Shabbat-O-Gram for March 22

Shabbat-O-Gram

This week's Shabbat-O-Gram is sponsored by 

Caren and Glenn Price

 in honor of their son, 

Sawyer, becoming a Bar Mitzvah.

  

Students at our Teva Kids program, which integrates science and Judaism, learn about colors last Sunday.  Click here for more photos from our new spring album, which includes Purim pictures. You can also upload your TBE Purim photos there directly.

Shabbat Shalom!

Mazal tov to Sawyer Price, who becomes Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat morning.  Join us on Friday night as well, as we welcome the first weekend of Spring!  See Matthew Goodman's  d'var Torah from last Shabbat.

 

Parking at garage of 1558 Washington Blvd.

Happy Purim - See The Jewish Week's Purim Spoof Issue

 

This year's happiness rankings are in!

Israel dropped two places on the World Happiness rankings, released this week.  See the World Happiness Report.  Considering the relative peacefulness of the top tier (though even the most peaceful and remote countries have experienced their share of terrorism and grief - we can now add New Zealand to that list), it's amazing that a perpetually tense place like Israel consistently ranks so high.  Factors that are dragging down the US include opioid addiction and social media (perhaps our addiction to social media as well).  So, still sky high at #13, why are Israelis so damn happy?  Purpose, belonging, venting, health, weather, lots of holidays, and an optimistic viewpoint have something to do with it. With a national anthem that means "The Hope" (though it sounds like a funeral dirge) and an unofficial motto ("Yiheye B'seder") that means "Everything will turn out OK," (even when it won't), and now, internationally renowned cuisine and Eurovision to boot.

Cafe Shahor Hazak -Yihiye beseder - English Lyrics (Translation) תרגום לאנגלית

Spring Reflections

Jewish Spring

Winter birds brush our faces in farewell.

Our step quickens as thaw gains force and marches into inevitability.

Flowers, bold in their delicacy,

viewed since time's beginning,

are seen anew, interpreted afresh.

Everyone sees flowers in a different way, Rinah once said.

Trees spread cover thickly

between the chemical groves below and above,

insisting on their leafy say.

Hands pool the earth, laying the foundation for renewal.

Already we envision stalks bent with bounty.

We breathe these many fragrances, humbled, awed.

But like the gazelle on the savannah,

our eyes are always shielded toward the horizon.

We peruse the headlines and the top stories;

we assess the pitch of the chatter.

Who knows how long this generosity,

how deep this permissibility.

Dogwood blossoms etch our prayer in grace.

This story "National Poetry Month: 'Jewish Spring'" was written by Ezra Glinte

Read more: https://forward.com/schmooze/137145/national-poetry-month-jewish-spring/

Why I'm Going to AIPAC

Sarah Tuttle-Singer, a top-notch and unabashedly progressive author and blogger for Times of Israel wrote an opinion piece last week on why progressive Jews should attend the AIPAC Policy Conference, which might be seen as a rebuttal to Thomas Friedman's recent column, Ilhan Omar, AIPAC and Me. Tuttle-Singer sees Friedman's objections to AIPAC as insufficient to warrant boycotting what has become, in effect, the biggest big tent that American Jews have with regard to Israel, even as that tent has suffered considerable wind damage in recent years. 

Tuttle-Singer writes: 

I'm going to speak at #AIPAC2019, and I'm getting these reactions from the Jewish community:

From the Right: "How COULD they?"

From the Left "How COULD YOU?"

Let's talk about it:

They know exactly who they're inviting.

They know I love this place.

They know I choose to be here, and I make that choice every single day.

They also know I am outspokenly opposed to the Occupation, and I am passionate about justice and equality and security and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians and refugees and migrants and EVERYONE in The Land.

They know that I am sickened and heartbroken that the government of Israel is increasingly racist and not even hiding it anymore.

They know that the political misogyny around the Western Wall makes me want to punch a wall.

They also know that I am no fig leaf, and that when I have any opportunity to talk about all these things, I will, and I'll make no apologies and pull zero punches.

And they also know how much I fiercely love Jerusalem - how I'm committed to building bridges between communities, that more than anything, I am proud to be part of a story where you aren't just living history as it unfolds, you're literally helping create it.

And that means showing up.

Let's be clear about something: AIPAC is not monolithic. I know folks working there who voted for Trump. I know folks working there who voted for Bernie. I know folks working there who love the prime minister. I know folks working there who voted for Meretz, and even one who wrote in "Hadash."

And that's the beauty of it: the Jewish community both in Israel and in America isn't monolithic, either.

And it's true that a lot of folks who come to Policy Conference are in the Center and the Center-Right, or even Far-Right, and that's the best part: I have things I want to say. I have things to say about the Israel I love and I have things to say about the Israel I wrestle with, and yes, I want to change things, and while it's nice to celebrate the good and complain about the bad with friends who nod along and agree with everything you say, change begins when you talk to people across the board who may not like what you have to say but are willing to listen.

In other words: this is EXACTLY when progressive Jews need to show up. And speak.

Israel faces an election in just a couple of weeks that will be as fateful as any Israeli election in a generation, with vast implications for Israeli democracy as well as for American Jewry.  This is not the time to back away.  Tuttle-Singer is correct in saying that AIPAC is not monolithic, especially once you get away from the cookie-cutter speeches at the plenaries and head to the breakout sessions, or just listen to the conversations in the halls.   Yes, AIPAC enabled Bibi's reckless appearance before Congress that has caused tremendous damage to the bipartisan consensus around Israel.  But this is also where the leadership issued an apology for the destructive rantings of candidate Donald Trump in 2016, and Trump has not spoken at AIPAC since.  As buttoned up as AIPAC tries to be, it nearly always is messier than planned, and that's the Jewish way.  Jews like a good mess.  We do not do hospital corners very well, on our beds, and in our conferences too.  Here's to a messy AIPAC! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Join us next Thurs., March 28 at 7:30 PM, for the pre-publication celebration of my book.  The actual publication date is April 2, but we've moved this up a few days so as not to conflict with our incredible Women's Seder, which will be on the 2nd.  

If your name is on the list below the flyer, you will have a signed copy of my new book waiting for you next Thursday evening at the book launch, either because you pre-ordered through our office or in recognition of your contribution to last June's concert honoring my 30th anniversary at TBE.  Books will also be available for sale at the event and you can always order online through Amazon and I will be happy to sign at any time.  So, after you pick up your signed book on the 28th, what happens then?

Well, you read it, I hope. If you like it, you might want to tell your friends to order copies of their own and of course, you can go onto Amazon with a five-star review on April 2.  Then, for those who would like to pick up the Mensch-Marks class where we left off a few weeks ago, let me know which chapters you would like to explore further.

PRE-SIGNED COPIES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON MARCH 28 FOR...

Mrs. Sandra Burn

Mrs. Gloria Aisenberg

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Amster

Mrs. Judith Aronin

Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Bloomenthal

Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Broder

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Butterman

Mr. Jeffrey Cohen and Mrs. Malerie Yolen-Cohen

Dr. and Mrs. Evan Cwass

Mr. Henry Eskin and Ms. Sarah Darer

Mrs. Lorraine Ditesheim

Ms. Beth Finchler

Mr. David Friedman and Ms. Meira Rosenberg

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fruithandler

Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Ganz

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goldblatt

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Golove

Mr. and Mrs. John Graubard

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Greenwald

Mr. and Mrs. George Heller

Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Holzman

Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Isban

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Kahn

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Laichtman

Ms. Patti Mactas

Ms. Melanie Massell

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Pollack

Mr. and Mrs. James Rothkopf

Mr. Edward Smith and Mrs. Edith Samers

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Scherban

Mrs. Evie Shapiro

Mr. and Mrs. Leon Shapiro

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Silverstein

Ms. Linda Simon

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Staines

Mr. and Mrs. Norman Stone

Mr. Marc Teichman and Mrs. Caroline Temlock Teichman

Mrs. Pamela Tinkham

Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Weinstein

Mr. and Mrs. David Wolff

Mr. Eric Baker and Ms. Bonnie Kintzer

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Berman

Dr. and Mrs. Warren Brandt

Mr. Yitzhak Brudny and Ms. Catherine Reed

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Clarke

Mr. and Mrs. Ben Evans

Mr. and Mrs. Avram Freedberg

Dr. and Mrs. Jay Freilich

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Goldstein

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Green

Dr. and Mrs. David Greenman

Ms. Jeannie Kasindorf

Mr. and Mrs. Allen Krim

Mr. Scott and Dr. Elizabeth Krowitz

Mr. and Mrs. Allan Lang

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Levitz

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Manheim

Mr. John Romanow and Mrs. Barbara Muller

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Redniss

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rothman

Mr. and Mrs. David Satz

Dr. Michael and Dr. Miriam Schechter

Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Silber

Mr. and Mrs. Alan Silberman

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Slayton

Mr. and Mrs. David Stein

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Tobin

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Trell

Mr. and Mrs. Louis Weinstein

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Allen

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Boyer

Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Brewer

Mr. Robert Cohen and Ms. Marsha Colten

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Donner

Thomas Gallagher Funeral Home

Mr. and Mrs. James Hyman

Mr. and Mrs. Alan Kalter

Dr. and Mrs. Marc Peyser

Mr. and Mrs. Sylvan Pomerantz

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Poser

Learning in Retirement

Mr. and Mrs. I. Jeffrey Turshen

Mrs. Joan Weisman

Mr. Ralph and Dr. Susan Freydberg

Mr. Norman Suchin and Mrs. Judith Dalgin

Mr. Gerry and Dr. Frances Ginsburg

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Osman

Mrs. Sheila Romanowitz

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fein

Ms. Susan Frieden

Gallagher Funeral Home

Mr. and Mrs. Alan Jaffe

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kempner

Mr. Gary Lessen and Ms. Lois Stark

Miss Eileen Rosner

Mrs. Marsha Shendell

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Sosnick

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Weinberg

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Young

Mann Family Foundation Inc.

Aviva Maller Mordecai Family Fishman/Keydar Family BCDS Mr. and Mrs. Alan Kalter Cantor Martin Bear
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fisher
Mr. Gary and Dr. Phyllis Gladstein Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gross Mr. and Mrs. David Harrison Mr. James Koplik
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Heyison
Ms. Laura Markowitz
Ms. Marsha Matthews
Dr. Wendy Miles
Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Pearlman
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Phair Ms. Irma Ross Ms. Mina Roth-Dornfeld Ms. Judy Schneiderman
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Shapiro Mr. and Mrs. Mark Staines
Mr. Elliott Tuckel and Ms. Kathy Cooperman
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Walzer
Dr. Donna Wolff
Ms. Karmit Zysman Mr. and Mrs. John Graubard
Mr. and Mrs. James Locker
Mr. and Mrs. K. Paul Schultz Mr and Mrs. Norman Stone Ms. Marian Bauer Ms. Barbara Rosenberg

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Purim!

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman