February 18-25, 2006 - Shevat 20-27, 5766
(there will be no Shabbat-O-Gram next week)
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,
Shabbat Shalom
and
Happy President’s Day
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Contents of the Shabbat O Gram: (click to scroll down)
Just the Facts (service schedule)
The Rabid Rabbi (including E-mail from the Front)
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities
Required Reading and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)
Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)
Quotes for the Week
“To Bigotry No Sanction,
to Persecution No Assistance”
George Washington's Letter to the Jews of Newport Rhode Island (1790)
“When a person is brought before the heavenly court for judgment
the first question he is asked is whether he was honest in business.” –
Talmud Tractate Shabbat 31a
“A person who doesn't tell the truth...it's as if he worships idols” -
Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 92a
Friday Evening
Candle lighting Candle lighting: 5:12pm on Friday, 17 February 2006 Havdalah is at 6:16 on Saturday evening. For candle lighting times, other Jewish calendar information, and to download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/. To see the festivals of other faiths as well, go to http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/
Kabbalat Shabbat: 6:30 PM – in the chapel
Tot Shabbat: 6:45 in the lobby - Tot Shabbat will be hosted this week by Karen and Scott Herckis and their children, Molly and Will. Molly attends
Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM – Mazal Tov to
Children’s services: 10:30
Torah Portion: Yitro – Exodus 18:1 - 20:23 The Ten Commandments
1: 18:1-12 (12 p'sukim)
2: 18:13-23 (11 p'sukim)
3: 18:24-27 (4 p'sukim)
4: 19:1-6 (6 p'sukim)
5: 19:7-19 (13 p'sukim)
6: 19:20-20:14 (20 p'sukim)
7: 20:15-23 (9 p'sukim)
maf: 20:19-23 (5 p'sukim)
Haftarah – Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6; 9:5 - 9:6
See a weekly commentary from the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, at www.ujc.org/mekorchaim. Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. University of Judaism, JTS commentary is at: http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/. USCJ Torah
THE ENTIRE HEBREW BIBLE (AS WELL AS OTHER JEWISH SOURCES) CAN BE FOUND WITH SIDE-BY-SIDE TRANSLATION AT
Morning Minyan: Weekdays at 7:30, Sundays at 9:30 AM
TO ENSURE A “GUARANTEED MINYAN” FOR THE DAY OF YOUR YAHRZEIT – GO TO THE ROSNER MINYAN MAKER AT WWW.TBE.ORG AND ALSO CONTACT ME AT RABBI@TBE.ORG.
Winter Weather Advisory
Note that in the case of bad weather, weekday minyan does not take place when
NEXT BIG THING
I’m proud to announce that Temple Beth El has been selected as one of ten new pilot communities nationwide for the Synaplex™ program. We will join about three dozen other congregations that have successfully implemented Synaplex over the past three years. We will be the first to bring Synaplex to
I am grateful to our Board, which last month voted overwhelmingly to endorse our participation. I also appreciate the seed funding we’ve received from the Jewish Community Endowment Foundation and other donors, as this exciting project begins to take shape for an October launching.
Synaplex will benefit us in so many ways, ranging in marketing to volunteer development, membership recruitment and retention, fundraising, community building and of course, programming. We’ll be using the resources of STAR (Synagogue Transformation and Renewal) which was created by the same philanthropic visionaries that have brought us Birthright
This partnership has brought tremendous energy to all who the congregations that have come before us.
If you have any questions about Synaplex or just can’t wait to become involved, contact me or another senior staff member, or our co-chairs Judy Aronin and Adam Eitelberg. Meanwhile, to tide you over, some quick answers to FAQs from the STAR website (www.starsynagogue.org):
| Synaplex™ is a community-building initiative that enables contemporary Jewish individuals and families to celebrate Jewish life through a menu of innovative options, in the realms of prayer, study and social and cultural programs all taking place throughout Shabbat in the synagogue.
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| Synaplex™ was developed by STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal), a philanthropic partnership of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation and the Samuel Bronfman Foundation with the goal of enriching American Jewish life in the 21st Century.
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| Who is participating in Synaplex™? Currently, nearly 40 congregations across the country representing all denomination and non-denominational synagogues are participating in Synaplex™. View the current listing.
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| How might my congregation be different by participating in Synaplex™? Synaplex™ congregations are known for innovative programs that deepen the participation of members and attract the unaffiliated. They use their volunteer talent more creatively than most and therefore bring in new energy into their community. As a result, participating congregations have seen sustained increases in Shabbat attendance of about 50% on Shabbat morning and 80% on Shabbat evening.
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| What can congregants expect from becoming involved with Synaplex™? Synaplex™ is about choice, connections, and community. Congregants and those who are currently unaffiliated are invited to make choices about the programs and activities in which they will participate. They may make connections with the people with whom they may already know and will also have an opportunity to create new connections. Participants truly become part of a caring community where their presence matters! |
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And last but certainly not least… What will a typical TBE Synaplex Shabbat look like?
There is no such thing as a typical Synaplex™ Shabbat. That’s the beauty of Synaplex™--we’ll be designing each one in a manner that best meets the needs of our community at that time. Some congregations hold Synaplex™ on Friday evening, others on Saturday morning, while still others have it throughout Shabbat and conclude with havdalah and a post-Shabbat activity. Over the course of the year (with approximately one Synaplex Shabbat per month, none conflicting with Bar/Bat Mitzvahs), we’ll do all of the above. We’ll be taking the best of what we’ve done over the past few years – Shabbat Unplugged, Scholars in Residence and Congregational Shabbatons, for example, and bringing it all to the next level.
When people experience Synaplex™, they immediately feel the excitement as people settle in one space in the building (and sometimes move to another!). Families with young children are in the social hall enjoying a Shabbat Romp experience, for example, while the empty-nesters relax at the Candles and Quiet Conversation dinner. The teens are in the youth lounge having dinner to be followed by a program and service-learning project. In the main sanctuary, congregants bring the weekly Torah portion to life through dramatic performance. In one room, individuals nourish their bodies and souls through Torah and Yoga, while in another; young adults connect socially while playing board games and drinking coffee and talking about the perils of Jdate. One thing is certain: Shabbat in the synagogue is where it’s at, and people love being there.
What we do here will depend in large part on your suggestions and desires. We’ll combine tradition with innovation and look for most meaningful ways to reach each person. Over the coming months, we’ll be reaching out for your involvement.
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YOU KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AS A JEWISH PARENT WHEN…
Your child looks at a photo of the Olympic cauldron and says,
“Why did they light that big Havdalah candle, Daddy?”
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The Power of Positive Speaking
I’ve been talking a lot about the importance of dialogue lately, and I know my comments have resonated for many. With so much anger and antagonism out there, and violence we have to be extra cognizant of the impact of a single negative statement – even non verbal ones. Body language can be just as lethal.
I received this on Valentines Day from Liza Elisha, who was the youth counselor for our last two groups in
While these Internet forwards tend to take on a life of their own, and you might have received this months or even years ago, I felt it important to forward Liza’s message to everyone as my own belated (100 % Kosher) Valentine….
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said "It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.
So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
If you've received this, it is because someone cares for you and it means there is probably at least someone for whom you care.
If you're "too busy" to take those few minutes right now to forward this message on, would this be the VERY first time you didn't do that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships?
The more people that you send this to, the better you'll be at reaching out to those you care about.
Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.
May Your Day Be Blessed and As Special As You Are
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E-MAIL FROM THE FRONT
In this time of transition and stress in Israel, with an ailing Prime Minister and an acting one, with the Palestinians sorting out implications of their political sea change and with Israeli elections at the end of March, we are renewing the dialogue between me and my sister Lisa, who lives in Mitzpeh Yericho and TBE congregant Jan Gaines, who lives much of the year in Netanya. Those wishing to see prior exchanges can find them at the Shabbat-O-Gram archive at www.tbe.org. And if you want to respond, go to our bustling discussion forum at our web site, www.tbe.org – your opinion is highly valued.
This week, Lisa turns up the heat on the Amona incident, which she compares to
bs"d
Dear JJ,
We are reading news that is opening our eyes about the Amona "
How long have I warned that when the war comes to
Here is today's report about Amona last Wednesday:
One girl was picked up by a policeman and held up high against a wall, while the other policeman shoved his club up her vagina.
"How do I know it is true?" the young man telling the story echoed his mother's question. [I told her that I needed to know how the stories she told me yesterday were true, what the sources were.]
"Because my friend just came from her house. The girl is hysterical. She has locked herself in her bedroom. She won't come out, she's screaming and wailing, her family is hysterical, their friends can't find a way to comfort them, can't get her to come out or to talk to anybody. She's screaming and won't come out.
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2 boys lost an eye --
1 is being flown out of the country to try to save his eye. I'm not sure if he is one of the 2, or a 3rd boy.
4 girls have no womb anymore
40 serious head injuries
20 boys whose testicles were crushed so badly that they don't know if they can save them.
3 of those 20 for sure are permanently ruined, they will never be able to father children.
Just yesterday I read that the police who took part in the events in Amona, were not Jewish but Arab, Druze and non-Jewish Russians..."
I read it too. People were reading the nametags on the police uniforms and a lot of the names were Arab and Russian.
We were appalled, to say the least; however, we had been warned that this was in the making. We feel strongly that Olmert needs to be exposed as having extended the "coup d'etat" that
I wanted to elaborate a bit on the "security" wall, also. When the route of the wall was first published, it hugged Ma'aleh Adumim and did not even come out as far east as K'far Adumim. Then it was amended to include K'far Adumim, and a lot of people made a fuss about the fact that it did not include our village. We were given promises, IN WRITING, that the route would include our village. This was shortly before
Have your readers already forgotten that Hamas is now in power, de facto and de jure? Have they been lulled by C. Rice's doublespeak into thinking that they are a tractable partner for "peace?" I think that a major effort is being pulled off to help use the media to erase or delete the memory of their intractable and bellicose stance. I am concerned that the facts will not be accessible to people very soon, and that the few that are out there will be contradicted by spin and doublespeak.
As for the government, their biggest threat, the one that they pull all the stops for, is the teenage kids who are enraged by the theft of Jewish land and sovereignty. They are using grossly punitive measures to attempt to cow them. I promise that it will boomerang. Even Hamas wants more attention than they are getting since the Jews are so busy oppressing the Jews, and will do what it needs to do to assure that it will get it. All malicious eyes are on what is called the "hilltop youth."
We are fine! It is a bit discouraging that Asher is not able to find more work, but we are doing what we can. He has occasional jobs and is never idle in the house! Adereth today celebrated 10 months since she was born, and tomorrow is your birthday! So, Happy birthday, Josh! I hope that this one is very meaningful. I hope you find it in your heart to pull your family, and all your congregants' families OUT OF THERE, so that they may build this land, which sorely needs the love and support of its children!
Love and hugs; many happy returns (literally!),
Lisa
Dear Lisa,
What is happening now in your neighborhood is something that we feared would happen last summer in
I do want our readers to feel the fear and anger that is so palpable in your words. We are not getting the full story if we don’t see what is happening to the real people who live out there. Most of all, even more than the frustration, I hear your sense of isolation. My view is very different: at last
It does little good to argue as to the extent of the violence employed – by either side – at Amona. But the pogrom described in your dispatches doesn’t jive with so many accounts coming from other sources, nor does it make inherent sense for Israeli police, Jewish or otherwise, to commit rampant intentional, Nazi-like atrocities. I trust that the truth will come out in time. But just at the time
I do hope that no one decides to forgo the electoral process (wouldn’t it be ironic, just as Hamas begins to enter elections, for the Israeli far right to opt out) for more confrontational means. With the multitudes of Israelis against unauthorized, surreptitious building on these “hilltops,” why are they so automatically wrong? They aren’t all ostriches. As Gorenberg understands, the real fight right now is taking place within Israeli Orthodoxy – and particularly the settler movement itself.
Thanks for the b-day wishes. It was very nice. I’m on vacation next week (not!), with a heavy emphasis on Bar Mitzvah preparations for Dan, who’s just doing great. I’ve met with all the April B’nai Mitzvah families – except for my own, so it’s time to get to it. Dan also wants to work on his d’var Torah in my office, just like all the other kids. So I guess Mara will have to call to schedule an appointment.
I’m trying to get through this letter without telling a Dick Cheney joke…and it’s getting real difficult, so I’ll have to sign off.
Anyway, we miss you and hope things stay peaceful.
Love to you and all
Josh
http://www.forward.com/articles/7332
Religious Zionists Facing Deep Rifts After Evacuation of Amona Outpost
by GERSHOM GORENBERG
The Amona showdown has generated a new wave of media discussion of a divorce between "the religious Zionist public" and secular But there is a religious Zionist crisis, or two overlapping ones. One crack runs through the intensely ideological minority that has dominated the politics and education of the Orthodox Zionist community for at least three decades, and that includes prominent rabbis, politicians and settlement activists. Another crack runs between generations. The activists' ideology was adapted from the ideas of pre-state rabbinic sage Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, who asserted that secular Zionists were fulfilling God's plan. His son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, took that idea a step further and labeled the establishment of For such believers, the The demolition at Amona last week redoubled the shock. At issue, rather than a score of settlements in But for several thousand young people, mobilized by the settlement council, trying to stop the demolition represented an opportunity to erase the "shame" of the relatively peaceful evacuation last summer, and to show the price of further disengagement. The army failed to keep them out of Amona, and the police assigned to the demolition showed that last summer's ultra-restrained crowd control methods were a fluke. What happened instead was the most violent clash in recent memory between the settlers and the authorities. The police, held back for hours by last-minute legal wrangling, showered with stones and cursed as "Nazis," pushed their way to the houses with baton blows, some rendered from horseback. More than 200 police and demonstrators were injured. Settler leaders, placing the onus for confrontation entirely on the government, are now demanding a state commission of inquiry. Yet Amona's practical significance is still unclear. In a television interview February 7, Olmert said that if he is reelected on March 28, his goal is "to separate from most of the Palestinian population" by withdrawing from large parts of the The alienation among ideological settlers is palpable. The slogan "Olmert Is Bad for the Jews" plays on a semantic shift noticeable in settler circles since last summer, in which "Jews" means those faithful to land and Torah, as opposed to "Israelis." There is an exclusive claim to legitimacy, but also a hint of defeat, in this formulation, since "Israelis" vastly outnumber "Jews." The refrain by young people at Sunday's rally in "Good and evil always struggle," said one 25-year-old yeshiva student at the rally, turning the alienation into theology. During galut, or exile, he said, "evil dominates. We're trying to silence it." The sentiment, voiced by other settler ideologues as well, carries startling echoes of the classic ultra-Orthodox retort to religious Zionism: that even in the Religious Zionism "is in a huge storm," said Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, the 48-year-old head of a yeshivah in Petah Tikvah that combines study and army service. Cherlow, considered a moderate among right-wing rabbis, said in an interview that what concerns him most at the moment is not ideology but the danger that "we are raising an anarchistic generation. They hate everyone —? the institutions of the state of What Cherlow did not say is that some members of the older generation have repeatedly recruited youth for confrontations with authorities — and now have lost control. The most radical of the pro-settler youth feel spurned by secular |
Some follow-up news…
Abbi Sharofsky, the JTS student who visited us a couple of weeks ago for JTS weekend was admitted into the Rabbinical program the following week. Must have been our home cooking (combined with her talent). She thanks us for our hospitality.
Beth El Cares
Cathy Satz (968-9191; csscounsel@yahoo.com)Cheryl Wolff (968-6361; cwolff@optonline.net)BETH EL CARES co-chairsLocks of Love
Hannah and Charlotte Kriftcher are our latest donors to “Locks of Love”
We are so proud of them! Check out more photos at www.seemegrow.net/gallery/lockslove
Ending the Violence – Engaging the Teens
"Chess makes kids (look, feel, think, act, and become) smart"
Carol Henderson, the “Chess Lady of
KATRINA UPDATE
REPORT FROM
FEBRUARY 6 Most of the members of Congregation Beth Israel are getting on with their lives. Steve Richer is still living in a trailer and trying to find licensed contractors to repair his home. Wayne and Lorraine Lutz are still living in their store in D'Iberville, while they, too, await the repairs they need to make their house habitable. Rayanne Weiss, whose home was reduced to a pile of rubble, has managed to sell her old property and move into a new house. You may recall from the report of my first visit to Much of the beachfront area in Unfortunately, however, the situation to the west of After driving several miles through this devastation, I asked, "Where are all the people who used to live here?" Steve said that many are living with nearby relatives or in tent cities. Some simply have moved away. A huge tent and several tractor-trailers stand in a parking lot next to the shell of a Super Wal-Mart alongside US 90. The parking lot serves as a distribution point and a soup kitchen for people who have lost their homes. Nearly six months after the storm, people are still living in tents, getting their groceries from distribution points, and eating their meals in a soup kitchen. But when you drive through what was once downtown |
“I Cannot Tell a Lie”
In honor of President's Day weekend and the birthdays of our two most truthful political leaders, a Web Pilgrimage on the subject of honesty. I used to say that I prefer that our politicians be “straight shooters,” but given what happened last weekend with the Vice President, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for a shot to miss once in a while. But still, we look for integrity in all our leaders.
It is fitting that on this weekend when we celebrate our first President, the original G.W., he of the cherry tree, and our 16th, Honest Abe himself, we also read the Ten Commandments, including that final one instructing us not to bear false witness. The ancient sages understood that civilization can be sustained only when it rests on a foundation of honesty and trust. They also understood that truthfulness is not inherited through genetics, but through conscious parental modeling. Take this amusing Talmudic story (Yevamot 63a) for example: The sage Rav had an interesting marriage. Whatever he asked his wife for, she gave him the opposite. So when he asked for lentils, she would cook peas, and when he asked for peas, she would cook lentils. Maybe Rav should have learned his own way around the kitchen, but that's another story.
Rav's son Hiyyah watched these shenanigans going on all his life, so when he grew up he figured out how to beat the system. When Rav would tell his son to inform Mom that he wished to have peas for dinner, Hiyyah would tell his mother, "Dad wants lentils." She would prepare peas and everyone would be happy. One day Rav commented to his son, "Your mother has improved!" To which Hiyyah responded ,"Dad, I cannot tell a lie, I chopped it down." Wait...wrong story. Hiyyah replied, "Dad I cannot tell a lie, I told a lie. In fact I've been telling them for some time. I reversed your messages."
Now, as they say on TV, YOU MAKE THE CALL!
As Hiyyah's parent, would you: a) appreciate Hiyyah's attempt to maintain Shalom Bayit,"peace in the home," (or in this case, peas in the home) with manipulations that one might easily call harmless "white lies?"; or b) would honesty take precedence over tact in this case?
Well, the answer here is "b," although in other cases "a" might have been the choice. But when we are dealing with teaching a child, we need to remember the old saying that "people who tell too many white lies can become colorblind." The Talmud (Sukkah 46b) instructs us never to promise a child something and then fail to deliver, because as a result, the child will learn to lie. From this, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, our scholar in residence on March 3-5, suggests that the Talmud is also telling us never to have our kids answer an unwanted phone call and say, "Daddy's not home" when Daddy is standing right there, and certainly never to lie about a child's age when buying tickets in a movie theater, in order to take advantage of a cheaper ticket price.
Rav thanked Hiyyah for his consideration but instructed him to be truthful from then on. In almost every case, and especially where children are watching, honesty is the best policy. Something to think about while filling out our tax forms.
Some websites on the topic of honesty in Jewish and other religious traditions:
http://www.besr.org/ - includes the column The Jewish Ethicist. Also see there the Global Integrity Network, an international network of Jewish individuals and professional who have come together to share and harness their interest and passion for promoting integrity and ethical values in the life and the workplace. See also The Jewish Ethicist Q&A: How much should I tell a date?
Also see http://www.religionlink.org/tip_040412c.php - In all honesty … a culture of lies: It is one of the few points all world religions agree on: Lying is wrong. For Christians and Jews, lying is prohibited by the Ten Commandments - "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." To Muslims, lying is "very hateful" to God. Buddhists teach one should "utter the truth." Zoroastrians learn that lying "destroys the holy order." So how is it that in the
And see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Honesty – an interesting dialogue on religion and honesty.
The God Questions, Part 4
1) Why is there so much bad in a world created by a good God?
Maybe it has something to do with the Humpty Dumpty theory that God, and holiness, are shattered, and we have to put the pieces together again to make the world totally good. But I’m not so sure that “good” and “bad” can be so easily defined. Sometimes it is easy, like with Haman in the Purim story. But even there, if it weren’t for the evil Haman and his sinister plot, Purim would never have been invented! And without the evil Pharaoh, not only would we have never had Matzah balls and the Afikoman, we probably wouldn’t have gotten the Torah. And even if we had gotten the Torah, its central message (about being nice to strangers because we were slaves in
2) Does God punish people?
Usually the punishment is a direct result of the “crime” committed, and in a sense, it comes from God. If a person “steals” by, say, cheating on a test, s/he might be caught and punished by the teacher. S/he will also not learn the material and lose out on important lessons. But the biggest punishment of all is that s/he’ll feel worse about him or herself and be less likely to trust others. When a person breaks the law, it’s because s/he feels he can’t succeed within the law. That’s sad. What’s even sadder is that with every such crime, he begins to trust others less and less, figuring that if he does it, others must be doing it too. If you add up the numerical value of the Hebrew letters spelling out God’s name, it equals the words “Ehad” (One) + “Ahava” (Love). When we feel less attached to others, less “one” with them, when there is less trust and love between people, then God is less present between them.
3) Where do people go when they die?
When you shout into an echoing canyon, and your voice comes back at you, at first loud and clear, and then less so, what happens to it in the end? Does it continue to bounce back and forth forever, just a little softer each time? In some ways, our lives are like that. Except that once we’ve shouted into the canyon, by pouring all our life’s deeds, our love and our tears, into that one cry, the echo doesn’t necessarily get softer and softer with the passing of time. Sometimes the echo gets louder over the years. Look at Moses’ echo! Sometimes a person’s life, the accumulation of his deeds, appears to be forgotten for eternity, but then a ripple effect is felt, in some form, generations later. My father dies twenty years ago, when I was a young man, and recently I discovered his name on the Internet! A person I never met was paying tribute to my Dad on that person’s website! It was like my father had come back to life. The things we do in our lives, the things we say, and the ways we show we care: these things live on, in some form, forever.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007934 Bonfire of the Pieties
Islam prohibits neither images of Muhammad nor jokes about religion. (Journal Online)
http://cagle.com/news/Muhammad/ - cartoonists respond to the recent controversy
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/leisure/jewishleisure_article.php?article_id=1495&page=0 – Falash Mura wait to immigrate:
Hamas Sworn In - Israel to Cut Off Funds - Ronny Sofer
The Palestinian parliament with a Hamas majority will be sworn in this Saturday. Indications are that
Jordan Invites Hamas for First Visit Since 1999 Expulsion
See also Hamas Delegation Visits Turkey for Talks
A delegation led by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks, the first visit by senior members of the militant Islamist organization to a non-Arab country since it won a Jan. 25 election. The Hamas trip to
Hamas Video: We Will Drink the Blood of the Jews - Nadav Shragai
The Hamas website this week presented the parting video messages of two Hamas suicide terrorists, according to Palestinian Media Watch. The first said: "We are a nation that drinks blood, and we know that there is no blood better than the blood of Jews. We will not leave you alone until we have quenched our thirst with your blood, and our children's thirst with your blood." The second said: "We will destroy you, blow you up, take revenge against you, [and] purify the land of you, pigs that have defiled our country." (Ha'aretz)
View the Video (Palestinian Media Watch)
A Religious-Cultural Conflict of the Darkest Kind - Ari Shavit
While the fundamentalists may still be a minority in Palestinian society, this minority is now in power and represents the Palestinian people. While some of its leaders are characterized by tactical pragmatism, Hamas does not and will not recognize
· For Islamists Only God's Word Counts - Abdel Monem Said Aly
Tension on the Palestinian-Israeli front is only one small part of the much deeper strategic transformation that is taking shape in the Middle East, of which the Hamas victory is only one manifestation. In fact, Hamas' ascent to primacy in the Palestinian Legislative Council has contributed to a series of similar changes in the region that extends from
It began in
In time,
· Sharon's Legacy and Hamas - Henry A. Kissinger
The so-called peace process has assumed a reciprocal willingness to compromise. But traditional diplomacy works most effectively when there is a general agreement on goals; a minimum condition is that both sides accept each other's legitimacy, that the right of the parties to exist is taken for granted. Such a reciprocal commitment has been lacking between
The emergence of Hamas as the dominant faction in
MYTH #208
“
FACT
Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed that the cartoons first published in Denmark, which have sparked widespread Muslim protests, were part of a “conspiracy by Zionists who were angry because of the victory of Hamas” (Al Bawaba, February 7, 2006).
Sometimes the myths propagated by Arabs and Muslims are so outrageous and ridiculous that it would seem to be a waste of time to respond. This is one of those instances. Unfortunately, history has proven that one cannot underestimate the capacity of people to believe even the most absurd charges when they are applied to Israel. After all, large numbers of Muslims still believe that
The cartoons, of course, haven’t anything to do with
In a juvenile and bizarre effort to retaliate for what they consider an affront to
in their state-controlled media. Sensitivity and tolerance are a one-way street in those countries.
This article can be found at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf24.html#a48
Source: Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard.
Dr. Bard is available for media interviews and speaking engagements on this and other topics.
and SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE WEEKEND
Sponsored by Penny & Michael Horowitz
In loving memory of Bessie Silver
Kabbalat Shabbat Service begins at 6:30 p.m.
Shabbat Across America Dinner at 7:15 p.m. (registration form below)
Nurit Avigdor will have a special children’s program during the lecture
Rabbi Telushkin will speak during dinner:
“The 21st Century: A Jewish Vision, One Day at a Time”
Sign up for Shabbat Across America
Rabbi Telushkin will speak on:
“What Jewish Humor Tells Us about the Jews”
with question and answer period during lunch
Dedication of a Plaque on Noah’s Ark
beloved member of TBE and former Associate Principal of our Hebrew School for 20 years!
Saturday, March 4th at 7:30 p.m.
at the home of Ron and Grecia Gross
Rabbi Telushkin will speak on:
“Jewish Literacy: How to Become a Knowledgeable Jew”
RSVP to our education office at education@tbe.org
Sunday, March 5th at 10:00 a.m.
based on Rabbi Telushkin’s new book (being published THAT WEEK),
TBE SHABBAT DINNER—FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2006
Please return this form with your payment to the Hebrew School Office by Friday, February 24th:
TEMPLE BETH EL, 350 Roxbury Road, Stamford, CT 06902
Names & ages of children over 3 Names & ages of children under 3
# Adults: ____________________ @ $18.00 each = $______________
# Children: __________________ @ $10.00 each = $______________
TOTAL COST PER IMMEDIATE FAMILY CAPPED @ $60.00 (DOES NOT INCLUDE GUESTS)!
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED: $__________________________
Can you help set up? _________ Serve? _________ Clean up? _____________
An Introductory Class for Dummies, Smarties…
and Those Who Don’t Know How to Ask
This week – Tu Beshvat Seder for Adults at 9:00
Next session: Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Topic: Mary Magdeline and Esther
Led by: Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Rev. Douglas MacArthur, and Dr. Behjat Syed
Meets weekly on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.
Jewish Family Service Begins Outreach
for its 2006 Annual Camp Scholarship Program
Various Miller's Brand Line of Hard Cheeses :
108 Slice Brick American (Yellow & White)
Plus Individual Wrapped Packages
Muenster Blue Pack & Sliced Orange Rind
Eventually Emeck & Tenuva Israeli Quality Line
J&J Brand Cholov Yisroel Soft Cheese Line Including :
Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Sour Cream, Whipped Cream Cheese
Regular & 2% Only New Square Milk (1/2 gallon sizes)
Plus Regular New Square Orange Juice and the popular Passion Fruit, Strawberry, Orange Juice Blend.
Stamford Kosher Activists Committee
Temple Beth El to Honor Past Presidents - Dancing Through the Years
Gordon Brown, Rosalea Fisher, Al Golin, Fred Golove, Jack Greenberg,
Ron Gross, Marty Israel, Herb Kahan, Alan Kalter, Mark Lapine, Milton Mann,
Neil Perlman, Gerald Poch, Brian Rogol and Jack Wofsey
The Jewish Heritage Video Collection
comprises over 200 video tapes, covering such topics as:
For more information, please call Ilana De Laney or Sandy Golove, 321- 1373, ext. 107.
Sponsored by the Community Commission for Jewish Education, UJF
Stamford 2006 JCC Maccabi Games
Athletes are required to attend 2 out of the 3 tryouts. You must reserve your tryout spot
by contacting Nancy Schiffman at (203)487-0970 or nschiffman@stamfordjcc.org.
Boys Basketball 13/14: Boys Basketball 15/16:
Sunday, February 26 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 14 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm Tuesday, March 7 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Tuesday, January 17 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm Sunday, March 12 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm
NEW Saturday, March 18 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm
NEW Sunday, March 19 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Girls Basketball 13/14: Girls Basketball 15/16:
Tuesday, February 28 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm Sunday, January 15 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 4 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm Saturday, January 28 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm
Sunday, March 5 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm Sunday, February 26 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm
NEW Saturday, March 11 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm
NEW Sunday, March 19 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Boys Baseball 13/14: Boys Baseball 15/16:
Saturday, January 21 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm Sunday, January 15 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Sunday, January 29 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm Sunday, January 29 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm
NEW Sunday, February 12 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm * Sunday, February 12 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm *
Saturday, March 4 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm * NEW Saturday, March 4 from 7:00 – 8:30pm *
* one batting practice mandatory - held at * one batting practice mandatory - held at
Integrated Sports Training Integrated Sports Training
25 Van Zant St. #3B, Norwalk, CT 25 Van Zant St. #3B, Norwalk, CT
Boys Soccer 13/14: Boys Soccer 15/16:
Sunday, February 12 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm Tuesday, January 24 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Sunday, February 19 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm Saturday, February 4 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm
Tuesday, March 14 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm Sunday, February 12 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Girls Soccer 13/14: Girls Soccer 15/16:
Tuesday, January 31 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm Saturday, February 11 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm
Saturday, March 11 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm Tuesday, February 14 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Sunday, March 12 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm Sunday, March 5 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Girls Volleyball 13-16: To Be Announced
All tryouts will be held at the JCC gymnasium except where indicated.
All deposits are fully refundable until February 1, 2006.
Payment in full is required by March 15, 2006.
For complete registration information, please contact Nancy Schiffman at
(203)487-0970 or nschiffman@stamfordjcc.org.
My grandfather always said, "Don't watch your money; watch your health."
So one day while I was watching my health, someone stole my money.
Jule Styne, Sammy Kahn, etc, etc.
Previous Shabbat-O-Grams can be accessed directly from our web site (www.tbe.org)
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