March 2, 2007– Adar 13, 5767
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,
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In Memoriam…
Leah Levitz Fishbane
In her mid 30s, I saw her grow from child to adult…from Bat Mitzvah to Huppah to full flower. She was taken from us tragically this week. Our deepest sympathies to the Levitz and Fishbane families.
“Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.”
- Robert Frost
Contents of the Shabbat O Gram:
(Click to scroll down)
Just the Facts (service schedule)
The (Occasionally) Ranting Rabbi
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities
The Beth El Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary (new)
Required Reading and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)
Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)
Our Men’s Club of the Future!
TBE seventh graders at the recent World Wide Wrap
Check out www.tbe.org for our extensive library of photo albums,
articles, sermons, info about the temple,
Shabbat-O-Grams and links to the Jewish world.
Quote for the Week
“I learned much from my teachers, more from my books, and most from my troubles.”
- Kaminer, Baraitot de Rabbi Yitzhak
PURIM
Saturday, March 3, 2007
At
For all ages!!!
6:30—7:30 PM: Family Megilla reading, costume parade and goodies in the Sanctuary
We Always Make a Big Megilla over our Megilla readers….
Allison Schechter, Ethan Hammerman, David Katz, Samantha Wise, Rebecca Savransky, Peri Shapiro, David Ginsberg, Harrison Shapiro and Cantor Rachael Littman!!!
7:30 – 9:00 PM: Our SPECTACULAR carnival, put together by our USY and Kadima groups in the Social Hall
8:15 PM: Full Megilla reading in chapel
9:00 PM: Bus leaves taking teens who wish to attend the Purim Boat Cruise in
Carnival Prices:
$12 per child and $30 for a family package of three or more,
for unlimited access to all attractions!!
Featuring a giant inflatable obstacle course, bounce castle, games, prizes, and more!!!!
COME IN COSTUME!!!! (kids and adults)
BRING YOUR OWN CREATIVE NOISEMAKER!!!
BRING YOUR FRIENDS!!!
This program has been subsidized by a generous contribution from the Sisterhood of Temple Beth El
Candle lighting: 5:28 pm on Friday, 2 March 2007. For candle lighting times, Havdalah 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/. The United Synagogue has updated its candlelighting information. To learn more, click here.
Friday Evening
Shabbat Evening service: 6:30 PM – in the chapel
Tot Shabbat – 6:45 PM – in the lobby
Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM – MAZAL TOV TO HALEY ERSKINE, WHO BECOMES BAT MITZVAH THIS SHABBAT MORNING
Children’s Services: 10:30 AM
Our Torah Portion for Shabbat Morning
Parashat Tetzaveh – Shabbat Zachor
1: 29:19-21
2: 29:22-25
3: 29:26-30
4: 29:31-34
5: 29:35-37
6: 29:38-46
7: 30:1-10
Maf: Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (3 p'sukim)
Haftarah (Shabbat Zachor): I Samuel 15:2 - 15:34
If you liked Storahtelling, you’ll LOVE Storahtelling’s new weekly blog about the Torah portion Find it at http://storahtelling.blogspot.com/. ORT Navigating the Bible; Rashi in English; BibleGateway: Useful for comparing different translations: Note- this is a Christian site.
What’s Bothering Rashi (Bonchek) Each week, one example from the parashah is deconstructed. 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://www.jtsa.edu/community/parashah/. USCJ Torah
THE ENTIRE HEBREW BIBLE (AS WELL AS OTHER JEWISH SOURCES) CAN BE FOUND WITH SIDE-BY-SIDE TRANSLATION AT http://www.mechon-mamre.org/
100 Blessings: Download information about the grace after meals (see Birkat Ha-mazon explained in Wikipedia and in the Jewish Virtual Library) The actual prayer can be downloaded at Birkat Hamazon [pdf]
Morning Minyan
7:30 Weekdays, 9:30 Sundays
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.
We’ve had several people coming lately who are saying kaddish following recent deaths in the family. We want to make sure we have a minyan each day. Your presence any morning is greatly appreciated!
Winter Weather Advisory
Note that in the case of bad weather, weekday minyan does not take place when
The
(occasionally)
A Shabbat-O-Gram Exclusive
Just Back from
Our Beth El BCDS 8th Graders returned from a three week stay in
My Bi-Cultural
Another reason why this
In conclusion, this trip was awesome and I can’t wait to come back to
DAN HAMMERMAN
2/28/07
Davening at
Jackie Schechter
The past three weeks in
However, if I had to choose the most meaningful part of the trip it would be davening at
Before the trip even started I thought that it would be great. It turned out to be much, much more. Spending my first Shabbat in
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunties
Beth El Cares
Cathy Satz (968-9191; csscounsel@yahoo.com)Cheryl Wolff (968-6361; cwolff@optonline.net)BETH EL CARES co-chairs
Free Them Now
Ehud Goldwasser Eldad Regev Gilad Schalit
Kidnapped Israeli Soldiers
• Sign the petition at www.freethesoldiers.org
Landmark Resolutions Introduced in the
Recognizing Rights for Jews from Arab Countries as
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
In a rare display of bi-partisanship, four Senators and four Congressmen, representing both political parties, have introduced landmark Resolutions on
On February 16, 2007, formal bicameral resolutions were introduced in the Senate (S.Res 85) and in the House (H.Res 185). These far-reaching Resolutions seek to ensure that all victims of the Arab-Israeli conflict are treated with equality, including Jewish, Christian and other refugees from countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the
This bi-partisan effort is being spearheaded in the House of Representatives by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) along with Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL); Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ); and Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY). In the Senate, sponsors are Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ); Trent Lott (R-MS); Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN); and Sen. Richard Durbin. The Resolutions will be the strongest declarations adopted by the U.S. Congress, on the rights of Jewish and others refugees that were forced to flee Arab countries.
"When the
"There can be no true and lasting peace in the
"It would be constitute an injustice were the
Additional information and materials can be found at: www.justiceforjews.com
Pre-Passover Hametz Food Collection
As you clean your cupboards in preparation for Passover, please consider donating unopened boxes, bags and cans of hametz to a local food pantry. For your convenience, you can deposit those items in a box outside the Helen Golin Gift Shop, from March 22nd to 28th. We will then deliver the food to a local food pantry. Check your e-mail for more information.
Mitzvah Project – Dog-related Items LINDY FRUITHANDLER WILL BECOME BAT MITZVAH ON MARCH 17. PLEASE READ THIS NOTE FROM HER REGARDING HER MITZVAH PROJECT:
For my mitzvah project I am helping Adopt-A-Dog, a volunteer organization in Greenwich, CT, which helps find good, safe homes for homeless animals. They have found homes for many Katrina dogs that lost their families in the hurricane. To help them, I am donating money I have raised, and collecting dog-related items such as toys, collars, bones, and leashes; and cat-related items such as toys, collars, and catnip. Any crates that your dog or cat no longer use would be greatly appreciated by Adopt-A-Dog You do not have to be dog or cat owner to help - Adopt-A-Dog also needs new or used blankets, pillows, soft table cloths, and really anything else that the animals can sleep on. I can collect some of these items myself, but I need your help to collect enough needed items to make a big difference.
I will have a collection box out in the
You can also help Adopt-A-Dog by saving "Weight Circles" from Purina Brand Dog Food. Adopt-A-Dog receives 8 cents for every pound of weight circles sent in to Purina. Adopt-A-Dog buys 1,000 pounds of dog food every month! Each label that you clip and donate from a 20 lb. bag gives them $1.60 towards their food bill. A 50 lb. bag label means $4.00 in meals for their pooches. Trust me, it adds up! Please clip the labels off the side of each bag you buy and place them in the envelope attached to the collection box.
On behalf of all the homeless dogs and cats at Adopt-A-Dog, thanks so much for your help!
Lindy Fruithandler
322-4712
To check out Adopt-A-Dog for yourself, please visit their website at www.adoptadog.org.
What’s all this I Hear about “Haman Rights?”
For Purim, Our Guest Commentator…
Rabbi Rosanne Rosanna Danna
Why are people so concerned about giving rights to one of the most infamous, ruthless villains in Jewish history? I mean really, who needs “Haman Rights?” Should one have the right to target an entire people for destruction? Should one have the right to build gallows to hang an innocent man (who had also saved the king from dangerous plot? Should one have the right to wear ugly three-cornered hats? I say “NO.
What? What did you say? It’s not “Haman Rights,” it’s HUMAN rights? Oh…that’s very different!
NEVER MIND!
Before we set out on our way, some basic Purim links, for background on the holiday: A nice selection can be found at http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdaypu.htm (Jacob Richman's Hot Sites) and also at http://www.etni.org.il/holidays/purim.htm. Some excellent articles from Yeshivat Har Etzion can be found at http://www.vbm-torah.org/purim.htm, and at Torah From Dixie at http://www.tfdixie.com/holidays/purim/
Among the most popular aspects of Purim is the satiric genre known as Purim Torah. On Purim everything is turned upside down. Even those phenomena that are normally venerated are turned on their heads, even the study of Torah itself. Purim Torah is rabbinic logic gone haywire, otherwise known as "pilpul" (http://www.jewishgates.org/history/jewhis/pilpul.stm). It's the Wise Men of Chelm (http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=119) taking over the Yeshiva. It comes from a little too much wine ("Adloyada" http://www.ou.org/NCSY/projects/Purim/adloyada.htm), combined with a little too much of our natural Jewish irreverence. It's Rashi (http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/biography/rashi.html, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1105rashi.html) meets Mel Brooks http://www.tmbhs.com/tmbhs/default.asp.
Come to think of it, Brooks' hit (and soon to close) "The Producers" is a classic Purimspiel (Purim Play) -- a classic reenactment of the story of Purim in a different context. "Springtime for Haman in Shushan" has a ring to it, but this journey is about Purim Torah, not Purimspiels. There is a connection, though, which is explored at http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/880219_Purim_Parody.html. Some more about Purim Torah as it relates to the Megilla can be found at http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/vedibarta-bam/purim-torah.htm.
Purim Torah takes many forms. Political commentary is almost always part of it, whether the politics be internal or global. Last week at services we discussed the Talmudic incident where Rabbah followed commandment to get so drunk on Purim that he couldn't tell the difference the evildoer Haman and the good guy Mordechai. As a result he "slaughtered" his drinking buddy Rabbi Zera. Fortunately, he was able to revive Zera. He then asked Zera whether he might like to join him next Purim and Zera replied that he'd pass, but thanks anyway. You had to be there -- it was funny to those who heard it here, and it must have been funny to the rabbis of the Talmud too. The sages probably knew Rabbah in the way that "Saturday Night Live" knows George W. Bush, and they also understood that even mandated rabbinic laws can be dangerous when taken to excess. So this story was what one might call an internal satire, a joke by the rabbis about their own methodology. For a more modern version, check out last year's Purim edition of Sh'ma at http://www.kia.net/shma/mar01/index.htm, where the whole genre of rabbinic wisdom gets satirized smartly:
Rab Shamllel (who had been thrown out of both the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai at one time or another) used to muse, "You know, it's not what you know and what you don't know. What matters more is whether you know what you know and what you don't know. To know what you know opens the gates to confidence. To not know what you know opens the gates to indecision. To know what you don't know opens the gates to wisdom. And to not know what you don't know opens the gates to catastrophe. You know what I mean?"
He used to sigh, "There are four kinds of car mechanics in this world: The first can fix your car, but can't take you until the Tuesday after Tu B'Shvat. Of these there are but few and what can you do? The second can take you today but are incapable of fixing your car. Of these there are many and they are to be avoided. The third can't take you until the Tuesday after Tu B'Shvat AND are incapable of fixing your car. They are called 'dealers.' The last can fix your car and can take you today, but none of them dwell within a five-hour drive from here."
Purim Torah can be sophomoric (http://www.radix.net/~jbachman/SPTI/Schlitz-home.htm -- is about the Schlitzer Rebbe. Get it?, and just plain fun http://www.radix.net/~jbachman/SPTI/glidot.htm (a new Talmudic tractate on how to eat ice cream: Rabbi Nahman said in the name of Rab, "It is forbidden to eat ice cream with the fingers." But the sages say, "[when it is] in a cone*, it is permitted [to eat this way]. But was it not taught, "Ice cream is finger food, you fool!" [Renee, Sig 2a]?# There is no difficulty. Here it is talking about ice cream, here frozen yogurt. One may not consume premium ice cream for it is written, "Only The butterfat you must not eat, [For it is to be burnt on the altar for atonement, (Lev. 17:10a-11a)]. Rav Sheset says, [this applied only] when the
In the end, Jews do on Purim what we do the rest of the year as well -- we poke a little fun at ourselves. On this most topsy turvy of days, we understand that the secret of life is to enjoy the ride -- and laugh a little all the while.
From Beliefnet…
Virtual Talmud: Purim, Power, and Jewish Women
Quiz: Are You in the Purim Spirit?
From the Jewish Week: Special For Purim: Purim Spoof
- Hi-Tech Team Launches YIVO
- Casino To Be Built In Catskills
- Five Towns Gardeners Start Own Hedge Fund
- Protests Over Old City Ramp
- Boro Park Philanthropist Pledges $18 For Shul Building Fund
- Shimon Peres Weds Rosie Perez
- Rabbis Start New Dating Service For Sheep
- Rabbi Tom Cruise Leads Conservative Movement
- News Shorts
- Sharon Plans Political Comeback
- Israeli President Writing Pseudo-Tell All Book
- Cheney Says Britney’s Career ‘Going Well’
Love | |
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Aerial Odyssey | |
Jewish and Israeli Links:
A great resource on all things Jewish: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/news.html
The best Jewish site for Jewish learning: www.myjewishlearning.com
THE MOTHERLODE OF ISRAEL-RELATED LINKS: http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00kj0
Israel Defense Force, http://www.idf.il/
Israel Government Gateway, links to Government Ministries, www.info.gov.il/eng
Israel Knesset, http://www.knesset.gov.il/
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/
Israel Prime Minister’s Office, http://www.pmo.gov.il/
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, www.cbs.gov.il/engindex.htm
Israel Tourism Ministry, North America, http://www.goisrael.com/
Buy Israeli Products, http://www.israelexport.org/, http://www.shopinisrael.com/,
http://www.finefoodsisrael.com/
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, www.tau.ac.il/jcss
Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, http://www.besacenter.org/
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, http://www.jcpa.org/
One Jerusalem, http://www.onejerusalem.org/
Twenty Facts about Israel
Myths & Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Jerusalem Archaeological Park, http://www.archpark.org.il/
Israel Info Center – Israel Activism Portal, www.israelinfocenter.com/
US White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/
US State Department, http://www.state.gov/
US Senate, http://www.senate.gov/
US House of Representatives, http://www.house.gov/
THOMAS (search for US Legislation), thomas.loc.gov
United Nations Watch, http://www.unwatch.org/
Embassy of Israel – Washington, D.C., http://www.embassyofisrael.org/
Media-Related Links:
CAMERA, www.camera.org
Jerusalem Post, http://www.jpost.com/
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, http://www.jta.org/
Ha’aretz English Edition: www.haaretz.com
HonestReporting.com, http://www.honestreporting.com/
Independent Media Review and Analysis, http://www.imra.org.il/
Middle East Media Research Institue (MEMRI), http://www.memri.org/
Palestinian Media Watch, http://www.pmw.org.il/
Israel Insider, http://www.israelinsider.com/
Jewish World Review, http://www.jewishworldreview.com/
America’s Voices in Israel, http://www.americasvoices.net/
@The Source Israel, http://www.thesourceisrael.com/
Other Jewish Sites
Data JEM – an GEM for Jewish Education! Database for Jewish educational materials: http://www.datajem.com/visitor/IntroPage.asp
The best Jewish kids’ site on the Web is http://www.babaganewz.com/ , with games, virtual tours and “J-Pod” downloads, kids of all ages will LOVE it.
Another superb educational site is http://www.myjewishlearning.com/ -- you can be a self-taught “maven” on all things Jewish!
A Jewish Guide to the Internet: http://www.uscj.org/metny/bellmobj/jnet2.htm
On Jewish Vegetarianism and Animal Rights: http://jewishveg.com/schwartz/ (hey, you KNEW I’d put this one in)
How many Jewish hockey players are there? (None right now…there’s a lockout). Find out at http://www.jewishsports.com/
Glossary of Yiddish Expressions: http://www.ariga.com/yiddish.shtml )Please be patient, this page is farshtopt with information)
You can find an online Hebrew dictionary at http://milon.morfix.co.il/
Nice Jewish parenting site http://jewishfamily.com/
http://www.jewishgates.com/main.asp Jewish Gates is an amazing site, filled with material on Jewish history, ritual and culture.
Go straight to the linked index at http://www.jewishgates.com/fullindex.asp and go to town!
http://www.zipple.com/ The Jewish Super Site; a similar site is http://www.maven.co.il/ and my personal all-time favorite,
http://shamash.org/trb/judaism.html
The sourcebook for Jewish history (all periods) can be found at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html
Online Texts Related to Jewish History. All the primary sources “fit to print.”
Israel Campus Beat – to get all the latest information on
The Beth El Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary
Bar/Bat Mitzvah: Beginning, Not An End
As our new “season” begins, with eight b’nai mitzvah in March alone (!), this article from the Jewish Week is especially timely. I’ve excerpted some below. See the entire piece at
http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=5768
Bar/Bat Mitzvah: Beginning, Not An End |
Rabbi Jan Katzew – The Jewish Week |
About a year ago, I received a call from a motion picture marketing executive who asked me to preview the soon-to-be-released “Keeping Up With the Steins,” a “commentary” on b’nei mitzvah as they are celebrated in North America. My interest was piqued: A mainstream movie about the commercialization of b’nei mitzvah … perhaps this would engender a “teachable moment,” particularly in light of these propositions, which experience has shown increasingly to be true:
l Adults are spending too much of their disposable income on b’nei mitzvah celebrations.
l B’nei mitzvah children internalize the message that the religious ceremony is less meaningful than the party that follows.
l Families believe that bar and bat mitzvah represent the end of formal Jewish education.
l Parents are living vicariously through their children and, consequently, creating celebrations that are more for adults than for middle school students.
l American Judaism has assimilated values that are more consonant with
While I defer to the judgment of others, I left the movie feeling profoundly under-whelmed, but hopeful that viewers would be moved to converse with family members and friends about just how much, in this particular case, art imitates life. We have turned a rite of passage into a right of passage, the responsibility of attaining religious status into the entitlement of social status. “Keeping Up With the Steins” is an unlikely candidate for an Academy Award, but it has served a purpose if it causes us to pause and consider the cultural phenomenon that prompted its production and distribution.
According to Avot de Rabbi Natan (Chapter 16), at the age of 13, the yetzer tov (good impulse) is born and with it, our capacity for conscious pro-social, empathic and compassionate behavior. B’nei mitzvah are intended to catalyze a character-building process that lasts a lifetime. It is therefore painfully ironic that we may be party (pun intended) to the yetzer hara (evil impulse) running amok at precisely the moment when the yetzer tov first sees the light of day.
I realize that I am skating on thin ice — or treading on sacred ground — by criticizing the manner in which b’nei mitzvah are being celebrated by America’s Jewish families, many, if not most, of whom have yet to embrace the idea that a bar or bat mitzvah is a simcha that marks the beginning of a choice to lead a Jewish life.
Arguably, the greatest challenge we face in Jewish education inheres to the perception that a bar or bat mitzvah represents an endpoint. By mandating minimum expectations for becoming bar or bat mitzvah, we have created an artificial bubble of Jewish learning between grades three and seven. The bar or bat mitzvah party for the youngest child in the family too often celebrates the end of synagogue affiliation.
… As we live longer, it becomes less reasonable that one’s Jewish life should reach its apex at age 13. Instead, we can help to place bar and bat mitzvah in the perspective of lifelong Jewish learning and living — an acceptance of communal responsibility, a beginning of conscious commitment and a promise to make a meaningful contribution to the people of Israel in covenant with the God of Israel. A rich Jewish life does not have to be expensive — at least it should not have to be expensive.
We are already b’nei and b’not mitzvah. Our children, on the other hand, are just in the process of becoming. Bar and bat mitzvah is a process and a status that regrettably has devolved too often into a product and an event. It is our collective challenge to take a population of episodic Jews and help them live continual Jewish lives, so that life’s celebrations and tribulations will be seamless parts of their Jewish identities rather than an interruption in their “normal” lives.
Some GOOD NEWS from
and other sources
Culture | Photography opens the eyes of Israeli special needs children
A unique program at a Jerusalem photography school which enables children with special needs to get in touch with themselves through photography is providing light in the lives of more than 100 Jewish and Arab children. For many of the students, this is the first time they've ever held a camera. In the course of the program - now in its 17th year - they learn not only how to frame and take photographs but how to develop and print them as well. According to school director Avi Sabad, 'Photography is something with immediate results. You deal with society... reality... it changes something in the schedule of our lives.' More...
Technology | Grand Israeli designs to keep sensitive American sites safe
American homeland security programs are increasingly focusing on safeguarding locations which could be prime targets for terrorist attacks - like borders, airports, highways, and water reservoirs. In order to help the professionals target exactly where to place sensors, lights, fences and other preventive apparatus, Israeli security company DefenSoft has developed an innovative CAD program that automates perimeter security planning. The Lighthouse program has already been installed throughout
Global Democracy | Israel's Bedouin women turn desert plants into skin remedies
In the remote town of Tel Sheva in Israel's southern Negev desert, a group of Bedouin women are using the herbal lore of their mothers and grandmothers to create a unique new line of skin remedies. Assisted by the women's unit of an Israeli center to promote Jewish-Arab economic development, the project - called
Culture | Israeli family winery competes with the best
Health | Israeli database offers tailored medical information for patients, gratis
now for the rest
Prime source: Daily Alert of the
See also http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672581/k.CB99/Home.htm
From Ha’aretz: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerPage.jhtml
Border Police Kill "Mega-Terrorist" in West Bank - Yaakov Katz
On Wednesday, the Israel Border Police's undercover unit killed Ashraf Sa'adi, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, who intelligence officials said was behind the dispatching of a would-be suicide bomber who was caught in Bat Yam on February 20. "Sa'adi was a mega-terrorist," said one of the commanders who participated in the operation. "He needed to be taken down." (
Five Palestinian Rockets Strike Israel - Shmulik Hadad
Palestinians in
Shiite Cleric Defies Hizbullah - Pierre Akel
The Shiite Mufti of South Lebanon, Sheikh Ali el Amin, has condemned Hizbullah's transformation from a "cultural" to a "military" movement vowing allegiance to
On
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of
Iran: The Radical Wins Again - Amir Taheri
Just a few weeks ago, we were told that Ahmadinejad's star was on the wane, but he is emerging with his position in the Khomeinist establishment strengthened. Ahmadinejad has cast himself in the role of the proverbial Islamic holy warrior who will ride his white horse into
Peace in Middle East a Palestinian Peace Ploy - Rachel N. Stephens
As long as there is a fight over Israel, I'll always support the Jews because the Palestinians, as a whole, have no claim to the Land of Israel, nor are they trying to coexist peacefully. Just who are the Palestinians? And what is
PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein said: "The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the State of
Israel's Critics: When Church Politics Goes Haywire - Rev. Kent L. Svendsen
A number of religious organizations seem to glorify the Palestinians while demonizing the Israelis. For the life of me, I can't understand how they can be so unsympathetic to a nation who is surrounded by enemies who want to "drive them into the sea." I'm not unsympathetic toward the Palestinians, who have many hardships to face. But I have a hard time offering them sympathy and support after they voted Hamas into office. Hamas has openly declared as one of their main goals to eliminate the nation of
Now we have the latest chapter coming from the critics of
Hold Iran Accountable - Kenneth R. Timmerman (
- Iran's leaders are testing us in Iraq, where Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) networks continue to fund both Sunni and Shi'ite insurgents. They are testing us at the International Atomic Energy Agency and at the UN, where they continue to defy demands by the international community to verifiably suspend their nuclear programs, which constitute a clear violation of
- Voices are raised saying that we should negotiate with
- The same goes for Iran's involvement in Iraq, its support for international terrorist groups, its refusal to recognize the right of Israel to exist, and its wretched disregard for its own citizens' political and human rights. Why should we negotiate down the standards of internationally acceptable behavior?
- We should hold
- For starters, we should insist that
The writer is president of the Middle East Data Project Inc. and executive director of the Foundation for Democracy in
Israel Security Agency Report (Shabbak Report) 2006 - a very useful report presented by the dedicated team of the Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) . In this Israel Security Agency report for 2006, we read the assertion that Hamas has taken over the
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359888175&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull - Shmuley Boteach: Fiddling while celebrities burn (JPost)
The News You Don't Read - Hillel Halkin
The more successful Israel's army and security services are in preventing deadly acts of Palestinian terror against Israelis, the more the world looks upon the means of prevention as vindictive and unnecessary harassment of Palestinians on Israel's part. Take Wednesday's thwarted suicide bombing. An Islamic Jihad operative from the West Bank city of
Israeli intelligence must have known about the bomb because of security-related operations that include roadblocks, raids on houses, dragnets, and sweeps - all those operations that have given
How the EU Subsidizes Trade with Iran - Editorial
The European Union - led by
Time to Take Iran Seriously - Editorial
Sudden Jihad Syndrome - Editorial
It looks like the Muslim teen who opened fire on shoppers in a
Several other Muslim-tied cases since 9/11 include: Naveed Afzal Haq, who went on a shooting rampage at a Jewish community center in Seattle; Egyptian national Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, who shot two and wounded three at an Israeli airline ticket counter at LAX; the D.C. snipers - John Muhammad and Lee Malvo, both black Muslim converts - who picked off 13 people in the suburbs; Omeed Aziz Popal, who took his SUV on a hit-and-run spree in San Francisco, mowing down pedestrians; Ismail Yassin Mohamed, who injured drivers and pedestrians in Minneapolis; and Iranian student Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, who deliberately rammed his SUV into a crowd at the University of North Carolina.
They may seem isolated, but all have radical Islam at their nexus. These men act as conscripts called up for a mission, sick as it is. (Investor's Business Daily)
See also Killer's Daughter Admits It Was Political - Mahmoud Habboush
Ali Abu Kamal's relatives say they are tired of lying about why the Palestinian opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, killing a tourist and injuring six other people before committing suicide. Kamal's daughter Linda said that her dad wanted to punish the U.S. for supporting Israel, and revealed her mom's 1997 account that her husband had become suicidal after losing money in a business venture was a cover story crafted by the Palestinian Authority. (
When Jews Helped Renovate the Temple Mount Mosques - Yehuda Litani
In 1992 King Hussein of Jordan financed renovations of the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock Muslim shrine on the Temple Mount. On a visit to the site during those renovations I discovered an iron panel inscribed in French. The foreman of the Irish construction company said the panel had been found on top of the mosque and was temporarily dismantled so that the dome could be coated in gold.
The words in French revealed that the shrine had been renovated in 1899 during Turkish rule, assisted by the Jewish community in
The foreman apparently told Waqf representatives about the panel, and when we came back to the site the next day the panel was no longer there. (Ynet News)
The Fight for Jerusalem - Jamie Glazov Interviews Dore Gold
At the end of the Camp David summit in July 2000 Yasser Arafat tried to assert that there never had been a
We must create a modus vivendi in
Safeguarding Jerusalem - Yehuda Ben Meir
It's become very clear that the clash over the construction work near the Mugrabi Gate is part of a broader campaign for the control of
Lest the Sword Slip from Our Hand - Ze'ev Schiff (Ha'aretz)
- Jibril Rajoub, a former head of PA Preventive Security in the West Bank who is considered a "moderate" Palestinian, has now appeared on television and shocked his Israeli acquaintances with the remark that in the end, the Palestinians will recover every inch of land between the river and the sea.
- With all due respect to my Palestinian friends, I can only conclude from these remarks that we must shut our ears when the Palestinians scatter promises about wanting to live alongside
- There is only one conclusion, and Moshe Dayan already said it in his eulogy over the grave of Roi Rutenberg, who was murdered by Arabs from Gaza in the 1950s: "This is our life's choice: to be prepared and armed, strong and determined, lest the sword slip from our hand and our lives be cut down."
- The key issue here, and our primary concern, is the continuation of terror; today manifested in the continued rocket fire, the refusal to release Gilad Shalit, the attempts to carry out suicide bombings, and the massive smuggling of arms. Bringing an end to these things constitutes part of the Quartet's demands.
- Of course
- Having a moderating force in
The Mecca Agreement - A Strategic PLO-Hamas Alliance for Establishing a Palestinian State without Hamas Recognizing Israel - C. Jacob and Y. Carmon
Hamas will not be required to recognize Israel, since, as a Palestinian movement, and even as a government, it is not authorized to conduct diplomatic negotiations, as negotiations and the signing of treaties in the name of the Palestinian people are the exclusive prerogative of the PLO and its head, Mahmoud Abbas. This tactic allows Abbas to conduct negotiations as the representative of the Palestinian people, and it enables him to ask Israel and the international community to overlook the fact that Hamas, which is part of the PA government, has not changed its principles and does not recognize Israel. (MEMRI)
U.S. Sanctions with Teeth - David Ignatius
A new variety of
Top
Who Wins in Iraq? Iran - Vali Nasr
In the political vacuum that followed Saddam's fall, Iranian influence quickly spread into southern Iraq on the back of commercial connections - driven by a growing volume of trade and a massive flow of Iranian pilgrims into shrine cities of Iraq - and burgeoning intelligence and political ties. Iran's influence quickly extended to every level of Iraq's bureaucracy, Shiite clerical and tribal establishments, and security and political apparatuses. The war turned a large part of
Maintaining Perspective on Iran - Fouad Ajami (
- Mixing bravado and bluff, and granting proxies in
- Iran is a radical player in the world of states, but we should not overstate its power. We should not fall for the Persian bluff. It is important that we do all we can to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and to checkmate it in arenas that count, but we should always remember that this is a society swimming against the tide of history and confronting the limits of its capabilities. The Iranians dwell virtually alone in the House of Islam, separated by language and culture, marked by their Shiism.
- Iran's deranged president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, came into power promising to put
- There is swagger in
MYTH #254
"Palestinians have ceased their terrorist attacks."
FACT
Until the deadly suicide bombing attack in Eilat on January 29, 2007, which took the life of three innocent people, nearly a year had passed since a major terrorist incident. This created the false impression that the Palestinians have ceased or reduced their efforts to target Israelis. In fact, the apparent lull in violence is not a function of any diminution of efforts by the terrorists, but, rather, an indication of the success of Israeli counter terror operations (CNN, January 29, 2007).
The Palestinians promised to end violence as a condition to Israel recognizing the PLO in 1993. The Palestinians promised to stop terror again when they signed the Oslo agreements. They reiterated this commitment yet again when the agreed to the road map. As recently as November 2006 they announced a cease-fire after Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reached an agreement with rival Palestinian factions for a cessation of violence. Each time, however, Palestinian promises have proven insincere as their deeds have contradicted their words.
As part of the most recent agreement the Palestinians agreed to stop Qassam rocket fire, suicide bombings and the digging of tunnels (Haaretz, November 26, 2006). Despite the “cease-fire,” Qassam rockets continue to be launched almost daily into Israeli territory and tunnels are dug along the border with Egypt. One tunnel provided the opportunity to conduct the attack in Eilat. Terrorists routinely attempt to infiltrate Israel. In just one week in February 2007 three suicide bombing attacks were thwarted, one in Tel Aviv and two others in Sinai (Jerusalem Post, Reuters, February 21, 2007).
Palestinian terrorists remain committed to the destruction of Israel and the Palestinian Authority leadership continues to do little or nothing to stop the violence, and, more likely, is encouraging it. The only reason atrocities are not being perpetuated with the same regularity as in the past is because of the tireless efforts of the security agencies to prevent them and the efficacy of the security barrier.
Source: REVISED Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard.
To order a copy of the NEW paperback edition of Myths and Facts, click HERE. The previous edition of Myths & Facts is also available in Spanish, German, French, Russian, Portuguese, Swedish, and Hebrew.
Our Next Synaplex Shabbat will be
Cantor Littman’s
SHABBAT UNPLUGGED
NEXT Friday, March 9 at 7:30 PM
Followed by a Sit-Down Oneg and Rebbe’s Tish
A special Tot Shabbat will also be held at 7:30
» Click here for more information
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| Second Night Community Seder Tuesday, April 3 6:30 PM Led by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman and Cantor Rachael Littman Includes traditional Kosher Seder meal Entertainment and activities for children throughout the evening; Open to the public – All are welcome! Prices: Adults:$55, Children (3-12) $25 Maximum Price Per Family $175 (Parents & Kids) Please RSVP At 322-6901 by March 22 |
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ADULT ED
“The Many Demensions of Jewish Prayer”
with
meets select Sunday mornings 9:00-10:00 am
Bimah 101:
Prepatory course for Adult Bar/ Bat Mitzvah
With Cantor
Meets weekly Sunday mornings 10:00-11:00 am
Judaism for Everyone
An Introductory Class for Dummies, Smarties…
and Those Who Don’t Know How to Ask
With
Meets weekly on select Sundays 11:00 am-12:00 pm
(A prerequisite for those who wish to join
the Beth El Adult Bar/ Bat Mitzvah Class.)
Fee: $50 for materials
Modern Conversational Hebrew Ulpan
Instructor: Eran Vaisben, Education Director
Do you have good basic Hebrew reading skills? The primary goal of this class is to further your overall
understanding and use of the Hebrew language. This class emphasis is on communicative skills that
will enable you to communicate in simple Hebrew for everyday situations. This first level Ulpan class
is covering a variety of dialogue, articles, stories and songs.
Prerequisite: Hebrew reading
Learning and Latte at Borders
featuring Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Rev. Douglas McArthur and Dr. Behjat Syed
This year’s topic:
“Moral Dilemmas for a World in Crisis”
Join us as we engage in friendly dialogue about some of the hot-button issues of the day.
Meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 7:30-8:30 PM, October-May
Topics (subject to last-minute adjustment to keep up with the headlines)
March 13 – Is sexuality good, evil or neither? What are the worst “sins” for our traditions?
April 10 – What are different ways of imagining God in our traditions? How does God show love?
May 8 – What is the future of religion in
Support our
Community Scholar-in-Residence Program
AVRAHAM INFELD
President Emeritus of National Hillel & Early Architect of “birthright
March 20, 2007
7:30 pm at Temple Beth El (opening session)
“Being Jewish in the iPod Age”
Maintaining and translating Jewish values into contemporary Jewish life
Infeld is known for his searing intellect, brilliant insights
into Jewish life and enthusiastic, dynamic speaking style,
Avraham Infeld is not to be missed.
For more information on the other events of the three-day program,
visit UJF website at www.ujf.org or contact
Dr. Ilana De Laney
203.321.1373 ext. 114 or ilana@ujf.org
This program made possible through the generosity
of the Herbert and Sarah M. Gibor Charitable Foundation
We PROMISE you won’t be disappointed!
USY
*** All USY events are now open to 8th graders
8th grades are welcome to continue to attend Kadima events as well.
March 3rd -
USY members are invited to volunteer and help man the different booths.
(Transportation will be provided for those going on to the Teen Cruise)
March 31st or April 1st - Comedy Club in
May 5th or 6th -
June 3rd - Pool Party
We hope to see you at these events.
If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to write me at edoecohen@gmail.com or call 917-348-9790.
All the best!
Edoe
Thanks to Mindy Rogoff and Darlene Kaufman, who both sent me this one:
Two astronauts land on Mars. Their mission: to check whether there is oxygen on the planet.
"Give me the box of matches" says one. "Either it burns and there is oxygen, or nothing happens."
He takes the box, and is ready to strike a match when out of the blue, a Martian appears waving all his arms..."No, no, don't!"
The two guys look at each other, worried. Could there be an unknown explosive gas on Mars? But he takes another match....
And now, a crowd of hysterical Martians is coming, all waving their arms: "No, no, don't do that!"
"It looks serious. What are they afraid of? But - we're here for Science, to know if man can breathe on Mars".
He strikes a match, which flames up, burns down, and..... nothing happens.
"Why did you want to prevent us from striking a match?"
The leader of the Martians says,
"Today is Shabbos!"
Previous Shabbat-O-Grams can be accessed directly from the archives on our web site (www.tbe.org)
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