the community. Gods judgment is clear and swift. Moshe, Gods representative on earth: right. Korach: wrong. End of story. But not the end of Korachs legacy. If he is erased from existence, why would the Torah preserve Korachs story? Why would someone given such a fate receive the notoriety of a Shabbat named after him?

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Korachs dispute and methodology are recorded as the archetypal foil for healthy Jewish disagreement. Pirkei Avot 5:17 teaches: Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure. Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai. And which is the controversy that is not for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korach and all his congregation.

Hillel and Shammai had many disagreements recorded in our Talmud, ranging from how we should light our Chanukah candles to whether certain widows were eligible to remarry in the mainstream Jewish community. Unlike the important but fully ritual topic of Chanukah menorahs, rulings on marriage law, especially in the ancient Jewish world, carry grave human consequences. Any child born to parents ineligible to marry under Jewish law is a mamzer, a person cast to the communitys margins simply by nature of their birth, permitted to marry only other outsiders, perpetuating a Jewish undercaste. Much of Jewish marriage law, in particular divorce law, is formulated to prevent couplings that could result in mamzerim. The law builds fences to prevent this injustice.

Within our case, a legal marriage in the eyes of Beit Hillel would result in mamzerim according to Beit Shammai, and in a parallel case, a legal marriage in the eyes of Beit Shammai would result in mamzerim according to Beit Hillel. In other words, what one group sees as permissible and laudable, the other sees as immoral and dangerous.

It is the heaviest of Jewish arguments, whether or not a potential human being is a full citizen of the community. You could imagine each school saying of its rival, since they permit the unpermitted to marry, we cant trust them to know anything about anything; they are a separate people from us.

That never happened. Following the recording of this dispute, in Masechet Yevamot 14b, we learn that the students of Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai married women of the families of the rival schools.

Despite disagreeing about the deepest and most painful of Jewish divisions, a disagreement regarding marriage no less, Hillel and Shammais disciples intermarried with one another. They remained one Jewish family. At no point did these two sparring groups say, Those others are fully wrong. Theyre not Jews anymore. Rather, in resolution of a three-year-long dispute between the two schools, in Masechet Eruvin 13b, a Divine Voice rules, These and these are the words of the Living God and the Law follows Beit Hillel. That same definitive Divine Judgment that swallowed Korach declares valid both the opinions of Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. Both opinions are the words of the God Who Continues to Live in Relationship with the Jewish People.

So, what constitutes an argument for the sake of Heaven? An argument for the sake of Heaven is one that is grounded in respect for the other as a fellow Jew. The Gemara teaches later on the same page as these and these, that Beit Hillel merited to have the law follow their judgment because they were respectful and willing to hear and even teach the legal opinions of Beit Shammai. They did not react with their instinct. They debated with thought out compassion. And although they disagreed, they remained not just one Jewish people, but one intramarried Jewish family.

To argue for the sake of Heaven requires recognizing that although I may be correct today, I and my fellow are both in the process of living intersecting Jewish lives, trying to follow Gods Torah, and thus cannot cut each other off from existence or cancel each other. It is to say, I disagree with you fully, but you remain my sister and Im not going to give up on you.

Korach only said, Moshe, you are wrong, meaning you are wrong today and you need to leave. Hillel and Shammais actions said, One of us is right today, the other might be right tomorrow, were still one people and were not going to split off into two separate religions. Hillel and Shammai seldom agreed on anything, but they continued to live not just side by side, but interconnectedly. God made Korach disappear.

Although we can disagree and uphold our deeply held beliefs, we must do so with respectful and true listening. If one of us does try to change the mind of another, we must do so with the humility that tomorrow our own minds will or could be changed. Korachs erasure reminds us that we cannot be Korach, no longer on earth, we must be Hillel and Shammai, in community together.

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Korach: Arguing for the sake of heaven and living interconnectedly - The Jewish Standard

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Posted By admin on June 14, 2021

I am so proud to congratulate the Milken Class of 2021! There was not a dry eye at the Rose Bowl on Sunday as we watched with pride as our seniors walked across the stage and in an instant turned into alumni who will fully embody our Portrait of the Graduate think well, take positive action, and belong to something greater than themselves.

Brandon Tavakoli 21 as Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof

We have so much to be proud of as our students are heading to over 50 unique schools across the globe, including specialty programs in areas like our Architecture+Design Institute, Computer Science, Jewish Studies, and Robotics. We are also proud to keep our connection to Israel and the Jewish people with students moving to Israel this summer to join the IDF. You can click hereto see all of the schools to which our students were accepted this year.

Talia Gandin 21 Co-captain of the Robotics Team

I want to take a moment to wish a heartfelt Mazal Tov to the recipients of our honors this year. Along with our valedictorian, salutatorian, and Hebrew speaker we also honor students according to each of our core values. Congratulations to this group of outstanding students:

ValedictorianBrandon Tavakoli

SalutatorianAmelia Marengo

Hebrew SpeakerArielle Meisel

Core Values AwardsPursuing Academic Excellence Talmud TorahBenjamin Bakhaj

Building a Joyful, Welcoming Community KehillahCeline Behnam

Treating Others with Dignity and Kindness Kavod HaBriyotSabrina Abselet

Taking Responsibility for Self and Others AreivutArielle Meisel

Connecting to Israel and the Jewish people Ahavat YisraelTalia Byrnes

Growing with Integrity TeshuvahNavid Aframian

Pausing to Nurture the Soul Shavat VayinafashEliyah Stern

As I reflect on this past year, I see how our students were strong, passionate, and resilient. Of course, I would love to have seen this year go on normally but the strength and confidence they gained from overcoming this difficult time is beautiful to see. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors, and I am deeply grateful to the faculty, academic advisors, and families who supported them in their journeys at Milken.

Dr. Sarah ShulkindHead of School

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Milken Congratulates the Extraordinary Class of 2021 - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on June 14, 2021

NEW YORK, June 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Jewish Communal Fund (JCF) of New York, the largest and most active Jewish donor advised fund in the country, approved nearly $700,000 in charitable grants to Jewish charities through its endowment, the JCF Special Gifts Fund.

This funding will be earmarked to meet increased food needs for low-income New Yorkers; provide Jewish summer camp scholarships for children significantly impacted by COVID-19; create a therapy center for preschoolers with special needs; and provide funding for capital improvements to local day camps.

The JCF Special Gifts Fund Committee selected the grantee charities with the assistance of UJA-Federation of New York.

"Jewish Communal Fund is privileged to be able to support the most vulnerable populations in our community," said Daniel Blaser, Chair of Jewish Communal Fund's Charitable Distribution/Special Gifts Fund Committee.

Since 1999, the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Communal Fund has granted more than $20 million to support programs that promote the welfare and security of the Jewish community at home and abroad.

The latest JCF Special Gifts Fund Grantees include:

Thanks to JCF's support, The Sephardic Community Center in Brooklyn will be able to build a 1,500 square foot therapy center, where preschool-age children can receive physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The Jewish Communal Fund Therapy Center will feature therapy swings, a rock-climbing wall, climbing structures, monkey bars, balance beam, therapy balls and other sensory equipment to enhance experiential learning for preschoolers of all abilities.

JCF's support will enable childrenmany of whom have experienced the loss of a parent or are living in or near poverty as a result of a parent's job lossthe ability to go to Jewish summer camp. Day camp scholarships will be divided among 13 Jewish community centers that run day camps at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds in Long Island, Staten Island, and Rockland County.

Food insecurity is on the rise in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic; demand at UJA-funded food pantries is up 40 percent as compared to last year. JCF's support will help the Shorefront JCC Digital Pantry provide more nutritious food for its clients, many of whom are Russian-speaking seniors, and enable greater choice in selecting food.

JCF's donation will help Camp Zeke, Eden Village Camp, Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp and Surprise Lake Camp fund capital improvements that will expand enrollment while following COVID-related social distancing guidelines. JCF's grant can help these camps secure matching funds from the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF) through the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

Jewish Communal Fundis one of the largest networks of Jewish funders, managing more than $2 billion in charitable assets for more than 4,200 donor advised funds. JCF's donor advised funds make giving easy, flexible and efficient. Learn more about JCF by visitingwww.jcfny.org. VisitJCFonLinkedIn, Facebook, andTwitter.

MEDIA CONTACT:Tamar Snyder[emailprotected] 646-843-6894

SOURCE Jewish Communal Fund

Give smarter with JCF donor advised funds.

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Jewish Communal Fund of NY Announces Nearly $700,000 in Grants from its Special Gifts Fund - PRNewswire

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Posted By admin on June 14, 2021

Interior Minister Arye Dery on Thursday distanced himself from recent remarks made by his fellow ultra-Orthodox politicians calling into question presumptive Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts religious observance and painting him as a danger to the Jewish character of the state of Israel.

We are all Jews, no matter what kind of kippa (we wear), and no one has the right to say who is not. That isnt my style, Dery, who leads the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Shas party, said during an interview with Army Radio on Thursday morning.

Haaretz Weekend: PM Bennetts no brainer, ancient race wars and a Begin blockbuster

In recent days, ultra-Orthodox politicians belonging to the Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism party have used Bennetts kippa as a rhetorical device, symbolizing his alleged religious hypocrisy for joining a coalition in which they are not a part, but which does include the secularist Meretz and Yisrael Beiteinu factions.

Shas and UTJ lawmakers lambasted Bennett, set to become Israels first Orthodox prime minister after a confidence on Sunday, at a Knesset gathering on Tuesday, which had been called to discuss how to push back against proposed changes to the countrys religious status quo.

UTJ MK Yaakov Litzman called on Bennett to remove his kippa, saying that his wearing of the Jewish head-covering was a great insolence.

At least everyone should understand that he is a Reform Jew," he said.

Commenting on Litzmans remarks on Thursday, Dery stated that the lawmakers words stem from terrible pain and called on people not to judge him for them.

Far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, also condemned Litzmans insolent remark on Thursday, telling Army Radio that nobody is the account book of the holy one, blessed be he.

At the same gathering as Gafni and Litzman made their remarks, Dery used similar rhetoric, asserting that kippa wearers whose lust for power blinds their eyes would fulfill the dreams of Israels secularist parties and asserting that the new government would destroy everything that for 73 years we have maintained together, even in the most difficult times, the Jewish character and identity of the state that allows us to live together.

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, Bennett pushed back against the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers attacks, calling them expressions that do not bring them honor and reflect a loss of temper.

The ultra-Orthodox Knesset members will not teach us what Judaism is and certainly not what Zionism is, he said, promising that as prime minister, he would take care of the ultra-Orthodox public and the Torah world.

To the ultra-Orthodox citizens of the country I say, again: you have nothing to worry about, he continued. On the contrary, the past year has shown that you are the ones who pay, with your very lives, for a political culture of neglect, nepotism and the perpetuation of problems.

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With a new government in reach, Bennett's kippa becomes a bone of contention - Haaretz

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