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Google & Nat’l Library of Israel Collaborate to Bring 120K Books Online for the First Time

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
The books include all of the NLI's out-of-copyright books which have not yet been digitized. About 45% of them are in Hebrew and other Hebrew-letter languages such as Yiddish and Ladino, with the rest of the works in a variety of languages, including Latin, English, German, French, Arabic, and Russian. Photo Credit: National Library of Israel

Edited by: JV Staff

The digitization process now underway is complex. State-of-the-art shipping containers meeting strict climate-control and security requirements transport the books from the National Library in Jerusalem to the Google digitization center in Germany via Rotterdam

The National Library of Israel (NLI) and Google have announced that 120,000 books from the NLI collection are going online for the first time, as part of an historic collaboration.

The books include all of the NLI’s out-of-copyright books which have not yet been digitized. About 45% of them are in Hebrew and other Hebrew-letter languages such as Yiddish and Ladino, with the rest of the works in a variety of languages, including Latin, English, German, French, Arabic, and Russian.

The digitization process now underway is complex. State-of-the-art shipping containers meeting strict climate-control and security requirements transport the books from the National Library in Jerusalem to the Google digitization center in Germany via Rotterdam. Following the digitization process they come back to the National Library of Israel Jerusalem, home to the world’s largest collection of textual Judaica. The process is expected to be completed in about two years, with thousands of books sent, scanned and returned each month.

The Google Books project includes over 40 million books from over 70 great libraries in the United States, Europe, and Japan, as well as from thousands of publishers. It includes books in over 400 languages, including Hebrew. NLI’s contribution will significantly increase the percentage of Hebrew texts available through Google Books.

 

Quotes

Yaron Deutscher, Head of Digital Access, National Library of Israel:

“We are very happy to be working with Google in fulfilling our mission to open access to the treasures of Jewish, Israeli and universal culture for diverse audiences across the globe. More specifically, it is a significant contribution to our work opening digital access to all books published in the first 450 years of Hebrew printing.”

Sefer Me’Am Loez is a collection of Midrash, homiletical teachings of the sages on the Bible, written in Ladino, or Judeo-Spanish. The first edition was published in 1730, and the last edition in 1897. It enjoyed huge popularity among Ladino-speaking Jews, and is considered by many to be the crown jewel of Ladino literature.

Ben Bunnell, Head of Library Partnerships, Google Books:

“The Google Books project launched 15 years ago with the aspiration of bringing the entire world’s books online and making them searchable and discoverable to everyone on Earth. We’re delighted that the National Library of Israel chose to join us in this endeavor. This partnership brings a rich collection of Hebrew language materials to the corpus and takes us a significant step closer to realizing our mission.”

Some of the NLI books digitized by Google as part of the collaboration include:

1 Phaedo or On the Immortality of Souls–Prussia, ca. 1860

Moses Mendelssohn’s first book, originally published in German in 1767, was one of the most widely read books of its time. This is its first translation into Hebrew.

  1. The Interpretation of Dreams–Zhovka, 1853

According to the cover page, this composition was originally published by Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel (1604-1657). It discusses the significance of dreams from a Jewish perspective, drawing upon the Talmud, the Zohar, and Western philosophy.

  1. Tales of the wise men of Greece, or, Words of the Sages – Vilna 1864

Yehuda Leib Ben Zev, an early adherent of the Haskalah movement, compiled short biographies and summaries of the worldviews of ancient Greek philosophers from Solon to Zeno. The book is written in Hebrew, with a vocalized Yiddish translation on the side “for the masses of our people who do not understand Hebrew.”

  1. Sefer Me’Am Loez – Livorno 1823

Sefer Me’Am Loez is a collection of Midrash, homiletical teachings of the sages on the Bible, written in Ladino, or Judeo-Spanish. The first edition was published in 1730, and the last edition in 1897. It enjoyed huge popularity among Ladino-speaking Jews, and is considered by many to be the crown jewel of Ladino literature.

  1. The Five Books of Moses: Tzena U’rena–Sulzbach, 1785

The Tzena Urena is a Yiddish translation and adaptation of the Torah, first written in 1509, intended primarily for women who were typically not educated enough to study the original biblical text. This edition features beautiful woodcut illustrations.

The First American Jewish Novel Discovered by Brandeis U Historian

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
‘Cosella Wayne’ transforms what we know about the history of early American Jewish literature and adds an important new name to the pantheon of 19th-century Jewish women writers,” Jonathan Sarna says. Photo Credit: Amazon

Historian Jonathan Sarna uncovered a long-forgotten book by the author Cora Wilburn that’s the first work of literary fiction by an American Jew. Now Wilburn is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

Edited by: JV Staff

Cora Wilburn’s 1860 novel “Cosella Wayne,” was edited and with an introduction by Jonathan Sarna, (pictured above), the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History and University Professor.

Cora Wilburn was one of the most prolific American Jewish writers of the 19th century. She wrote poetry, essays and fiction that grappled with assimilation, poverty, child abuse and feminism. A fellow writer described her as “the most interesting woman I know.”

But by the 1920s, she’d been completely forgotten.

In October, Wilburn finally got her due. The University of Alabama Press published Wilburn’s 1860 novel “Cosella Wayne,” edited and with an introduction by Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History and University Professor.

Sarna discovered the novel while researching Wilburn’s life and realized it was the first American Jewish literary novel. Wilburn was actually the progenitor of the American Jewish literary canon.

“‘Cosella Wayne’ transforms what we know about the history of early American Jewish literature and adds an important new name to the pantheon of 19th-century Jewish women writers,” Sarna says.

Sarna also tracked down Wilburn’s diary at the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati. Excerpts are also included in the University of Alabama book and reveal that Wilburn drew upon her own life for “Cosella Wayne,” making it the first example of an American Jewish writer using an alter ego in her fiction.

 

Cora Wilburn

Wilburn was born Henrietta Pulfermacher in Alsace in eastern France. She lost her mother at an early age and was raised by her father, a crooked gem merchant who hauled his family around the world in search of foreigners to swindle.

In one scheme, he impersonated Sir Moses Montefiore, a British financier, philanthropist and Sheriff of London.

Wilburn loathed her father, who apparently abused her, and she was probably only too glad to abandon her birth name when she got to America.

Her writing career was born of the poverty she was plunged into with her father’s death in 1845. After a few years working as a seamstress, she started making her living by writing poems, essays and fiction for journals and magazines.

She was a committed abolitionist and feminist, who knew the constraints she faced because of her gender. “Were I not bound by woman’s fate, that keeps / Me here inactive, while man grandly reaps, / I would, in Israel’s sweet and holy name, / Help to enkindle the world’s freedom-flame,” she wrote in a poem.

In the 1850s, Wilburn joined the Spiritualist movement, which held that the deceased communicated with the living from a spirit world. She published many of her writings, including “Cosella Wayne,” in Spiritualist journals.

Some Spiritualists championed free love, but not Wilburn, who advocated sexual purity. She was more drawn to the religion for its opposition to slavery and its ties to the women’s movement.

“Let woman be free; and she will be what God ordained and Nature desired, a beautiful loving being, full of holy sympathies and boundless aspirations,” she wrote in an essay.

Wilburn, who briefly converted to Catholicism following her father’s death, was anguished by her turn away from Judaism. “A lot of guilt comes out in the diary,” Sarna says. “She feels God has punished her and she deserved it.”

She returned to Judaism upon her arrival in the United States in 1848, and in 1869, likewise turned away from Spiritualism, remaining a Reform Jew until her death.

But by the 1870s, Wilburn’s writing had fallen out of fashion. Her “woman’s fate” meant living alone in Duxbury, Massachusetts, plagued by infirmities and dependent on handouts from Boston’s Jewish community. She died in 1906, as she wrote, “homeless, almost friendless, sick, uncared for as I deserve to be.”

 

Cosella Wayne

The novel tells the story of its eponymous hero’s plight after her mother dies in childbirth and she’s abducted by an evil gem merchant, Menasseh Moshem. Moshem is an alcoholic who terrorizes and physically abuses Cosella.

Eventually, Cosella escapes to the home of a Catholic neighbor, though she finds no refuge in that faith either. Her adopted mother turns out to be an adulteress and Cosella undergoes a religious crisis.

When Moshem dies, he leaves Cosella penniless and she’s forced to work as a seamstress for pittance wages in Philadelphia. On the verge of death, Cosella is rescued by members of the Spiritualist movement and reunited with her true father, a Spiritualist leader, who had spent years searching for her.

The novel is no literary masterpiece, but Sarna says it provides invaluable accounts, based on Wilburn’s own travels, of Jewish communities and ceremonies around the world about whom historians know very little.

Cosella travels to India for Passover. Her host’s outfit, Wilburn writes, was “Turkish in form, and was composed of rainbow hued silk and ruby colored velvet, richly embroidered with gold. The snowy muslin folds that veiled her bosom were inwrought with precious gems; three bracelets, richly studded with diamonds and rubies, glistened from each fair, round arm, as the velvet sleeve flew back.”

In Germany at Yom Kippur services, Cosella beholds male congregants “clad in the habiliments of the grave, the sweeping shroud of linen, with its wide cape edged with lace, the conical cap upon their heads.”

Women sit above in a gallery, wearing “dresses of pure white, emblematic of the forgiveness of sins. … Some retain their glittering jewels, their pearls and rings; but the truly pious divest themselves of all outward adornment and stand in true humility before the Lord.”

At one point, having fallen on hard times in Philadelphia, Cosella is forced to do menial labor. Accounts of the city from this period usually focus on the upper classes and high society, while Wilburn’s describes poverty, Sarna says.

Cosella, “once the admired of many, was known as ‘the cheap seamstress;’ weaving life-dreams, soul-prophecies, and heaven-thoughts, queries and answers, in with the garments that her fingers wrought. And as time passed on, the hope that had cheered and brightened slowly died away.”

Sarna says he hopes the publication of “Cosella Wayne” restores Wilburn to her rightful place in the pantheon of American Jewish writers. “It’s an amazing novel, full of amazing stuff,” he says. “And it’s so Jewish.”

“How to Fight Anti-Semitism”–Why New Book Misses the Mark–Part 1

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Danusha V. Goska writes: Alas, Weiss's How to Fight Anti-Semitism is not the book America needs right now. It reads more like a Facebook post by a bright, passionate, but not particularly scholarly, rigorous, or fair Facebook friend. How to Fight Anti-Semitism, like a Facebook post, focuses on current events. It offers currently popular whipping boys: Western Civilization, Christianity, and President Donald Trump. Photo Credit: Amazon

By: Danusha V. Goska

America needs a good book entitled How to Fight Anti-Semitism. Though Jews make up 2.2 percent of the US population, Jews constitute 60 percent of religiously motivated hate crime victims. Recent months have seen a surge of violent attacks on Jews in New York City. The attacks are often recorded on video. Attackers are often black or Hispanic. The attacks have gone underreported and little discussed; one theory is that blacks attacking whites is not the kind of hate crime the media wants to emphasize.

We require instruction in fighting anti-Semitism because Israel is a valued US ally, and Israel’s very right to exist is questioned on college campuses and by new congress members. We need it because though many have considered anti-Semitism to be a right-wing phenomenon, this hatred is found on the left as well as on the right; witness British Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. There are too many anti-Semitic events on university campuses to list. Various watchdog organizations keep records; one such account is here.

We need to prepare to fight anti-Semitism because the US has a rising Muslim population, and as The Pew Research Center reports, “Anti-Jewish sentiment is endemic in the Muslim world.” Muslim anti-Semitism distorts American history. Significant percentages of Muslims believe that Jews carried out the 9-11 terror attacks. Amiri Baraka, once New Jersey’s poet laureate, PEN award winner, and father of Newark’s mayor, repeated this conspiracy theory in his poetry.

We need to understand how to fight anti-Semitism because ignorance of the Holocaust is a “global crisis,” including among highly “educated” American millennials. We need to understand the Holocaust for the same reason we need to fight anti-Semitism. The villains who begin by attacking Jews never end by attacking Jews. Anti-Semites are a menace to us all.

Bari Weiss seems well-positioned to write a groundbreaking book defining and combatting anti-Semitism in the 21st century. She became bat mitzvah at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, scene of the 2018 mass shooting. Weiss is a New York Times editor. She’s pretty, charming, and young, and has been a guest on Bill Maher’s Real Time HBO show. Though she says she doesn’t want “points” for her sexual identity, she earns them anyway for once dating Saturday Night Live superstar Kate McKinnon. Weiss describes herself as a centrist, and she has been praised for criticizing anti-Semitism from both the left and the right, from both Christians and Muslims. What’s not to like?

Alas, Weiss’s How to Fight Anti-Semitism is not the book America needs right now. It reads more like a Facebook post by a bright, passionate, but not particularly scholarly, rigorous, or fair Facebook friend. How to Fight Anti-Semitism, like a Facebook post, focuses on current events. It offers currently popular whipping boys: Western Civilization, Christianity, and President Donald Trump.

Much of the book consists of one account after another of recent anti-Semitic incidents: Tree of Life, the attack on the Hypercacher supermarket in Paris, the kidnapping, torture and murder of Ilan Halimi, the decapitation of Daniel Pearl, anti-Semitic incidents on American campuses, and others. In a short while all of these contemporary anecdotes will be dusty and dated. Weiss’s insistence that all incidents involving violence against a Jew can be understood using the same paradigm is questionable. Are the young black men violently attacking Jews in New York City really driven by the same motivations as Pearl’s murderers and pogromists in medieval Germany? No evidence is offered to support this.

Weiss doesn’t get around to her suggestions for fighting anti-Semitism until the final 37 pages of the 210-page book, and her tips feel grounded more in the self-help movement than in any serious scholarship, boots-on-the-ground activism, or skilled self-defense. “Lean into Judaism … Stop blaming yourself … Tell the truth … Trust your discomfort … Allow for the possibility of change … Praise those who do the right thing … Maintain your liberalism” are some of her methods. The suggestions are for Jews, not for non-Jews who are dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism. Prayer and devotion are not among Weiss’s suggestions. Weiss “resonates” with a self-definition as a Shinto Jew, that is a Jew who honors her Jewish ancestors. She is not sure about belief in God.

There’s been a great deal of serious scholarship on the topic of hate in general and anti-Semitism in particular. There’s a massive amount of lived experience on how to survive as a member of a targeted minority. Ethnographers and former hate group members offer veritable MRIs of haters’ brains. Those abundant resources are not reflected here.

Weiss says that the New Testament provides the “template” for anti-Semitism. “Christianity” is “responsible for the murder of more Jews than any other ideology on the planet,” she writes. Weiss is wrong on three counts. First, as I’ll argue, below, Christians have killed Jews, but Christianity has not. Second, Nazism, not Christianity, is the ideology that is responsible for the murder of more Jews than any other. Weiss could benefit from reading “Against Identifying Nazism with Christianity,” found here. Third, Weiss makes this statement as part of a whitewash of Islam. More on that, below.

In today’s world, every serious person, Christian, Jewish, secular, or other, must understand the following facts. These facts must be stated not just to Weiss but to any anti-Semite who seeks rationale for anti-Semitism within the New Testament. They must also be stated in relation to Islam, which Weiss also addresses.

The New Testament was written by Jews, with the possible exception of Luke, who may or may not have been Jewish. The New Testament was written about a Jew, Jesus. Jesus and the apostles were Jews, descendants of Abraham, living in Israel, speaking Jewish Aramaic and using Hebrew in their religious lives. They followed the Levitical commandments, and they, as do Christians today, regarded the Old Testament as inspired scripture.

Further, the New Testament is rooted in the Old. Open to any page of the New Testament in an annotated Bible and find footnotes directing the reader to parallel passages in the Old. Mary, the mother of Jesus, recites a song called the Magnificat. The song’s style is that of the synonymous parallelism of Hebrew poetry. Specifically, Mary’s song echoes The Song of Hannah from the Old Testament book of Samuel. Jesus is asked to identify the greatest commandment; in his reply, Jesus echoes Deuteronomy and Leviticus. As Jesus dies on the cross, he speaks words from Psalm 22.

Jews, no less than Christians, have to wrestle with difficult verses. The Old Testament contains many hair-raising proclamations where an angry God promises total devastation to his chosen people. In Hosea 13-14:5-15,1 God says he will be like a lion or bear and tear Israelites’ hearts from their breasts and fetuses from pregnant wombs. This is terrible stuff, but depicting God as so angry at sin that he exerts graphic punishment is part of the Jewish scriptural tradition, a tradition in which the Jews writing the New Testament were steeped. Jews and Christians must work together to interpret these verses.

There are no verses in the New Testament calling on Christians to kill anyone, including Jews. Rather, the message of the New Testament can be summed up in one verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” The Parable of the Good Samaritan is groundbreaking. Its message is that we are to love those unlike ourselves, including the most hated other. Jesus, after torture and near death, said, “Father forgive them.” This is the message of the New Testament.

Yes, haters have used verses from the New Testament to rationalize anti-Semitism and violence against Jews. While acknowledging this, we must not elevate haters’ twisted logic.

The Old Testament, no less than the New, has been blamed for atrocity. For centuries, those who support slavery and serfdom cited the Biblical “Curse of Ham.” Eve’s eating the apple, precipitating exile from the Garden of Eden, has been cited as the source of misogyny. Exodus 22:18 has been blamed for Europe’s witch craze, and Leviticus 20:13 has been blamed for all homophobia.

I don’t have to wonder how Bari Weiss would feel if I were to advance the Old Testament as the “template” for slavery, for misogyny, for crazed mob killings, or for homophobia. I know she would feel the outrage I feel when I read her citing the New Testament as the “template” for anti-Semitism. Not just outrage, but logic, renders all these arguments invalid. Clearly the message of Exodus, of “Let My People Go,” is one of a God who wants people to be free, not enslaved. The Old Testament is alone in world scripture for featuring real, named, average women as driving characters: Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Ruth, Naomi, Judith, Esther, Hannah, Hagar, Rahab, Deborah, Jael, Tamar, Shiphrah, Puah, and Jochabed. When it comes to the Biblically-mandated death penalty for witchcraft or homosexuality, Jews mention the Talmud’s anti-death penalty stance. Further, we know that slavery, misogyny, homophobia, and mob killings are found in cultures untouched by the Bible.

Anti-Semites’ distorted interpretations of the New Testament are not the alpha and omega of Jewish-Christian relations, but that is all Weiss talks about. She does not mention that again and again popes and everyday Christians have put their lives on the line to fight against anti-Semitism. The sixteenth-century Council of Trent insisted that humanity, primarily Christians, are responsible for the death of Jesus. The twelfth-century papal bull Sicut Judaies insisted that Christians must not harm Jews; this bull had several antecedents and descendants. Weiss mentions France’s persecution of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, but not his defense by devout Catholic Charles Peguy.

Weiss blames the Rintfleisch massacres, a medieval German pogrom, on the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and, as she puts it, “a wafer,” that is, to me and other Catholics, the Eucharist. Weiss claims that “one hundred thousand Jews were murdered.” I cannot find her number supported in other sources.

In fact the pogrom to which she refers was sparked by debt. A man indebted to Jews invented a story of abuse of a Eucharist in order to excuse a pogrom. Weiss does not mention that some Christians attempted to assist persecuted Jews, or that when the local monarch regained lost power he put the man who stirred up the pogrom to death.

Why do these details matter? Why must we mention that Catholic doctrine does not mandate that Christians murder Jews, that communion is indeed holy to Catholics and that attributing to communion the power to murder Jews is profoundly inaccurate, that not all Christians, even in the midst of a medieval pogrom, were murderers? Why must one mention the class elements at play?

These details matter because Christians like me are on the front lines in condemning anti-Semitism wherever we encounter it, no matter the social cost. It matters because Christians like my father risked their lives fighting, and defeating, anti-Semitic fascism in World War II. It matters because Christians are the most persecuted faith group in the world today, and when you equate a religion – Christianity – with a crime – anti-Semitism – you make Christians less safe. Why bother protecting Christians if their belief system is the font of worldwide evil? These details matter because Weiss’s analysis is wrong. The New Testament is not the template for anti-Semitism, and one must understand the historical factors at work in hate.

Weiss’s tendency to leave out key facts occurs more than once in How to Fight Anti-Semitism. She bashes Breitbart as anti-Semitic. Proof? Breitbart called Bill Kristol a “renegade Jew.” Weiss does not mention that the author of that very column was David Horowitz, who is himself Jewish.

Weiss insists that she was subjected to internet abuse after her appearance on the Joe Rogan show because she is Jewish. During her appearance, Weiss smeared Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as an “Assad toadie” and as a supporter of conversion therapy. Rogan challenged Weiss. Weiss floundered, acknowledging that she didn’t know the meaning of the word “toadie.” She continued to insist that Gabbard was pro-conversion therapy. In fact Gabbard supported conversion therapy when she was a teenager. She has since renounced that support. The most popular critical comments on YouTube accuse Weiss of being arrogant and unaware of facts. The most popular comments do not mention Weiss’s Jewishness.

Weiss cites Nathan Hannover, the seventeenth-century chronicler of the 1648-1657 Khmelnytsky Uprising of Ukrainian Cossacks against Polish domination. Weiss describes tortures committed by Ukrainians against Jews. It looks, again, like what we have is those evil Christians doing bad things to Jews because they are Christian and Christians hate Jews. Weiss does not mention that the Khmelnytsky Uprising, which, to her, is all about Christian Ukrainians expressing their innate, Christian anti-Semitism, is recorded in Polish history as part of “The Deluge,” a catastrophic series of attacks against Poland in the seventeenth century. She doesn’t mention that Christian Ukrainians tortured Christian Poles, thus, it can’t be explained away as “Those awful Christians inevitably acting out their innate anti-Semitism caused by their religion.” The tortures of the Khmelnytsky Uprising were repeated centuries later. In the 1940s, during the Volhynian Slaughter, Ukrainians again tortured and murdered Poles. One hundred thousand Poles were killed. Priests were crucified. The genocidal goal was to obliterate any biological or cultural Polish presence. Weiss doesn’t mention that the very historian she cites, Nathan Hannover, himself speaks of Jewish oppression of Ukrainian peasants.

My friend John Guzlowski’s family members were raped, tortured, dismembered, and murdered by Ukrainians and Nazi allies. I do not hesitate to acknowledge that the people who tortured my friend’s family were, in their own minds, exacting revenge on Poles for previous mistreatment. Acknowledging this history does not justify Ukrainians torturing and murdering my friend’s family. Acknowledging this history contributes to understanding. Weiss, though, rejects any integration of historical details into her analysis of anti-Semitism. “This kind of logic” she says “excuses anti-Semitism.” No, placing attacks in context does not excuse anti-Semitism or any other violence. Rather, fully understanding atrocity is perhaps the only way out of atrocity.

Weiss extracts events from historical context. Those atrocities are simply just more examples of Christians hating Jews just because they are Christians, and that’s what Christians do. Weiss also extracts anti-Semitism from the context of other hatreds. Anti-Semitism, she insists, has nothing in common with hatred of any other people from any other group. Study of hate and atrocity in general, she seems to feel, cannot add to understanding of anti-Semitism.

(Front Page Mag)

(To be continued next week)

Danusha Goska is the author of God through Binoculars: A Hitchhiker at a Monastery.

The JV Educational Fund Champions Community Issues with Alacrity

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0

Edited by: JV Staff

Last year, a non-profit organization known as the Jewish Voice Educational Fund was founded by a determined cadre of people who are concerned with issues directly effecting Jewish survival around the globe and close to home. As a federally registered 501c3 organization, the Jewish Voice Educational Fund Inc. persists in furthering its mission to fight anti-Semitism, as it consistently advocates for global Jewish rights, and the security of the land of Israel. Today, the JV Educational Fund is creating alliances with organizations across the globe to identify and expose the faces and forces behind the inflammatory rise in anti-Semitism, thus effectively cutting off sources of support for these dangerous initiatives.

The main objective of the Jewish Voice Educational Fund is to combat toxic propaganda and empower a world where anti-Semitism is no longer tolerated as an acceptable form of expression.

The Jewish Voice Educational Fund is committed to providing an honest, positive perspective on Israel and Jewish affairs. Amidst the horrifying growth of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and skyrocketing violence that is the offshoot of anti-Semitic based crimes, our educational efforts are needed now more than ever.

For close to a decade, the Jewish Voice weekly publication has made it its mission to print incisive and thought-provoking articles penned by prominent writers that specifically focus on the nefarious machinations of the BDS movement and the adversarial effect that they have on Israel’s image in the world and beyond. Besides being an organization that is firmly rooted in the most egregious forms of anti-Semitism, the ultimate objective of the BDS movement is to promote complete isolation of Israel in the international community.

On the local front, the JV Educational Fund is in the forefront of taking the lead in championing neighborhood issues and concerns. Several weeks ago it was brought to the attention of the Jewish Voice editorial staff that a certain property in the Sephardic Jewish enclave in Brooklyn was purchased for the express purpose of building a homeless shelter there. Naturally, this news aroused the readers in this tight knit community and served to galvanize them to take action to protect their neighborhood from criminal elements.

On yet another issue, the Jewish Voice Educational Fund caught wind of the tragic fact that suspicious commercial vehicles were dotting the landscape in the Brooklyn neighborhood that they serve. After sending out a cracker jack team of veteran investigative reporters, the JV learned that these “out of the ordinary” commercial vehicles belonged to the many contractors that are hired by residents to either build custom made homes or to spruce them up. So, vehicles that are fully adorned on the exterior as a rolling ad for either a Styrofoam company, a house painting company, a fixture company, etc are parked for lengthy periods of time in the same spot. That, of course, presents multiple problems for residents who are seeking a spot.

Moreover, the Jewish Voice reporting team unearthed the fact that late model recreational vehicles that are parked in the neighborhood are actually housing facilities for out of state workers. This, too, presents a safety threat. All of these concerns were addressed in a detailed manner and were then brought to the attention of the local elected officials.

The end result? The chances that a city sponsored homeless shelter will be built in the neighborhood is now slim to none. And the out of place vehicles, RVs, and clothing drop off vans that ignited suspicion? They too have been addressed by local law enforcement authorities and many of them have been cleared out.

So, folks, that’s what the JV Educational Fund has been up to these days, as well as championing issues way beyond the boundaries of Brooklyn.

As we have witnessed as of late, the dramatic increase in anti-Semitism in the New York City area demands a response from the Jewish Voice Educational Fund. As such, the Jewish Voice keeps on top of the issue with the regular publication of enlightening articles as well as the establishment of social media groups that motivate even more conversation and the exchange of ideas on this existential issue.

The JV Educational Fund seeks those people who wish to become involved in issues affecting their communities, their city, their country and the entire world. For those who wish to play a crucial role in the perennial battle against the scourge known as anti-Semitism or the detrimental impact of the BDS movement, we encourage them to contact the JV Educational Fund to learn more about what you can contribute to this valorous cause.

Contact the Jewish Voice Educational Fund today and find out how you can help. Please call 718-988-7600 or e-mail us at: [email protected]

David Foster, Haim Saban, Yael Eckstein, Nili Falic, Peter Weintraub Round Out All Star Lineup at FIDF Western Region Gala in Support of Israeli Soldiers

By
Sholom Schreirber
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Cheryl and Haim Saban; Managing Member of R.H. Book LLC and Chairman of Jet Support Services Inc. Robert Book and his wife, Amy; FIDF National Director and CEO Maj. Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir; FIDF Western Region Executive Director Jenna Griffin; Brig. Gen. (Res.) Gila Klifi-Amir; and President and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) and daughter of the late Rabbi Eckstein, Yael Eckstein, with IDF soldiers. Photo Credit: Mark Von Holden

Gala Held in Memory of Late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. Top Donations Include $15 Million From Cheryl and Haim Saban.

Edited by: JV Staff

Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl has previously chaired the FIDF Western Region Gala for 13 Years

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) hosted its annual Western Region Gala on Thursday, November 7, 2019 at the landmark Beverly Hilton Hotel. The “Making a Difference” Gala, which has become one of L.A.’s premier charitable events, raised $29 million and united 1,000 people from across the country to support the brave men and women of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The FIDF Western Region Gala was held in memory of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein (z”l), who dedicated his life to unifying Christians and Jews in support of the State of Israel, was the Founder and President of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship), and steadfastly supported FIDF and its mission.

Joining the event were prominent business, philanthropic, and political leaders and celebrated names in entertainment, fashion, sports, and technology, including longtime FIDF supporters Haim and Cheryl Saban , who had previously chaired the FIDF Western Region Gala for 13 years; David Foster ; President and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews ( The Fellowship) and daughter of the late Rabbi Eckstein, Yael Eckstein ; Managing Member of R.H. Book LLC and Chairman of Jet Support Services Inc. Robert Book and his wife, Amy ; and Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amos Yadlin . Israeli-American actress and model Moran Atias emceed the gala.

President and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) and daughter of the late Rabbi Eckstein, Yael Eckstein, receiving the “FIDF Defender of Israel Award,” at the FIDF Western Region Gala. A $3 million donation was announced by Yael Eckstein on behalf of The Fellowship. Photo Credit: Mark Von Holden

FIDF’s leadership at the gala included FIDF National Vice President and Western Region Chairman Tony Rubin and his wife, Linda ; FIDF National Board Member and Western Region President Ari Ryan and his wife, Rebecca ; FIDF Western Region Founder Leo David ; FIDF National Chairman Rabbi Peter Weintraub and his wife, Ellen; FIDF National President Bobby Cohen and his wife, Lorraine ; FIDF National Chairman Emeritus Nily Falic ; FIDF National Director and CEO Maj. Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir ; Brig. Gen. (Res.) Gila Klifi-Amir ; and FIDF Western Region Executive Director Jenna Griffin .

“Cheryl and I are honored to have served as FIDF Western Region Gala chairs for 13 incredible years and are proud to see the outpouring of support that this event continues to receive,” said Haim Saban. “We are gratified to see that the FIDF’s important mission resonates so powerfully in the LA community and are humbled to have gathered with FIDF again this year for a meaningful evening that memorialized our dear friend Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein (z”l).”

“My father was a dedicated and ardent supporter of Israel and its soldiers, and firmly believed in the vital mission of FIDF, caring for the men and women who protect Israel and the Jewish people,” said Yael Eckstein. “I am proud to be part of this big family – a family that celebrates our diversity and embraces our different backgrounds.”

President and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) and daughter of the late Rabbi Eckstein, Yael Eckstein; and FIDF National Chairman Emeritus Nily Falic. Photo Credit: Mark Von Holden

A delegation of both American and Israeli soldiers and veterans attended the gala and addressed the crowd. One such hero, IDF Staff Sgt. (Res.) Amit Kadosh , was part of a special IDF operation to neutralize a senior Hamas terrorist. Upon completing his service, Amit received an academic scholarship through FIDF’s IMPACT! Scholarship Program , which helped him study computer science and business administration at Tel Aviv University. During the event, Amit surprised his girlfriend of seven years, Talya, by proposing on stage.

Other IDF soldiers in attendance included Staff Sgt. (Res.) Izzy Ezagui , an American citizen who moved to Israel, became a decorated squad commander in the IDF, and returned to the battlefield after losing an arm in combat; 1st Lt. Jerusalem , an Ethiopian-Israeli soldier whose visual disability did not stop her from becoming a volunteer officer in the IDF Northern Command; 1st Lt. N ., born and raised in a Druze family, who serves in a Paratroopers special unit, despite his parents’ opposition; Cpl. Eden , an IDF Musical Ensemble singer and winner of “The X Factor Israel” reality TV show; Staff Sgt. Y ., a Lone Soldier – one who voluntarily enlisted in the IDF without having immediate family in Israel – originally from Pittsburg, PA, who serves in an elite IDF unit; and others.

Top single donations announced at the event included $15 million from Cheryl and Haim Saban, $3 million announced by Yael Eckstein from The Fellowship, and $1 million from Tony and Linda Rubin.

David Foster performs at the FIDF Western Region Gala. Photo Credit: Mark Von Holden

The event featured a special performance by David Foster and Friends .

Funds raised at the gala will provide much-needed and well-deserved services such as academic scholarships to combat veterans, financial assistance for soldiers in-need, support for Lone Soldiers – those who enlist in the IDF without immediate family in Israel, crucial aid for wounded veterans and the families of fallen soldiers, weeks of rest and recuperation for entire IDF units, as well as educational, cultural, and recreational facilities. The evening presented a rare and exclusive opportunity to pay tribute to the state of Israel and its brave men and women in uniform.

FIDF National Chairman Rabbi Peter Weintraub and his wife, Ellen. Photo Credit: Mark Von Holden

7th Annual Int’l Shabbat Project Sees Unprecedented Participation in the US, Israel & Worldwide

By
Sholom Schreirber
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Challah Bake in Buffalo

Largest Shabbat Project yet sees Jews in 1,685 cities and 106 countries unite around Shabbat including a poignant moment of Jewish unity in Tel Aviv where partners opened their homes and tables for under-fire residents of southern Israel.

Edited by: JV Staff

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein in South Africa

This past Shabbat, the Jewish world took a well-deserved collective deep breath.

From November 15-16, the 7th annual international Shabbat Project outdid its predecessors on all fronts, reaching 1,685 cities and 106 countries across the world, and attracting record numbers of participants in many of those cities. Cities in the United States comprised approximately half of all participating communities.

The 2019 Shabbat Project called on Jews to “Jump Together” in response to rising levels of violent anti-Semitism in the U.S. and worldwide – to “redouble our humanity” and embrace a more uplifting Jewish identity. American Jews responded to the call through a dramatic uptick in Shabbat Project participation, with events including challah bakes, havdallah concerts, family and community dinners, festive prayer services and children’s activities taking place in 771 U.S. cities.

Other major diaspora communities such as France (51 cities), Russia (36 cities) and Argentina (21 cities) also continued to expand their Shabbat Project participation.

“The growing numbers of people participating – and the passionate level of engagement – demonstrates the Jewish people’s connection to the values of Shabbat – faith, family, community and unity,” says South African Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein, the founder and director of The Shabbat Project. “This past Shabbat, we showed the world – and ourselves – who we truly are.”

The Shabbat Project and its partners facilitated thousands of events around the world, while reaching 210 new cities and seven new countries (Rwanda, Papua New Guinea, Antigua and Barbuda, United Arab Emirates, Latvia, Afghanistan, Luxembourg and Oman).

“The 1,685 cities participating worldwide represent more than 10-percent growth from the 1,511 cities that took part in 2018, and we are thrilled that the response to this year’s Shabbat Project has been stronger than ever,” says Tanya Harati, global director of operations.

Shabbat Project in Modi’in, Israel

Among the transcendent moments of Jewish unity surrounding this year’s Shabbat Project, one occurred amid last week’s escalation of rocket attacks on southern Israel from Gaza. In a poignant gesture in Tel Aviv, the longtime Shabbat Project partner White City Shabbat expanded its already oversubscribed Shabbat dinner for more than 1,000 people to under-fire residents of southern Israel free of charge, while local Tel Avivians also opened their homes to families from the South.

“There wasn’t even a question, this is what the Jewish people are all about,” said Deborah Danan, co-founder of White City Shabbat. “We support each other. We comfort each other. We make room at our table for one another. For us, there was no better way to express our commitment to Jewish unity and the magic of Shabbat than inviting families from the South to join our mega Shabbat table.”

In North America, challah bakes were a key rallying point for the Shabbat Project, with organizers challenged to innovate on the concept’s traditional formula. This year saw “pink challah bakes” to raise breast cancer awareness in more than 20 U.S. cities; a challah bake in Long Island featuring teen cooking sensation and Chopped winner Rachel Goldzwal; and a cross-border challah bake bringing together communities in San Diego and Tijuana.

Other highlights in the U.S. included: Conservative and Orthodox synagogues coming together for a tailgate party and Shabbat-related discussion during the Baltimore Ravens game on the Sunday before the Shabbat Project; a Bukharian-styled Shabbat meal in Cedarhurst, N.Y; a student-led initiative bringing together college students from different universities in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts; luxury retreats bringing together Jews of different backgrounds and levels of observance in Orange County and New Jersey; and a full day of Jewish learning in San Diego, with thousands attending a variety of lectures on various hot-button subjects.

Perhaps most movingly, there was a moment of silence across Pittsburgh in commemoration of those killed in the Tree of Life synagogue attack, which had occurred on the weekend of last year’s Shabbat Project.

In Israel, 445 cities and moshavim found tranquility and common ground amid the rocket barrages via hundreds of community-wide and private/home-based events. A full 25-hour Shabbat experience for around 100 students in Jerusalem attracted many participants who kept Shabbat for the first time. Up north in Karmiel, a Friday night dinner in the municipal square drew 500 people spanning native Israelis and new immigrants, young and old, observant and not.

Challah Bake in Cali, Colombia

Elsewhere, a challah bake for 400 women in Brussels doubled as a live concert and a hip-hop dance show. A “Shabbat Shuk” brought “the tastes, smells and sounds of Machane Yehuda” to Sydney, where participants proceeded to break the Guinness record for the world’s longest challah (33 feet). A glamorous havdallah concert at the Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice featured The Voice star, Alliel. The community of Olomouc in the Czech Republic came together for a challah bake, Friday night dinner and havdallah at the grand Olomouc synagogue, which was burnt to the ground by the Nazis, and recently rebuilt.

And after their community challah bake was cancelled due to the political unrest, organizers in Santiago pivoted to a more intimate iteration, splintering the event between 15 different homes.

Finally, in South Africa, where the Shabbat Project was birthed in 2013, the “adopt a community” campaign saw Jews in outlying “country communities” hosted by families in the major Jewish centers of Johannesburg and Cape Town, while thousands of beautiful “Challah Date” boxes were distributed for friends and families to bake challah together at home.

“Jews of all backgrounds have embraced the Shabbat Project, putting aside their differences and gathering together in a spirit of love and unity,” says Rabbi Goldstein. “People really resonate with the way Shabbat carves out a sacred space of tranquility and togetherness amidst the frenzy of modern life.”

To coordinate an event of this magnitude and global scale, the Shabbat Project’s Tel Aviv office partnered with approximately 5,000 thousand “city captains” on the ground, who themselves marshalled countless volunteers in their cities.

Much of the communication with partners took place via Whatsapp, with hundreds of different groups on the go. Meanwhile, nine different help desks fielded more than 6,000 calls in 10 languages as well as more than 50,000 emails, creating customized educational and promotional materials for each city.

“The heartwarming global uptake of the Shabbat Project points the way to the formula for a vibrant Jewish future: active participation. To be a Jew is not to be a passive spectator.” says Chief Rabbi Goldstein. “It is about active involvement, real engagement, personal responsibility and leadership — and the Shabbat Project is a great example of where this personal leadership can take us. Our future is in our hands. We need to take ownership of it — and this is just the beginning of the incredible future we can build together.”

Jewish Tools to Manage Stress

By
Sholom Schreirber
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By: Chayi Hanfling

According to mental health research, stress levels have been sky-rocketing in the United States and across the world. Whether triggered by a volatile political landscape, economic insecurity, or health issues, the American Psychological Association cited that 75% of adults report that they experienced moderate to high levels of stress in the past month. Stress is physically damaging, causing frequent aches and pains and compromising our immune systems, and is also destructive to our emotional well-being.

Jewish wisdom provides us with some tools and ideas to help manage stress and weather the storm.

  1. You are enough.

Many people equate worth with productivity; we are what we do. This perspective creates an endless internal need to achieve in order to feel that we are worthy. Social researcher Brene Brown calls this “the hustle for worthiness” which creates a society governed by fear and shame.

Judaism, in contrast, posits that we are all created in the image of God and have intrinsic worth that is not defined by what we produce. In fact, for 25 hours every Shabbat we are forbidden from creative work.

I have found that individuals who equate their inner value with their productivity find Shabbat to be especially challenging. If I can’t achieve or produce on Shabbat then what and who am I? Judaism reminds us: you are worthy. You can make mistakes but you will never be a mistake. The endless burden of things to do can never threaten who you are.

  1. Value and honor your effort.

Judaism makes clear that it is our effort that counts, irrespective of whatever results may or may not be achieved. Although the outside world seems to function based on achievement and not effort, the reality is that we are only in control of the effort we invest and not in the fruit that it yields.

We are responsible to put in a reasonable effort; God then does the rest. What happens may not be what we wanted, but the results are out of our hands. The irony of course is that we are so often focused on worrying about what is outside of our control that we “forget” to do our part.

Each day instead of getting overwhelmed with what you need to accomplish, focus on what is within your control. Ask yourself: what is your reasonable effort for today and then invest your energy into your efforts and not into worrying over the outcome.

  1. You are not a dog about to be eaten.

Life can sometimes feel like a giant competition. It seems that there is a limited number of scholarships, job offers and promotions. According to the Jewish perspective, God is limitless and that no one can take away what we are meant to have. A wise sage once said that he was not worried that at the end of his life he would not measure up to great individuals in Jewish history; his only concern was that he would not measure up to the greatest version of himself.

So much stress results from comparing ourselves to others who seem to have more, do more, achieve more and succeed more. But comparisons are illusory. God doesn’t compare us to anyone else and neither should we. Look inward and ask yourself: what else can I be doing to become the best version of myself?

  1. Take a break, with love and connection.

Many of the college students tell me that they find the idea of Shabbat to be beautiful but they simply have too much to do to take that much time off. The truth is that whether you keep Shabbat or not, no one can be productive 24/7. We all need breaks and we’ll find a way to get them. The only question is: will the breaks be taken mindfully and consciously and in a way that will truly refresh and invigorate us, or will they be taken unconsciously in front of a screen and we’ll often feel more exhausted afterwards than before we started?

Taking a break from stress by spending time with others in loving and nurturing environments fills two needs: our need for rest and our need for human connection. So many people struggle with loneliness whether they are surrounded by others or not. Indeed, the loneliness that you can feel in a crowd is usually much more potent than what you feel when you are by yourself. Take care of yourself by taking a break with people who care about you in environments that facilitate love and connection.

Daily stressors may be a regular part of life but we don’t need to feel powerless to face them. Incorporating Jewish values into our mindset can provide us with the emotional fortitude we need to live our lives with joy and face our stress with strategy.

             (Aish.com)

Prof Claims Islam Is Not the Root of Islamic Terrorism

By
Sholom Schreirber
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By: Andrew E. Harrod

Sam Harris

“If you want to identify people who are okay with suicide bombing, I can give you a list,” including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Michigan State University Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Muslim Studies Mohammad Hassan Khalil told me at a September Georgetown University lecture. Khalil theorized before an audience of some thirty people at the Saudi-founded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) that Islam’s atheistic critics exaggerate the religion’s role in inciting violence.

While ACMCU Professor Jonathan Brown moderated, Khalil’s responses ironically reinforced the critique of Islam he sought to refute. For the record, Qaradawi’s primetime show on Qatar’s Al Jazeera network drew an estimated 60 million viewers. Even had he been the lone cleric promoting suicide bombing — which he was not — the size of his viewership reveals the scope of the problem.

At the Georgetown event, Khalil presented his previously recorded discussion of his new book, Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism, in which he disputes claims of many “New Atheists,” particularly Sam Harris, “that Muslim terrorism can be best explained by Islamic scriptures.” Harris further labels benign interpretations of Islam as “interpretive acrobatics.”

Khalil explained his focus on the so-called New Atheists, in which “[m]any of [his] own colleagues and students have been and continue to be more profoundly impacted by the writings of New Atheists than, say, polemical works by far-right religiously-affiliated critics of Islam.” Correspondingly, he cited Harris’s statement to fellow atheist Bill Maher that “we have to be able to criticize bad ideas, and Islam is the motherlode of bad ideas.”

Although critics such as the ex-Muslim atheists behind the “Awesome Without Allah” campaign would affirm Harris’s observations, Khalil accused Harris of “cherry-picking.” Reiterating his previous analysis of Islamic canons to argue that jihadists like Osama bin Laden use “interpretative acrobatics” to justify attacks on civilians, Khalil asserted that “Harris’s interpretation of Islam is so obdurate and so extreme that it cannot even be ascribed to the man behind 9/11.”

Khalil claimed such jihadists are “on the fringes of the jihad tradition” in Islam, despite ample precedent of jihadists applying distinctly Islamic doctrines to fight non-Muslims. “The attempts of al Qaeda and ISIS to justify terrorism on Islamic grounds typically require the abandonment of both strict literalism and the historically prevailing interpretations of Islamic thought,” Khalil said. “Before the early 1980s, there was no such thing as a Muslim suicide bomber,” Khalil added, although Islamic traditions of suicidal fighting tactics help explain why modern suicide bombing has become such a uniquely Islamic phenomenon.

During the audience question and answer session at Georgetown, moderator Jonathan Brown failed to assuage concerns about the religious nature of jihad, even as he assailed New Atheists as the “most intense representatives of this sort of white, patriarchal ‘West is best’ idea.”

He next criticized the portrayal of a failed suicide bomber in Harris’s book “The End of Faith.” Instead of accepting Harris’ description of terrorists’ motives as religiously informed, Khalil cited common, debunked tropes of socioeconomic disadvantage driving men to violent jihad. Although Khalil emphasized the jihadist’s biography of poverty and conflict with Israel, many jihadists globally have comfortable backgrounds. Khalil concluded, erroneously, that “in blaming Islam’s foundational texts for contemporary terrorism, while downplaying other factors,” arguments of the New Atheists “are just as facile as those of the apologists they criticize.”

This continues a common trend of denying the Islamist roots of jihadi attacks, even as survey data show that a deeply disturbing minority of Muslim believers support terrorism. As Israeli analyst Shmuel Bar wrote in 2004, in leading Islamic clerical circles, “radical ideology does not represent a marginal and extremist perversion of Islam, but rather a[n] … increasingly mainstream interpretation.”

During the audience question and answer session at Georgetown, moderator Jonathan Brown failed to assuage concerns about the religious nature of jihad, even as he assailed New Atheists as the “most intense representatives of this sort of white, patriarchal ‘West is best’ idea.” He referenced his 2007 Yemen trip, during which he saw cigarette lighters for sale with themes of Bin Laden and Hassan Nasrallah, the terrorist Hezbollah leader. Brown strained believability to dismiss these images as indicating not support for terrorism, but for individuals “who really stuck it to the man” of Western imperialism — as if mass atrocities were mere protest.

Khalil stated that he is “obsessed with 9/11 in a dark way,” a transformative event for a Muslim for whom “religion was always what held me back from being violent.” Yet his obsession hardly obviates valid concerns about radical Islamic jihad. Atheists and others – including jihadists themselves – correctly recognize a significant canonical corpus that justifies a long bloody trail of jihadi violence into the present day. In dismissing historically accurate criticisms of radical Islam and Islamism, Muslims like Khalil undermine their credibility — and, by hosting such apologists, ACMCU reaffirms its place as America’s leading center of Islamist propaganda.

            (Middle East Forum)

Andrew E. Harrod is a Campus Watch Fellow, freelance researcher, and writer who holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School. He is a fellow with the Lawfare Project. Follow him on Twitter at @AEHarrod.

Parshat Chaya Sora – The Wisdom of the Zaken

By
Sholom Schreirber
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Avraham was a zaken in the context of being a Torah scholar, that he never absented himself from the world of Torah study and scholarship

By: Rabbi Benjamin Hecht

On the surface, it would seem somewhat appropriate that the story of the search for a wife for Yitzchak Avinu should begin with the simple statement that Avraham was old, zaken ba beyamim.1 This is a point of transition in regard to our forefathers as the narrative of the Torah essentially switches from the story of Avraham to the story of Yitzchak – and, as such, we are being told that Avraham is in his later years and indeed this is a time for transition. Maharsha, Yoma 28b, d.h. She’ne’mar, however, notes that we have already been told that Avraham is elderly, so why the need to inform us of this again? It is precisely for this reason, Maharsha maintains, that this gemara explains that what this verse is actually telling us is not essentially that Avraham was old but, rather, that he was a zaken in the context of being a Torah scholar, that he never absented himself from the world of Torah study and scholarship. This is the other meaning of the word zaken2 and the meaning of this word in this verse. The question arises, though – as distinct from informing us that Avraham was old – why was it necessary to inform us of Avraham’s Torah scholarship at this juncture, in the prelude to the transition to Yitzchak?

In approaching this question, it may first be of interest to look at this word zaken with its meaning as both an elderly person and a Torah scholar. How are these two concepts interconnected? Torah Temima, Bereishit 24:3, note 1 explains that there would appear to be an inherent connection between age and wisdom as, it would seem, the greater the experiences of life, the greater the learning potential and thus the chance to acquire wisdom. While this correlation is far from absolute – as there are younger individuals who are incredibly wise and, sadly, older people who are essentially still foolish – this definition would seem to have some merit and so it is appropriate for the term zaken to hold both meanings. The problem, however, is that the term zaken is not understood to be a reference to one who is simply wise but, specifically, it refers to one who has Torah wisdom. How does this connect with Torah Temima’s explanation of the term zaken which seems to focus on the wisdom one attains from life experiences? While there is no doubt that the accumulation of Torah wisdom is also the product of time – the more we study, the more Torah we can acquire – and thus would be a product of age, it would seem still not to be the result of life experiences. It is general, secular wisdom that would seem to be more of a product of what we experience, of our daily activities and observations. The term zaken however refers specifically to Torah scholarship. What is, therefore, the connection between life experiences and Torah wisdom?

Torah Temima continues in his comments by making a reference to the fact that what Avraham Avinu actually did with his teachings was challenge the great mistake initiated in the generation of Enosh that led to the advancement of idolatry. Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 1:1 explains that the practice of idolatry developed in the world because human beings, believing that God appointed the celestial bodies to govern the world,3 thought it appropriate, and the wish of God, for humans to honour these Divine appointees. Eventually this led to complete idolatry. Avraham’s wisdom in that he understood the essential truth of the Oneness of God challenged this perspective and so he stood for this real truth and fought this false perception of idolatry. It is for this reason that Avraham is referred to as a zaken and so it is with all who came after Avraham who were distinguished with this term. Such an explanation of the word zaken, though, means that it is much more than a description of one’s knowledge of Torah. The term describes a perspective, also, on life itself. It marks how someone looks at the world and, even more so, gains knowledge of the world. Indeed zaken could include a reference to an acquisition of knowledge from life’s experiences – but within a specific perspective. A zaken may be someone who has learned wisdom from life but solely if this education was done from the perspective of Torah, from a perspective of recognition of the One God.

People often lose sight of a simple fact that our conclusions are dependent upon our starting information. Effective wisdom is thus not just dependent on the process of intelligence but the initial assumptions and data. Throughout history, many individuals have been referred to as wise albeit that we now know that the ideas they upheld were not just false but ludicrous. We apologize for this weakness in these wise individuals because we recognize that so much was dependent on their starting points. This is what is distinct about a zaken. His starting point is Torah which has its source in what is revealed to us. The process of knowledge is still intact and life is still studied but this starting point qualitatively defines a different type of wisdom in that there is a Divinely presented starting point. The zaken is thus one who has truly acquired chochma, wisdom, for his method of viewing the world has more validity.4

We now can perhaps understand the significance of this reference to Avraham as a zaken at this point of transition to the narrative about Yitzchak. In declaring Avraham a zaken, the Torah is informing us of his essential purpose, of his role in life and history of establishing the process of true chochma within this world. This is the legacy he now leaves to Yitzchak5 and then to all his descendants. It is not just in our private studies that we advance the knowledge of Torah in the world. It is through our application of the Torah worldview in our life experiences and in the knowledge we gain through these experiences that we advance this worldview. Torah offers us a unique perspective on the world and we are to apply this perspective to gain more understanding of this world, this creation of God. From one zaken to the next, starting with Avraham and the transition to Yitzchak, we are to further this acquisition of true chochma.

 

Footnotes

1 Bereishit 24:1.

2 See T.B. Kiddushin 32b

3 While Rambam himself did not believe in astrology, it is easy to see how a person who accepted a concept of astrology could make this mistake that the celestial bodies had some type of authority. In any event, even without considering astrology, seeing how tides are affected by the moon could have also have led to such a conclusion.

4 Bryan Magee in his work “Confessions of a Philosopher” makes a statement to the effect that all human knowledge is still essentially human, i.e. inventions of the human intellect. It was clearly shown through Einstein’s advancements on Newton’s theories that all human beings can attest to is their explanation of what is happening but they can never state the real, inherent truth. Essentially, one could say that without some revealed information, the acquisition of true chochma is not possible. If a zaken is one who has, though, acquired chochma, there must be an element of Revelation in his process.

5 It is interesting to note that the reference to zaken in regard to Eliezer in Bereishit 24:2 is also understood by the gemara to be a reference to Torah scholarship.

Parshas Chaya Sora – Tips on Finding Your Shidduch

By
Sholom Schreirber
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Toward the end of the parsha, we find that Isaac instituted the mincha (afternoon) service, and as soon as he concluded his prayers, "he lifted up his eyes and lo and behold, there was his beautiful bride, Rivka." (Genesis 24:62-64).

By: Rabbi Osher Jungreis

A careful study of the parsha even highlights the specifics of courtship and marriage and offers the guidance that we so sorely need in our generation as our singles population increases and it becomes more and more difficult to find our bashertes. But for now, let us focus on the primary factor in how to find a shidduch.

Toward the end of the parsha, we find that Isaac instituted the mincha (afternoon) service, and as soon as he concluded his prayers, “he lifted up his eyes and lo and behold, there was his beautiful bride, Rivka.” (Genesis 24:62-64). From this we learn that first and foremost, we must pray for G-d`s help in finding our mates. This teaching is reinforced throughout the parsha. Eliezer, the loyal servant of Abraham, who is commissioned to search for a bride for Isaac, embarks upon his mission with prayer, asking for G-d`s chesed – loving-kindness (Genesis 24:12). Now, if Isaac, who was the most eligible bachelor of his generation–brilliant, handsome and wealthy, the scion of a great family, needed G-d`s mercy, what are we to say?

Furthermore, when Abraham charges Eliezer with his mission, he too prays and asks for the guidance and help of the G-d of heaven and earth, teaching us that a shidduch is first made in heaven, and therefore, it is only G-d who can enable us to find him/her.

The question however still remains: why was it specifically the mincha service that made the shidduch come about? Our sages explain that of the three services, shacharis (morning), mincha (afternoon), maariv (evening), it is mincha that demands the greatest discipline and sacrifice. In the morning, as we commence our day, there is an inclination to pray and seek G-d`s blessings. In the evening, as the day`s toil comes to an end and darkness envelops us once again there is a desire to pray, but in the hustle and bustle of the day, the myriad pressures of work that are a part of one`s daily occupation, it is easy to forget and difficult to stop to pray. But the one who is able to do so, the one who is able to say, “I`m putting everything on hold in order to turn to my G-d in prayer, demonstrates immense faith, discipline and sacrifice, and therefore merits special attention from G-d.

This lesson has profound implications for us. When we show that nothing, not even our business can deter us from serving the Almighty, we can anticipate that He too will respond in kind. These teachings hold true in all of our relationships with G-d. Torah study must become our priority and we should not hold it in abeyance until such time as we no longer are in business or have more time. Precisely because we are enmeshed in a high pressure world we must stop and offer our hearts to G-d in prayer and Torah study. Through that devotion, we will create a special relationship between ourselves and our Heavenly Father–a relationship that will remain for all eternity and protect us.

            (Hineni.org)

Shema Yisrael: 8 Facts

By
Sholom Schreirber
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They are the most iconic words in the Jewish liturgy: Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad - “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

Fascinating facts about this central Jewish prayer

By: Dr. Yvette Alt Miller

They are the most iconic words in the Jewish liturgy: Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad – “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

It’s a mitzvah to recite the Shema in the morning and the evening, and it’s recited by Jews around the world just before they go to sleep each night. Parents teach it to their children, and through the ages countless Jews have recited it at moments when they faced death, making the timeless words of the Shema the last they ever said. Here are eight facts about this iconic Jewish prayer.

 

Reciting the Shema

The full Shema prayer is three paragraphs long. (It comprises the sentence beginning with Shema, above, then the line “Blessed is the Name of His (God’s) glorious kingdom for all eternity”, then three paragraphs taken from the Torah: Deuteronomy 6:5-9; Deuteronomy 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41.) These express core Jewish beliefs: recognizing that God is One, living a life of mitzvot, and understanding that Jewish life is tied to the land of Israel.

The first paragraph of the Shema beautifully describes the commandment to remember all the mitzvot of the Torah: “You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise…” The Talmud (Berachot 10b) explains that “when you retire and when you arise” means we have an obligation to say the Shema each morning and each evening. Shema is also said just before going to bed.

 

Core Jewish Belief

The central belief in the Shema is that there is one God and that we have a relationship with Him. Four thousand years ago our patriarch Abraham promulgated monotheism to a polytheistic world, creating a spiritual revolution.

Monotheism maintains that God is infinite, existing beyond time and space as an eternal, absolute Being Who is the continuous source of all creation. There is no power outside of Him; He is the transcendent source of morality Who is omniscient and good. Since an infinite Being is perfect and has no needs, His creation is ultimately for our benefit and the Torah and its mitzvot serve as the blueprint to forge a relationship with Him.

 

Being Witnesses Today

Take a look at the Shema in a Hebrew prayer book or a Torah scroll and you’ll see that the final letters of the first and last word of the Shema are enlarged. (It’s written something like this in Hebrew: ShemA Yisrael, Adonei Eloheinu, Adonai EchaD.) These two enlarged Hebrew letters, ayin and dalet, spell the Hebrew word Ayd, or “witness”. By saying the Shema, we are acting as a “witness”, testifying for the existence of the Divine presence in the world.

 

Covering our Eyes

It’s traditional to cover our eyes while saying Shema Yisrael Adonai Elocheinu Adonai Echad. Covering our eyes helps us blot out the distractions of the outside world so that we can focus on these words with our entire being and feel our connection with God that they convey.

 

On the Doorposts of our Homes

The Shema instructs Jews to make remembering our relationship with God so central in our lives that we put reminders “on the doorposts of (our) houses”. For thousands of years Jews have placed copies of the Shema inside mezuzot on our doorways.

The piece of paper containing the Shema prayer inside a mezuzah is called a klaf (parchment). It’s written by hand by a specially-trained scribe on fine parchment. Any mistake invalidates a klaf. It’s customary to get them checked every seven years to make sure the letters haven’t flaked off or faded.

Parchments containing the Shema are also found in the boxes of Tefillin that Jewish men wear during morning services every day except for holidays and Shabbat.

 

Rabbi Akiva’s Final Shema

Rabbi Akiva lived in Israel during the time of the Roman destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. He is known for his brilliant teachings and his deep love of mankind. “Beloved is man” Rabbi Akiva used to say, “for he was created in God’s image” (Pirkei Avot 3:18).

During the brutal Roman occupation, Roman forces forbade Jews from studying Torah. Risking his life, Rabbi Akiva continued to teach classes and run a Jewish school. When one of his colleagues asked how he could defy death to pass on Jewish teachings, Rabbi Akiva told the following story as a metaphor. A group of fish was scared of being caught in a fisherman’s net. A fox lurking on the riverbank suggested to the fish that they leave the water, climb up onto land, and then they would be free from the danger of the fishing net. The fish replied that if they did so they would face certain death. Similarly, Rabbi Akiva explained Jews cannot abandon our Jewish way of life, even in the face of danger. Torah is our oxygen; leaving its waters would lead to spiritual death.

Rabbi Akiva was arrested and sentenced to death by torture in 135 CE. Roman soldiers took him to an arena in the town of Caesarea where Romans watched while his skin was scraped away with iron combs. Somehow, Rabbi Akiva managed to recite the Shema, saying it with great enthusiasm and even joy. Shocked, his anguished students who were standing by witnessing their teacher’s torture, asked how he could pray at a moment like this.

“All my life I have been troubled by the verse in the Shema saying you should love the Lord your God with all your soul,” Rabbi Akiva gasped. In that final moment he stood facing certain death, Rabbi Akiva finally understood what it meant to devote one’s entire soul to God. He proudly declared Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad. Witnesses recorded that he drew out the sound of the final word Echad until his soul left his body (Talmud Berachot 61b).

 

Shema in the Holocaust

One of the greatest proponents of the Shema in modern times was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Taub, the leader of the Kaliv Chassidic group in Israel. Throughout his long life, he encouraged Jews around the world to say the Shema. It was his horrific experiences during the Holocaust that drove him to encourage Jews to say this ancient prayer.

Born in Romania in 1923, Rabbi Taub’s entire family, including his six siblings, were murdered in the Holocaust. Rabbi Taub was kept alive only because the Nazi “Angel of Death” Josef Mengele subjected him to gruesome, sadistic medical experiments. After the Holocaust, Rabbi Taub moved to Israel and taught Torah–and encouraged Jews around the world never to forget the Shema prayer.

Just before he was liberated from Bergen Belsen, Rabbi Taub later explained, Nazis were tossing Jewish prisoners into huge bonfires. “I cried out the Shema Yisrael,” Rabbi Taub recalled, and said “Ribbono shel Olam (Creator of the World), this might be, God forbid, the last time I will be saying Shema Yisrael. Soon I will be with the rest of my family in Heaven. If you give me life, then I promise You that I will say time and again Shema Yisrael, declaring Your eternity and those who will outlive the war.”

Rabbi Taub passed away in 2019 at the age of 96. His legacy of Shema Yisrael lives on as Jews around the world continue to recite the Shema, as he encouraged.

 

Finding Jewish Children with Shema

Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, also known as the Ponevezher Rav, was a famous rabbi and Member of Parliament in Lithuania before World War II. He founded three yeshivas and a Jewish orphanage in Lithuania, all of which were destroyed during the Holocaust.

When World War II broke out, Rabbi Kahaneman was in the land of Israel, and he stayed there, eventually rebuilding the institutions that he’d lost in Lithuania. He rebuilt the Ponevezh Yeshiva in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv; today it is once again one of the world’s foremost Jewish schools. He also founded orphanages for the many Jewish children whose parents were being murdered in the Holocaust.

After World War II, Rabbi Kahaneman travelled to Europe to gather Jewish orphans and take them home to Israel. Many Jewish children had been entrusted to local convents or Christian orphanages, and local priests and nuns were loath to give them up. In one Christian orphanage, the priest in charge told Rabbi Kahaneman that there were no Jewish children there. Undeterred, Rabbi Kahaneman stood in front of the orphans and called out Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad. Immediately, young children who’d last heard those holy words years before as their parents tucked them into bed began crying and calling out Mama! Mama! Their remembrance of this beautiful prayer ultimately led them to new lives in Israel.

(Aish.com)

In Chicago, Reclaiming Jewish Identity Through Adult Circumcision

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0

Organization has enabled thousands born in Soviet Union to enter the Covenant of Abraham

By: Menachem Posner

Standing in the sun-drenched sanctuary, large windows showing manicured lawns framed by verdant shrubbery, we could just feel that something special was happening.

In the floor above us, a circumcision was taking place. After nearly 60 years of life, Ilya would soon fulfil the first mitzvah given to Abraham, finally claiming the Jewish heritage that had been his all along.

Rabbi Shmuel Notik, who directs F.R.E.E., the Russian Jewish community of Chicago and Suburbs, says he facilitates an adult circumcision every few weeks, usually a Soviet-born male between the ages of 40 and 80, who has chosen to enter into the Covenant of Abraham.

“In the early ’90s when people were streaming out of Russia by the thousands, we would have as many as 10 circumcisions a week,” recalls Notik, who was born in Moscow and raised in the clandestine Chabad-Lubavitch underground community in Samarkand before emigrating to the United States as a teen. “Several years ago, we began a campaign to provide circumcisions for those who didn’t do it when they first arrived, and we now have, thank G d, another circumcision or two every few weeks.”

All told, he estimates that 6,000 Jewish men and boys have been circumcised through his organization.

While Ilya was being operated on, his wife, Alina, shared their life story. She told how her father had become a member of the Communist Party in order to become a factory manager in her hometown of Bender, then part of the Soviet Union and now in the contested area of Moldova claimed by the mostly unrecognized state of Transnistria. Yet even his professional accomplishments weren’t enough to secure his daughter a spot at university in a system that discriminated against Jews.

With no recourse, at the age of 17, she traveled to Kharkov in Soviet Ukraine to further her education. And it was there that she met Ilya, one year her senior.

Like her, Ilya was Jewish (his great-grandfather had been a well-known rabbi of Kharkov, author of the ethical work, Shem Tov, Vilna, 1913), but he knew little about his heritage other than the fact that he was different. Alina said her parents made sure to get matzah for Passover, and celebrate with honey strudel and attend synagogue on Rosh Hashanah. It could have cost them their careers, but they took that risk and did what they could.

They pair felt an instant kinship and, after several years of courtship, decided to marry. In a dramatic story that spanned three decades and three continents, the two parted ways, married, had children with their respective spouses, divorced and reunited. By that time, her family was in Israel and his in Chicago. To further complicate things, he knew no Hebrew, and she knew just a little English.

But they finally accomplished their dream of building a home together in Chicago.


‘Every Jewish Milestone Should Be Celebrated Beautifully’

We interrupted our conversation when the rabbi came down to inform us that the bris had been completed. As Notik and the mohel heartily congratulated Ilya with lively calls of mazal tov, he smilingly told his wife that he was feeling great.

Then, holding a cup of wine, the rabbi recited the traditional blessings, including the prayer in which the celebrant was given his new Hebrew name, Yosef Yitzchak Meir, after his two grandfathers: Yosef and Yitzchak Meir. Yosef Yitzchak, the rabbi pointed out, was also the name of the Sixth Chabad Rebbe, who had battled valiantly for the survival of Judaism during the darkest days of Stalinist oppression.

We then proceeded to the adjoining room for the traditional festive meal, and I was struck by how elegant it all was. It turned out that Shternie Notik, who has been spearheading FREE together with her husband since 1981, puts special emphasis on celebrating the circumcisions in a most appealing fashion. “Every holiday or Jewish milestone should be celebrated beautifully,” she says, “and especially when an adult Jew reclaims his identity by having a bris. We make sure that a special feeling pervades the entire event, and over time, that itself has inspired many of the guests to go ahead with their own circumcisions.”

As we feasted on an abundance of steak, turkey breast, challah and salads, the rabbi shared that he recently facilitated a circumcision for an 84-year-old man, along with his son and his grandson. Another man at the celebration, David, used the Russian term maladets, “hero,” to describe the men who undergo circumcision in adulthood.

“In my experience, everyone eventually comes around and does the circumcision,” asserts the mohel, Rabbi Levi Heber, who flies to Chicago from New York once or twice a month to perform circumcisions. “The Jewish soul is deeply connected to this mitzvah, and that comes through.”

The conversation flowed naturally between Russian, English and Hebrew.

Having lived in Kharkov until 1995, when he came to the United States for work reasons, Yosef Yitzchak Meir heaped high praise on Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz and his fellow Chabad rabbis in Kharkov, who have rebuilt Jewish life in the city, which has approximately 30,000 Jews. One of his sons, then a student in the Chabad preschool in Kharkov, was circumcised as a child.

“My parents don’t know about my bris yet,” he continued. “They survived the Holocaust by escaping Kharkov until the Russians beat back the Nazis and lived most of their lives under the Communists, and they are still afraid.”

Notik is no stranger to observing Judaism in spite of danger. His grandfather perished in Soviet prison for the “crime” of upholding Judaism, and he vividly remembers the fright his family experienced when a drunk banged on their door late one night. They were sure the secret police were coming for them, too.

In true Russian Jewish fashion, the meal was punctuated with frequent “lechaims” in which blessings were heaped upon those present, their families and anyone else. The blessings for the rabbi included wishes that he soon succeed in procuring the funds to build a new community center—one that would be the pride and joy of the entire Russian-speaking Jewish community in the area.

“The Russian culture is very rich and very strong,” the rabbi explains, “and even children born in America still identify as Russian Jews. They enjoy Russian cuisine, Russian literature, playing chess and everything that they got from their parents.”

(Chabad.org)

Prostate Cancer Foundation Gala Raises Over $10 Million In Under 8 Minutes

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Foxx entertains crowd

Anyone desirous of learning how to conduct a gala dinner the right way-speak to the busiest man on the planet-Michael Milken. The Milken method consists of a brief quiz challenging the minds of super whizzes in his audience; an auction and fundraising portion that lasts under 10 minutes; adequate information on cancer research reassuring guests their dollars are being well spent; and most importantly, blow-the-roof-off entertainment that will have every Wall Streeter on his feet begging for more. The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) held its annual dinner Tuesday November 19th at Restaurant Daniel located at 60 East 65th street with cocktails beginning at 6 PM. PCF was founded in 1993 by Michael Milken and has since funded nearly $800 million of cutting-edge research by 2,200 scientists at 220 leading cancer centers. Having attended dozens of these galas I can unequivocally say this one was unmatched; the perfect amalgam of guests, entertainment and excitement coalesced to provide one of those unforgettable evenings that only $10,000 a ticket can buy. The sold-out dinner had a guest list of 134 containing the who’s who of the entertainment and business world who rarely appear at galas including: David Geffen, Steve Cohen, Earlе Mack, John Paulson, David Foster and Katherine McPhee, Neil Rodin, Brian Reynolds, Michael and Iris Smith, Sybil and David Yurman, Lynn Merritt, and dozens of others. Milken’s ability to attract these titans year-after-year when competing charities continually vie for their attention lies in his close personal friendship with these individuals many of whom he has mentored.

The evening began with a packed cocktail hour that started at 6 PM. Photographers feverishly snapped the pictures of arriving luminaries with a flurry circling around Foster, McPhee, and Geffen. As guests congregated in the dining room Milken began with his usual quiz as to which department Americans rated as providing the best service-with the surprising answer being the Postal Service. He also noted the incredible achievements of Veteran researchers and scientists who thanks to Milken and PCF were being provided the same access to medical care as well-heeled New Yorkers. PCF CEO and leading cancer researcher Jonathan Simons declared Milken a triple threat: born a math genius, achieving epic strides on Wall Street, and ultimately thrust into greatness through his cancer diagnosis which led him to spearhead groundbreaking research-resulting in a 51 percent reduction in deaths from prostate cancer. Lining up the men whose lives were saved by Milken, remarked Simons, would require a 240-mile single file line that would take 204 days 24/7 to meet and greet. Moreover, every dollar raised by the foundation for prostate research impact 73 other forms of cancer. Simons was excited to announce a new form of precision genomic treatment targeting metastatic cancer that would be a 5th level of defense when all else had failed. Stephen Eisenmann, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer, announced via video that thanks to PCF he was now in remission from a cancer that doctors were certain would end his life. All these miraculous happenings were documented in “The PCF Times” a newspaper that was distributed at the dinner describing advances in medicine along with advocating a food-is-medicine approach.

The fundraising portion was thankfully brief, as Milken was able to raise over $10 million in minutes by auctioning off a baseball camp experience and Billboard Music Award tickets for $100,000 and $50,000 respectively. Moreover, dozens of his peers including David Geffen and John Paulson agreed to sponsor “investigators” for $75,000 a year for 3 years with Stewart Rahr donating a whopping $1 million and another family contributing $5 million to fund revolutionary research for terminal patients. The real fun began at approximately 8:30 PM when mentalist Lior Suchard, who flew in from Israel for the occasion, regaled the skeptical crowd with his uncanny psychic abilities beginning with his revealing the number David Geffen was thinking of and stunning the audience upon guessing the name of the first guy a dinner guest had kissed (Darren), along with her husband’s grade school teacher (Alfonso). Furthermore, he recited the pin number to a bank account of a man whose wife had no knowledge of it and asked financier, Lowell Kraff, to set his Patek Philippe watch to a time, which turned out to be 9:18 PM, that Suchard had previously written on a paper. The room was full of math whizzes who were left baffled by these exceptional happenstances as they unsuccessfully tried to decipher the methods to his magic. After dinner of swordfish and salad had concluded, dessert was brought out by entertainer extraordinaire Jamie Foxx who appeared in the corner and made his way from table-to-table loosening a tightly wound group into malleable putty. Foxx performed for nearly an hour, as well-earned sweat dripped down his lively face. Clad in a purple silk Gucci suit he danced, sang, jumped on tables and generally wowed the crowd as handfuls of women joined him in the aisles. His musical accompaniment was equally enthusiastic, and mayhem nearly struck when he sang “Gold Digger” with dark glasses perched on his nose. Foxx, who was rumored to have performed sans payment, thanked the audience for donating to the charity, and enthusiastically posed for pictures until 11 PM. As the evening concluded even the normally stolid Milken had a wide grin permeating his face, as an avid baseball fan he had just hit a “Two-run Homer” and he obviously knew it.

Photos Credit: Lieba Nesis

Two Pocono Mountains Ski Resorts to Open Earlier in Season Than Ever Before!

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0

Edited by: JV Staff

Two resorts opening this weekend, more in the near future

Thanks to frigid cold weather in early November, two ski resorts in the Pocono Mountains are scheduled to open for the season earlier than ever before.

Crews have been putting snowmaking into overdrive to get the trails ready for the 2019-2020 season across the Pocono Mountains. While Camelback Mountain, Ski Big Bear and Shawnee Mountain fired up their snow guns this week, Big Boulder and Blue Mountain Resort are set to open Friday and Saturday respectively.

Crews have been putting snowmaking into overdrive to get the trails ready for the 2019-2020 season across the Pocono Mountains. While Camelback Mountain, Ski Big Bear and Shawnee Mountain fired up their snow guns this week, Big Boulder and Blue Mountain Resort are set to open Friday and Saturday respectively. Photo Credit: PoconoMountains.com

Big Boulder announced it will have $30 lift tickets for opening weekend. Blue Mountain will feature $40 lift tickets, $25 night tickets and touts this as its earliest opening in the resort’s 42 years! Meanwhile, this weekend Camelback will be holding “Ullr Fest” complete with a ceremonial bonfire and burning wooden skis as a sacrifice for a snowy winter. Camelback and Shawnee are projected to open Thanksgiving weekend on November 29. Ski Big Bear also started making snow this week and plans to open for the season December 14 weather permitting. Jack Frost Mountain is also planning to open December 14.

B-roll of snow making at Blue Mountain Resort is available at your request. Please email [email protected] for access to content.

With a history dating back to 1946 when the Pocono Mountains welcomed the first commercial ski area in Pennsylvania and perfected the art of snowmaking, the Poconos have become a bonafide ski destination. Today, the Poconos have it all… whether it be the corduroy groomed beginner slopes or the double black diamonds and terrain parks to test your skills. Get out and experience the exhilaration when your skis start sliding down a Pocono slope.

Big Boulder resort is an ideal destination for your next vacation. You’ll find supreme skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing right here! Just a few hours from New York City and only an hour or so from Philly, the mountains of Jack Frost and Big Boulder compliment one another and offer guests two discount experiences on the same lift ticket. With 16 slopes, Big Boulder devotes nearly 70% of its overall terrain to park features. Lessons and rentals available. Check out the full calendar of ski season events!

Blue Mountain Resort is home to 40 ski trails, five terrain parks, 16 lifts and up to 34 snow tubing lanes. The mountain boasts the state’s highest vertical drop, 1,082 feet, for a thrilling downhill experience. Blue Mountain maintains Slopeside Pub & Grill, a full-service mountaintop restaurant. The resort is conveniently located 90 minutes from Philadelphia and New York City and 30 minutes from the Lehigh Valley. Plan your fun at Blue Mountain Resort; check out the website for full details.

Featuring 39 trails, 16 lifts, 100% snowmaking and 38 trails illuminated for night skiing and riding, Camelback stands out among the competition. The mountain features 15 acres of new beginner terrain and award-winning instructional programs. Last season brought a brand new terrain park and two restaurants with ski-in/out access. Camelback is also home to the biggest snow tubing park in the USA with up to 42 lightning-fast lanes, two magic carpets, and Galactic Snowtubing after dark. The adventures never stop at Camelback Resort!

A family-friendly ski area, Shawnee Mountain offers excellent children’s programs, complete beginners’ packages and some great terrain for the advanced skier and rider. Services and hospitality are top priorities, making Shawnee Mountain a favorite family and beginner-friendly ski resort. Visit the website for full details, snow reports, discounts and more.

Specializing in private beginner lessons, Ski Big Bear offers something for all abilities. The mountain is open for skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing with 100% snowmaking. Eighteen trails, seven lifts and a terrain park provide great family winter recreation. Rental equipment is available in the on-site shop.

For the most up-to-date information on opening dates and snow conditions, visit the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau’s Snow Conditions page.

Big Boulder – November 15, 2019
Blue Mountain Resort – November 16, 2019
Camelback Mountain – November 29, 2019 (projected)
Shawnee Mountain Ski Area – November 29, 2019 (projected)
Ski Big Bear at Masthope Mountain – December 14, 2019 (projected)
Jack Frost Mountain – December 14, 2019 (projected)

Pocono Mountains visitor information is available online at PoconoMountains.com or by phone at (570) 421-5791. Follow @PoconoTourismPR on Twitter to stay current with up-to-date information. Established in 1934, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit membership organization. The PMVB is the official destination marketing organization for the four counties of Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Carbon in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Acquires New Mammography Machines

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0

Edited by: JV Staff

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi recently announced that it has installed two new, state-of-the-art mammography imaging machines, the Hologic Affirm Prone 2D/3D stereotactic biopsy machine and the Hologic 2D/3D 3Dimensions Mammogram machine. These new machines visualize more tissue and pinpoint subtle lesions and faint calcifications that may not be visible with older technology. Greater precision not only allows for improved visibility of cancerous cells but also diminishes the number of patients recalled for screening mammograms due to “false positive” test results. As a result, the new equipment is expected to increase patient satisfaction, reduce waiting times, and enhance patient experience. Councilmember Mark Gjonaj contributed $400,000 and the Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. contributed $249,582 to help fund the new equipment.

“Both our Breast Health Service and our Breast Imaging Service have earned national ‘Center of Excellence’ designation,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Chief Executive Officer Christopher Mastromano. “This new state-of-the-art technology will only add to our efforts and allow our providers to treat more patients with faster and more detailed examinations.”

“We are proud to be using 3D mammography to serve our patients, as it has been shown to increase cancer detection and decrease the need for women to return for additional views. Both the new mammography machines and the stereotactic biopsy machine are state of the art, which allows us to serve our patients with faster examination times and the best equipment available.” said Jessica Rosenblum, MD, Director of Breast Imaging at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi.

“Breast cancer is one of the most common illnesses of the modern era and these machines will help our health care providers save countless lives,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “Early detection is key in ensuring the best chances at survival for anyone affected by this disease and I’m proud to have contributed a quarter of a million dollars of capital funding towards such a vital medical instrument. Thank you to NYC Health + Hospitals for always providing our community with state of the art resources and health care.”

“Our thoughtful investment in state-of-the-art medical technology is paramount in taking care of every New Yorker and ensuring we get ahead of diseases that continue to rise in prevalence,” said Councilmember Mark Gjonaj. “I’m proud to say that because of our contributions, the new imaging machines at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi are expected to save lives through its faster, more detailed, and accurate examine capabilities.”

“Jacobi Health + Hospitals has done a tremendous job providing members of the Bronx community with quality healthcare services, and access to life-saving resources to screen for and treat breast cancer. The new state-of-the-art equipment will only further NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi’s performance, and provide patients with even better care and information about their health,” said State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx/Westchester).

“One in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. Nearly 200,000 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year,” said Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez. “The addition of two state-of-the-art mammography imaging machines at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi will help provide a tremendous service in advancing women’s health in our community.”

According to the non-profit organization Breastcancer.org, approximately 1 in 69 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their forties. Women who are screened via modern mammograms are 30 to 40 percent more likely to survive. As per the American Cancer Society, while breast cancer in men makes up less than 1 percent of all cases in the U.S., those with a family history are recommended to get a clinical breast exam.

The NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Breast Center offers the following services to its patients:

  • Mammograms;
  • Ultrasound and ultrasound guided biopsies;
  • Stereotactic biopsies;
  • MRIs and MRI-guided biopsies; and
  • Walk in screenings for mammograms on weekdays from 11am to 6 pm.

Annually, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi performs over 6,000 mammograms.

The city’s public health system urges women over 50 and men with a family history of breast cancer to schedule their clinical breast exam.


About NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi is a 457-bed teaching hospital affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The facility has earned numerous Center of Excellence designations, accreditation, and recognition for its renowned Level 1 Trauma Center, Burn Center, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, regional Stroke Center, Snakebite Treatment Center, Breast Health Center, Bariatric Surgery Center, and Cancer Service. The facility also offers the region’s only multi-person hyperbaric chamber, allowing up to nine patients to dive together at one time. Jacobi’s Ambulatory Care Pavilion is a stunning complement to its inpatient acute care, allowing staff to provide patients with high-quality service in a modern, state-of-the-art environment. For more information visit http://www.nyc.gov/hhc/jacobi/.


About NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx

NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx (NCB) is a member facility of the New York City Health + Hospitals system, one of eleven acute care facilities within the City of New York. A 215-bed community hospital, NCBH specializes in women’s and children’s services. It also provides Behavioral Health acute and ambulatory care. Its busy outpatient department has led the way in community-based care delivered in a compassionate and culturally-appropriate manner. It’s Labor and Delivery service safely brings more than 1,000 babies into the world each year. NCBH is committed to providing safe, high-quality medical care for any and all in need. For more information visit http://www.nyc.gov/hhc/ncbh/

 

ABOUT NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation. We are a network of 11 hospitals, trauma centers, neighborhood health centers, nursing homes, and post-acute care centers. We are a home care agency and a health plan, MetroPlus. Our health system provides essential services to 1.4 million New Yorkers every year in more than 70 locations across the city’s five boroughs. Our diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees are uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. Visit us at nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on facebook.com/nycHHC or Twitter @NYCHealthSystem.

Sec of State Pompeo: Israeli Settlements Are No Longer Deemed “Illegal”

By
Administrator
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0
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the Department of State on November 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. Pompeo announced that the Trump administration does not consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank a violation of international law. Pompeo also spoke about protests in Iran, Iraq and Hong Kong. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Historic measure changes narrative for future Middle East peace negotiations 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rescinded a 1978 State Department opinion called the Hansell Memorandum, which claimed that civilian settlements in Judea and Samaria are “inconsistent with international law.” The move angered Palestinians and put the U.S. at odds with nations that favor their position, according to a World Israel News report.

According to a report by the Jerusalem Post, the State Department’s legal office embarked on a year-long review of the Hansell Memo and met with international law experts and officials from various governments.

WIN reported that the State Department issued the Hansell Memo in 1978 under the Carter administration, but President Ronald Reagan rejected its conclusion in 1981.

The State Department undertook review of the memo after the Obama administration, in one of its final moves, facilitated the United Nations Security Council’s passage of Resolution 2334 in December 2016, which condemned Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as “flagrant violations” of international law and with “no legal validity,” the Post reported.

An op-ed piece entitled, “Opinion: Critics Doubt Legal Character of ECJ” that appeared on the Israel National News web site on November 14th and was penned by Yardena Cohen said that a recent editorial in the New York City based Jewish Voice indicated that in 1978, an attorney named Herbert Hansell, at the specific request of the Carter Administration, authored a memorandum stating Israeli settlements violate international law. Ms. Cohen wrote that the Jewish Voice termed the memorandum, which is still valid, “ammunition from Jimmy Carter’s State Department”, and urged the need “to put the U.S. State Department on the side of truth”. TheJewishvoiceny.com editorial said settlements are not illegal according to any international law and that illegality allegations were “only an opinion and not a fact”.

“That this opinion against the settlements has been allowed to stand is, in itself, morally wrong,” said the Jewish Voice, adding that a settlement illegality stance “allows Israel’s critics the advantage of controlling the discussion and grounding it in the terms they choose”. Rescinding the State Department opinion would “strike a blow against the siege machinery that Israel’s enemies utilize,” the Jewish Voice said, adding that “It’s time to remove this shame.”

WIN reported that the Trump administration concluded that the Hansell Memo represents a distraction, and that any legal decision about the issue is appropriate for resolution by Israeli courts, according to a draft of Pompeo’s remarks obtained by The Associated Press.

“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” Pompeo announced. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace.”

“We recognized the reality on the ground. … and provided a space for Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate,” Pompeo added, according to the WIN report.

Pompeo commented that U.S. policy has been inconsistent for decades, Times of Israel reported, pointing to statements by President Barack Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry and his declarations that Israeli “settlements” were “illegal.”

“The establishment of Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria is not, per se, inconsistent with international law,” said Pompeo, as was reported by World Israel News.

“Calling the establishment of settlement inconsistent with international law has not worked,” he added. “It cannot bring peace.”

Previous U.S. policies under the Trump administration have included the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the movement of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the shuttering of the Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington.

WIN reported that according to a 2019 report sponsored by Bet El Institutions, the population in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria grew to 449,508 as of Jan. 1, 2019 up 3.3 percent from 435,159 people one year earlier.

Even though the Trump Administration’s decision is largely symbolic, it could also give a boost to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting for his political survival after he was unable to form a coalition government following recent elections.

In addition, it could spell further trouble for the Trump administration’s Mideast peace plan.

In the op-ed piece by Yardena Cohen that was previously referenced in this article said, the European Court of Justice’s settlement-illegality ruling on 12 November, widely interpreted as being gravely problematic for Israel, requires produce of Israeli “settlements” to be labelled. The ECJ release urged consumers to “make informed choices” regarding “observance of international law”, insisting Israel’s settlements are in breach of international law.”

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is a group of judges from European member-states, tasked with interpreting EU law and with ensuring equal application of EU law across all EU member states.

According to the WIN report, the policy shift is a victory for Prime Minister Netanyahu, a longtime booster of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and had been strongly supported by US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. Friedman was a major fundraiser for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria before becoming ambassador.

Israel liberated the lands of Judea and Samaria, including eastern portions of Jerusalem, in 1967’s Six-Day War, a conflict during which four Arab states attacked Israel. Israel defeated all Arab aggressors in the conflict, with the constant help of Hashem. 

Former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D) issued a statement in the immediate aftermath of the State Department announcement regarding the status of Israeli settlements, In it he said, “It’s another bold move by the president that goes a long way towards correcting historic wrongs perpetuated by anti-Semites about the Jewish connection to the land of Israel,” said Hikind. “Thank you President Trump for being courageous!”

He added: “For years, the Palestinians have been pushing the narrative that Jews have no historic connection to their ancestral homeland, and “settlements” are an obstacle to peace. Today, that narrative has been turned on its face by the Trump administration. After recognizing that Israeli “settlements” have never been factually “illegal,” and that adoption of such terminology can be traced to the Carter administration, and more recently to the Obama administration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reversed the injustice of calling Jews who live in Judea and Samaria “illegal settlers.”

People tend to have very little understanding of the legalities surrounding nation-states and border disputes. Israelis living in Judea and Samaria has never been illegal and we’re happy that the Trump administration has recognized this salient fact. After decades of antisemites assaulting Jewish history at the UN and the EU, America has sent a strong message today: the Jewish people are here, have always been in Israel, and always will be. The only obstacles to peace are the distortion of history and terror ideology. Today, one of those two obstacles has been shattered.

I want to commend President Trump and Secretary Pompeo for showing true courage and leadership, yet again, in the face of vehement opposition by sordid world bodies that more readily glorify murderous regimes like Iran than recognize the basic facts of history and law. Democrats should take note.”

On Monday, Pastor John Hagee, the founder and Chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), expressed support for the Trump administration’s revocation of the Hansell Memorandum.

In a statement sent to the media, Pastor Hagee said, “I want to express my profound appreciation to President Donald Trump for his bold and courageous support of Israel and the Jewish people. Thank you, Secretary Pompeo for revoking the Hansell opinion of 1978 that held civilian settlements in Israel were not legal under international law.

“CUFI has opposed the Hansell opinion, as it pre-judged the outcome of any future discussions between Israel and the Palestinians; as such, we welcome its revocation.

 “America’s new position concerning Israel is a 180-degree reversal of the Obama administration’s position on the settlements. If the U.S. is to be a loyal and true friend to Israel, we cannot seek to impose our will upon the Jewish state.  We must honor the Jewish state’s sovereign right to make decisions on matters of war and peace, free of international interference.

 “The revocation of the Hansell memorandum is the latest in the Trump administration’s consistent and considerable support for our ally Israel: from standing with Israel in her efforts to combat terrorists, to recognizing the fact that Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, to moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. We are grateful to President Trump for treating Israel like an ally and respecting the will of the Israeli people as expressed by their elected government.

 “God bless you Mr. President, and God bless you Secretary of State Pompeo. Thank you for this historic decision.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s decision to recognize the reality of Israeli control over communities in territories Israel has controlled since June 1967:

 “For too long, the United States has been slow to acknowledge the basic reality that our Israeli allies have sovereignty over their territories, and today the administration took steps to right that wrong. It’s up to our Israeli allies to make their own decisions about what to do with their territories.

 “Today’s decision also takes another step in reversing the disgraceful legacy of the Obama administration and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. That resolution falsely denied Israel’s sovereignty over its territories, including the Jewish Quarter and Old City of Jerusalem, and called on all U.N. states to do the same. I have long pushed for policies that demonstrate to the world that the United States considers Resolution 2334 null and void, and the Trump administration has taken several such steps, including by moving our embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Today’s announcement is another welcome move discarding that shameful resolution.”

Sen. Cruz has long called for the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, as well as Israel’s sovereignty over its territories, including the Golan Heights. Sen. Cruz attended the opening ceremony of the United States’ embassy in Jerusalem and penned an op-ed for the Jerusalem Post marking the historic occasion.

In a statement sent to the media, the Orthodox Union, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, applauded the United States Government’s common sense statement of position on Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. The policy announcement made by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo says that “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law.”

Secretary Pompeo’s announcement was based on the review of a 1978 legal opinion, which had provided the basis for long-standing American policy. Secretary Pompeo further stated, “Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace. The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict.”

Eugene Kontorovich, director of the Center for International Law in the Middle East at George Mason University’s School of Law told JNS reporter Jackson Richman that the US announcement on Israeli settlements means that negotiations “will no longer begin from the premise that Israel has no claim to this land or stole it from the Palestinians. That false legal theory only served to harden Palestinian positions and make successful negotiations impossible.”

“The international-law arguments against settlements were devised solely for the case of Israel and have not been applied in any other situation,” he told JNS. “After 50 years, it is clear that these arguments do not reflect international law in practice, but rather a desire to put nice words on the argument that Jews should be banned from living in their homeland. Secretary Pompeo has torn the veil off these arguments.”

Farley Weiss, the president of the National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) said in a statement issued to the media:  “The National Council of Young Israel welcomes the Secretary of State’s announcement concerning the status of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and thanks the Trump administration for undertaking the comprehensive legal analysis that led to this long-awaited change in U.S. policy. With its special status as a vital part of Israel’s ancestral homeland and its longstanding ties to the Jewish people, Judea and Samaria is as much a part of Israel as any other Israeli municipality and Jews have an absolute right to build there, live there, and raise a family there.”

The NCYI noted that Judea and Samaria, which is home to many Jewish holy sites, including the burial places of the forefathers and foremothers of the Jewish people, was returned to Israeli sovereignty in a defensive war after Jordan attacked Israel in 1967 in an effort to destroy the Jewish State.

“Today’s announcement that Israeli ‘settlements’ in Judea and Samaria are not fundamentally at odds with international law is a validation of our enduring belief that Israeli citizens have an absolute right to make their homes there and is a direct rebuttal to the false assertions that they are an impediment to peace,” Weiss added. “Rather than continuing to use the ‘settlements’ as a scapegoat, it is our hope that the international community will instead consider the rocket attacks against Israel, the terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens, the Palestinian Authority’s ‘pay to slay’ program, and the Palestinians’ ongoing opposition to the existence of a Jewish state in any borders as the true barriers to a lasting peace agreement.”

 “We thank President Trump, Secretary of State Pompeo and Young Israel member and friend Ambassador David Friedman for their ongoing support of the State of Israel and their steadfast defense of Israel on the world stage,” Weiss concluded.

By: Fern Sidman

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