The Hamptons started off Memorial Day swinging as thousands gathered for the beginning of what is sure to be the most crowded and exciting season yet. If you didn’t book the $35 Jitney a week in advance you were out of luck as nearly every bus on Thursday and Friday was occupied from morning until night. There are other ways to get to the Hamptons including chartering a private helicopter which takes 45 minutes to East Hampton with prices starting at $795 a seat. If you are too harried to carry your bags there is a courier service entitled “Tote Taxi” that will pick up and drop off your bags for the reasonable price of $39 for weekend bags and $49 for suitcases. Danielle Candela founded the company in 2016 with $15,000 seed money awarded on Shark Tank and has continued to expand at a record pace as guests participating in weddings, and bachelorette parties are able to get wares to their destination with minimal bother. I took the Friday afternoon Jitney and arrived in East Hampton four-hours-and-fifteen minutes later.

My first stop was to ice cream store Scoop Du Jour open from 7 AM to 11 PM on weekends with crowds down the block patiently waiting on line during the three-day-weekend. The flavors include Vanilla Peanut Butter, S’mores and Butter Pecan with an equally delicious option of fat-free yogurts such as Coffee Chip, and Heath Bar. While Scoop has started serving burgers and food how can you order a sandwich when you have dozens of magnificent flavors staring you in the eye. There are other new places opening with full course meals including Blu Mar and Silver Lining Diner in Southampton, Armin and Judy in Bridgehampton, Coche Comedor in Amagansett, Bostwick’s on the Harbor in East Hampton and Showfish in Montauk. Unfortunately a few of these restaurants including Blu Mar and Paola’s were unable to get their liquor licenses in time for Memorial Day Weekend which led to a loss of close to $125,000 according to owner of Blu Mar Zach Erdem. Since the rents have soared over the past year many eateries have emptied out allowing others to grab the spots at discounted prices during an eleven-day period in April. However, this was an insufficient amount of time to get licenses with Erdem acknowledging he is fearful he will be unable to recoup his $450,000 in annual rent.

Thankfully, the Great Rose Shortage of 2014 won’t be repeated this year as California wineries have amped up their production for the summer. Hamptonites still discuss in hushed tones the weeks before Labor Day in 2014 where empty shelves in multiple wine stores abounded. Rose sales increased 50% globally last year and the Wolffer Estate has taken advantage of this trend by marking up a $31 bottle of Grandioso to $54 as cars line up every Friday afternoon to guzzle the delicacy. The best place to imbibe your rose is a difficult choice as exorbitantly priced inns such as The Baker House 1650, The Maidstone and Baron’s Cove start at $800 with a three-day minimum. Enter “glamping”, which offers roomy tents with a full-service concierge at various locations. Along with 30 sleeping tents available at $300 on TerraGlamping.com, lounge tents, a dining tent and a fire pit for s’mores and grilling will be accessible along with bathrooms located in luxury trailers.

People frequently ponder why the wealthiest people in the world choose to plop down in Long Island during the most coveted part of the year-when an array of options exist. Speaking with Southampton broker Joe Piccininni was enlightening as he remarked that more than $1 trillion in wealth had settled into the Hamptons for Memorial Day weekend. After carefully contemplating the answer to why the wealthiest flock to this hotspot I have concluded the appeal of the Hamptons is largely due to its close proximity to New York, the unrivaled variety of restaurants and stores in East and Southampton along with Montauk and Sag Harbor, the magnificent and impeccably kept beaches and towns, and finally and most importantly the highly sophisticated and urbane clientele that continues to come year after year to this oasis located on the East End of Long Island.

The most traumatic event in the collective memory of Iraqi Jews — the Farhud — took place during Shavuot 1941. During these violent riots in Baghdad thousands were raped and/or wounded, Jewish shops and synagogues were plundered and destroyed, and a staggering 180 people were brutally murdered. This unprecedented attack on the theretofore flourishing, peaceful Jewish community of Baghdad is generally thought of as triggering Iraqi Jewry’s Aliyah to Israel.

Seldom do we ask how such a pogrom could have occurred in a place where Jews had lived quietly for centuries, in a country that had not, up until that moment, been known for anti-Semitism.

A closer look at the historical background of the Farhud reveals a complicated web of factors that led to the pogroms — the opposing interests of the Iraqi government and the British Empire; Nazi Germany’s underlying influence; varying Arab movements; and internal struggles between groups of Iraqi intellectuals. The unfortunate Jews were caught in the middle of this growing conflict.

In his research on Iraqi Jewry, historian Nissim Kazzaz puts the Farhud in historical context. Until the 1920s there were no significant recorded demonstrations of anti-Semitism in Iraq. In fact, in the early 20th century, restrictions from the Ottoman era were abolished, and, following World War I, the establishment of the British mandate improved the situation of Iraqi Jews.

The war, however, had other consequences. The Iraqi elite was introduced to the protocols of the Elders of Zion, texts that had been partially translated from Russian into Arabic. New and conflicting movements were rising in Iraq. Some believed that, as long as the Jews did not hold national aspirations, they were a part of the Iraqi nation. Others, such as the Al Istiklal, felt differently. Perceiving the Iraqi nationality to be Muslim Arab, they refused to accept religious minorities. Formally, after Iraq became independent from Britain in 1932, Jews were citizens of Iraq. There were voices, however, that spoke out against their integration.

At the same time, the world was experiencing profound changes. Fascist leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini were on the rise in Europe and had significant supporters among the Iraqi elite. The British expected certain privileges following Iraqi independence, such as the ability to transport goods through Iraq, which Iraqi nationalists would not concede. The nationalists insisted that Iraq establish close ties with Germany rather than be exploited by Britain.

The Germans encouraged Iraq’s support. “Mein Kampf” and Hitler’s speeches were translated into Arabic, and German educators came to Iraq to spread anti-Semitic propaganda. Iraqi newspapers became vocally pro-Germany, especially post-1939. They asserted that Iraqi Jews and Zionists were one and the same, that the world’s Jewry was scheming to ruin the glorious nation of Iraq and that Iraqi Jews must be banished from public life. With help from the Germans, and inspired by the Hitler–Jugend movement, the extremist Al-Fatwa movement was founded, calling for strict Islamic adherence by all Iraqi citizens. Eventually all students and teachers were forced to join the movement, including Jews. In 1939 the mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini, settled in Iraq and began promoting a pro-German agenda while spreading damaging anti-Semitic propaganda.

The tension broke on April 1, 1941. Until that day Iraq had refrained from assisting the British, but also from directly assisting Germany. But Iraq’s Prime Minister, Rashid Ali, had decided it was time to change alliances. He led a coup and overthrew all pro-British officials. He then announced that Iraq would no longer provide Britain with airplane fuel, and even set Iraqi forces loose on British bases in Iraq. By the end of April the British attacked the Iraqi army. By then the Iraqi air force was manned by German Luftwaffe pilots.

In May, with help from the Irgun in Palestine, among others, the British fought the German-Iraqis forces. Finally, with support from India’s army, the British were able to defeat their foes, and on May 30th all pro-German Iraqi officials escaped to Iran. Their successors signed a surrender agreement.

From that moment, the Jews were in imminent danger. The surrender agreement stated that the British would enter Baghdad within two days. The Al Fatwa saw a window of opportunity to incite the masses and take their anger at losing to the British out on the Jews. They marked Jewish houses in red, and on June 1st an angry mob rioted against the Jews for the first time in Iraqi history. From the newly born to the elderly, no Jew was safe. The rioters used all manner of weapons, including running people over with their vehicles. Some Jews were rescued by Muslim neighbors who refused to join the mob. These Muslim resisters hid Jews, at great risk to their own safety. The massacre only ceased when the British entered the city and stopped it. Sadly, the British knew about the pogrom a day prior, but made no attempt to prevent it. Just like the local authorities, they preferred to let the masses take their rage out upon the Jews.

After the Farhud, the Iraqi authorities held an investigation, blaming nationalistic elements and even executing a few army officers who were involved in the incitement. Haj Amin al-Husseini was named in the investigation, and Germany’s involvement was eventually recognized. Despite the erecting of a monument in Baghdad in honor of the victims, the Farhud triggered mass Jewish emigration from Iraq. Ten years later, as part of Operations Ezra and Nehemiah (1950-1952), some 120,000 Jews — 90% of Iraqi’s Jewry — chose to leave Iraq for the young state of Israel.

             (Beit Hatfutsot)

Further reading: Nissim Kazzaz, “The Influence of Nazism in Iraq and Anti-Jewish Activity, 1933–1941″ (In Hebrew)

More than 60 synagogues will be open until dawn for the Tikkun Leil Shavuot service

The first night of the festival of Shavuot is not one for sleeping in Jewish communities around the world. It is the night when Tikkun Leil Shavuot (rectification of the night of Shavuot)—a specific text comprising written, oral and mystical aspects of the Torah—is recited, followed in many places by study and classes until dawn.

In the holy city of Safed, Israel, where the text of the Tikkun originated, the electric aura of the holiday is almost palpable.

“There are approximately 60 synagogues here in Safed, from every nusach [prayer tradition]—Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Lithuanian, etc.,” notes Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi ShaulLeiter, director of the Ascent Institute of Safed, which he co-founded more than 30 years ago with Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles and

Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky. “After the evening feast at around 10 p.m., you can see all the men leaving their homes on their way to begin the Tikkun, which will continue throughout the night, along with other Torah study until around 5 a.m., when they make their way to purify themselves in a mikvah [ritual bath] before heading back to the synagogue for the morning prayer service.”

Several of the most famous synagogues in the world are located in Safed. There is the Ari Synagogue, named after Rabbi Isaac Luria, the preeminent Kabbalist; the Beit YosefSynagogue, named for Rabbi Yosef Caro, author of the Shulchan Aruch (“Code of Jewish Law”); the Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue, located in a field where Rabbi Luria would bring his students out to greet the Shabbat Queen; the TzaddikHaLavan, the oldest of the Sephardic synagogues in Safed; and the Abuhav, named after

Rabbi Yitzchak Abuhav, a renowned 15th-century Spanish rabbi. Tradition claims that he designed the synagogue while still in Spain, incorporating Kabbalistic symbols into the structure.

“The Abuhav Synagogue is even more unique in that it has a 500-year-old Torah scroll that is still kosher,” notes Chaya Brocha Leiter. “This is parchment and ink. The parchment is gray, and the ends have fringes. And what is so miraculous here—aside from it still being in existence at all—is that each and every letter is still whole and kosher.

“There are only three times a year that this Torah scroll is taken out for reading: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shavuot. If one is lucky enough to actually merit to kiss this Torah, one actually can feel a surge of electricity enter oneself,” she continues, “and it so moves the person that they are overcome. People often find themselves weeping.”

Services and classes will also take place throughout the night at these sites, and at Chabad of the Old City, where Rabbi Gavriel Marzel will lead study sessions for dozens of residents, students and visitors from around Israel and abroad.

More than 100 guests are expected to join the Leiters at Ascent for night-long study. Chaya Brocha Leiter, program director of Ascent—who leads classes and tours throughout the year on the “who’s, where’s, what’s and why’s” of Safed and its history—explains why the Tikkun is associated with the city.

A version of the Tikkun was also formulated by the Arizal, Rabbi Isaac Luria, and conveyed by his disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital, in Shaar HaKavvanot. Later, the renowned scholar and Kabbalist Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, known as the Shelah HaKadosh, changed the order somewhat to include readings from all the books of the Tanach and the Talmud, as well as made other minor changes. This basic order established by the Shelah stands as the text of Tikkun Leil Shavuot used today in almost all Jewish communities.

“This was the Golden Age of Jewish mysticism,” explains Chaya Brocha Leiter. “There were 300 of our greatest sages in Safed. When Rabbi Yaakov Beirav, the leading sage of Safed, passed away, Rabbi Yosef Caro was regarded as his successor. Together with Rabbi Moshe of Trani [the Mabit], they headed the Rabbinical Court of Safed. At this point, the Rabbinical Court of Safed had become the central rabbinical court in all of Israel, and of the Diaspora as well. And so the Tikkun was adopted by virtually the entire Jewish world.”

Learning is not confined to men. According to Leiter, a group of women always comes to learn—not the whole night, but for a while. “It matters not if you are a Torah scholar, per se. Even saying and learning about the Ten Commandments is fundamental, she says. “In our group, we not only recite the verses, but I also distribute pages with explanations of these verses that the women take turns reading aloud. Thus, they all actively participate in their own preparation for the main event of receiving the Torah the following day.”

Rabbi Shaul Leiter concluded by saying that all Chassidim say the Tikkun. He then offered an explanation from one of the Sichos of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory—from the summer of 1940:

“The spiritual service of Shavuot is the saying of the letters of the Torah—the bona fide way to say the letters of the Torah on Shavuot is the Tikkun on the first night. The rectification that is accomplished with the saying of these letters of the Torah is the most important preparation for the receiving the Torah.”

“Rabbi Yosef Caro was just 4 years old when his family left Spain in 1492, due to the Expulsion, and went on to Portugal. Just two years later, Portugal expelled its Jews as well. His family then wandered from city to city, from country to country, until they found safety in Constantinople [Kushta], Turkey. He married young, but due to poverty and disease, lost his wife and both of his children. He then remarried and started to learn with Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz, a Kabbalist and poet, whose ‘Lecha Dodi’ is recited each Friday night to usher in the Sabbath.”

     (Chabad.org)

Beit HaNasi has announced with deep sorrow the passing of Nechama Rivlin ז”ל, the wife of President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, on Tuesday 4 June / 1 Sivan at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. She was 73 when she died, shortly before her 74th birthday.

Nechama underwent a lung transplant three months ago on Monday 11 March 2019 / 4 Adar II 5779, an operation she needed due to the pulmonary fibrosis from which she suffered in recent years.

The president and family members expressed their heartfelt thanks to the entire staff of Beilinson Hospital for the dedicated, sensitive and professional treatment she received over the last few months, night and day, with an open heart.

“Unfortunately, all the doctors’ efforts to stabilize her during the complex rehabilitation process that followed her transplant failed,” hospital officials said.

“The medical teams of the chest, lung, cardiology and intensive care units did not leave Mrs. Rivlin’s bed the whole time… This is a sad day for all of us at the medical center. The hospital staff is mourning,” the staff said.

In addition, the Rivlin family expressed profound thanks to “the citizens of Israel and the heads of the communities who have continued to ask after Nechama’s health, to send letters and wonderful children’s drawings to the hospital and to Beit HaNasi, and to pray for her every day, every hour. Their love and concern gave the president and all members of the family strength and support that cannot be described in words.”

The family also expressed tremendous appreciation to the Halabli family, who donated their late son Yair’s lung, for their inspiring nobility and wonderful deed.

Leading the tributes to the life of Nechama Rivlin, a’h was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said, “Along with the citizens of Israel, my wife Sara and I would like to express our deep sorrow over the death of the president’s wife, Nechama, We have all been praying for her recovery these past weeks, as she was bravely fighting for her life. We send our condolences to the president, his family and to the entire country. May her memory be blessed.”

Nehama Rivlin ז”ל–biography

Nechama was born in 1945 in Moshav Herut in the Sharon region.

Her parents, Drora (Keila) and Mendy Shulman, immigrated from the Ukraine and were among the founders of the moshav. Nechama studied from kindergarten until the end of the elementary school in the area.

Her father died when she was five and her mother was left to work the farm. “I remember her working hard and fighting like a lioness for the right to work the land, despite the objective difficulties entailed in choosing such a demanding way of life. She never sank into debt – no small feat in a cooperative farming settlement,” Rivlin wrote in Haaretz in 2016.

Nechama completed her high school studies at the Emek Hefer Ruppin Regional School, and due to back surgery, she received a postponement of her army service.

In 1964 she began studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studying natural sciences. She graduated with a BSc in botany and zoology and holds a teaching certificate in these departments.

In 1967 she began working at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a researcher in the Department of Zoology, and then moved to the Department of Ecology and the Department of Genetics. In addition, Nechama studied the history of art in the fields of modern, classical and ancient art.

In 1971 she married Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin and settled in Jerusalem. Nechama had three children–Rivi (Rivka), Anat and Ran. She was grandmother to Matan, Ziv, Shai, Karni, Maya, Daniela and Yahav, and sister to Varda.

In 2007 Nechama retired and then discovered that she had an incurable lung disease that required her to use a portable oxygen device. When Nechama moved to Beit HaNasi, she chose to focus on art, activities for children with special needs, the environment and nature, through compassion and love of people.

In a post she wrote about the book Paddington Bear Nechama wrote: “How often do we pass an injured animal or bird and look away, just so we do not have to take on the burden of caring for it?” Later, she even voiced a character in the film based on the book.

Nechama set up a community garden in the garden of the President’s Residence, where children from all over the country came to plant and plant plants, spices and flowers on a regular basis.

Nechama was a regular visitor to Israel’s cultural institutions, particularly those in Jerusalem, out of true love for art in all its forms. Nechama was particularly fond of the Cinematheque and Smadar cinemas in Jerusalem, where she used to watch films regularly.

Nechama’s fondness for Hebrew literature and art led her to write from time to time about writers and artists who particularly appreciated the posts she published on the official Facebook page of the president. She generally began her posts with the words “Hello everyone, Nechama here,” and signed them “Yours, Nechama.” They became especially beloved to followers of the page and to lovers of culture and art in Israel.

In 2018, Nechama established the President’s Award for Hebrew Poetry. On the committee’s announcement of the winner Amichai Hasson, Nechama said: “I congratulate the lovers of language and words, the writers and poets who make magic with them and wish that our world will always have people in it who make poetry from it.”

She was popular with the Israeli public. “People loved me a great deal. I don’t know why,” she said in a radio interview last year, inadvertently revealing part of her charm.

May her memory be a blessing.

יהי זכרה ברוך

Exactly 75 years ago, Normandy was the site of one of the largest military invasions ever staged. Forever known as D-Day, June 6, 1944 marked the turning point of World War II, in which 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops stormed 50 miles of fiercely defended beaches in northern France.

This week, U.S. President Donald Trump will headline a flurry of ceremonies, presentations and memorials that will commemorate the 75th anniversary.

Among those present will be Rabbi Mordechai and Zlata Lewin, co-directors of Chabad ofCaen since 2014.

In an interview with Chabad.org, Rabbi Lewin shares what it’s like to serve as the only rabbi along the beaches soaked with blood and hallowed with bravery.

Q: To start with, can you tell us a little about the local Jewish community?

A: Normandy is a large area served by five Chabad couples, each in a different community. My wife and I are in Caen, which is on the coast, the site of the D-Day invasion.

Historically, the Jewish community was Ashkenazi, from Alsace, the birthplace of French Jewry in the Middle Ages. Most of them have since passed away or moved on, and the current community, approximately 100 strong, are Sephardic immigrants from Algeria and their descendants.

There is a synagogue here with services every Shabbat. Our Chabad House serves as a center for classes, communal events, women’s programs, kosher catering and activities for kids. We operate a small day school for children from throughout Normandy and a Gan Israel day camp, where we expect 50 children this summer.

Q: Who else do you serve?

A: Caen is home to 30,000 students distributed between four public universities and 20 recognized private schools. Of course, there are Jewish students among them, and we operate a Chabad on Campus for them.

And then there are the tourists. Caen has dozens of museums, memorials and educational programs dedicated to D-Day that attract Jewish visitors from all over the world.

Shortly after we arrived, we set up a kosher catering facility so that Jewish groups are able to come here and enjoy a full Jewish experience. With time, we educated ourselves more and more about the history of the place, and we now offer our own tours.

We began with synagogue groups and senior clubs, and have since expanded to include school groups as well.

Q: What’s it like to show people around the site of so much death and destruction?

A: It’s actually quite touching. No matter how many times I see and say the same thing, it hits me again. These were young men—boys, really—who traveled 8,000 miles away from home and willingly put themselves in grave danger for the greater good. Jew or non-Jew, they all put their lives on the line.

Knowing full well that they might be taken prisoner of war, many Jewish soldiers chose to keep their Jewish identification and carry their siddurim (prayer books) and tefillin with them.

We have a collection of artifacts that we share with visitors, including a siddur that an American soldier carried with him during the invasion.

Q: What more can you tell about the siddur? How did you get it?

A: I received it from the Rabbi Shmuel Lewin, the Chabad rabbi in Deauville, another city in Normandy. There was an abandoned building there that had once been a military hospital for Allied troops. They were renovating the building, and the workers found the siddur. Recognizing it as a Jewish artifact, they gave it to the rabbi, who passed it on to me.

You can see that the soldier had marked off the pages for Tefilat Haderech(Traveler’s Prayer) and Havdalah, which marks the end of Shabbat.

Q: With the big 75th anniversary around the corner, what are you planning?

A: For one thing, there will be a group of American chaplains present who asked us to help them with kosher food and other accommodations, which we are glad to supply. In addition, we hope to be present at the ceremonies, representing our fellow members of the local Jewish community and Chabad.

                                                (Chabad.org)